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We recently asked 500 cat parents to answer a short survey about their cats’ personalities. It turns out that many stereotypes about cats are wrong. Here are the surprising results of our cat personality survey!
Do cats like affection?
YES! It turns out that 86% of cats in our survey absolutely LOVE physical affection! "Don't stop," "Don't forget my chin," and maybe even "Give me snuggles!" Sure, not all cats love the attention… The other 14% run away or put up a fight when you try to pet them. However, the majority of cats really do like affection (from you, at least).
How about when you're not trying to pet them? We asked where your cat is if you're busy reading on the couch. It turns out that almost half of all cats will be wedged between you and the book you're reading. And almost every single cat is somewhere nearby (if not on you), probably keeping an eye and/or ear on you.
Which cats are more talkative?
Does your cat meow like crazy in the morning? 85% of you know exactly what we're talking about, because your cat does this at least occasionally. Your cat doesn't care if you've had your coffee yet.
Your cat might not even care if you're conscious. They want your attention, and they probably want FOOD… NOW! In fact, a fifth of cat parents can throw out their alarm clocks – that's how reliably their cat will start meowing in the morning. If this doesn't describe your cat, count yourself lucky.
What kind of cat starts meowing at the crack of dawn? It turns out that cats who like to wedge their way in-between you and a good book are twice as likely to be super talkative. Some cats really love getting things their way!
What makes cats happy?
Cats may be predators, but most cat parents don't think that hunting brings their cats much joy. Forget the mice and toys, because 50% of cats would just like to be as close to you as possible. Then again, 27% of cats are happiest when they're left alone. Cats are complicated creatures.
Where do cats sleep?
Cats sleep an average of 15 hours a day. Where do they enjoy getting their beauty rest? Well, for 50% of cats, their favorite place to sleep is on you! On the other hand, only 7% of cats prefer to sleep in a cat tower. The other 43% of cats are scattered throughout the house in all sorts of random places. Does this mean you shouldn't bother with that pricey cat palace?
What do cats like to play with?
Toys and lasers are the winner, with more than a third of cats preferring conventional toys. However, it sounds like more than a quarter of cats have given up playtime entirely and would prefer to be sitting on your lap. The rest of the cats? They like to play with other cats and whatever else they can get their paws on.
Troublemakers
We also asked a scenario question: Your cat is on the table… what will he do to amuse himself? Well, the most popular response was that your cat will proceed to knock everything off the table. Apparently, one third of cats amuse themselves by causing mischief. This is true even for the snugglers.
Overall personality type?
It turns out that the most common personality type is what we call the Tigger Cat: A loveable, cuddly, purring ball of fur. A whopping 64% of cats are described as affectionate sweethearts who like to be on or near you. In agreement, my cat is purring away in my lap right now as I write up these results.
The other stereotypical cat personalities, which include wild, fearful, grumpy and regal, only counted for a third of cats when added together. Next time you run into a cat-hater who thinks that cats are mean or snobby, you can let them know that they haven't met the average cat yet.
Where does your cat's personality come from?
Finally, we asked cat pawrents what shapes their cats' personalities. More than half of cat owners know that their cat's personality is influenced by a combination of factors: The environment they're raised in, what they're fed and their genetics. If you'd like to know more about how these three factors help shape your cat's personality and health, read our Basepaws blog about calculating the heritability of traits.
We hope you enjoyed our survey results! Please share this article and let the world know that most cats just want to be loved and petted!