A cat lights up people's homes

Researchers in South Australia and New Zealand have identified five distinct personality types in domestic cats by applying a model commonly used to describe personality traits in people. A better understanding of cat personality through assessment can enhance animal health and welfare by tailoring management strategies to suit the temperament of individual cats, according to the researchers.

"'The 'Feline Five': An exploration of personality in pet cats (Felis catus)" was published by the online journal PLOS One on Aug. 23. The study details the findings of researchers from the University of South Australia and University of Wellington in New Zealand who sought to determine the number of reliable, interpretable factors depicting personality in pet cats.

Relatively little is known about typical domestic cat behavior, the researchers observe, as most behavioral studies are conducted in laboratories, at shelters, or on free-ranging feral cat colonies. "This gap in knowledge is problematic since the typical environment for domestic cats is arguably the home, with tens of millions of pet cats, some kept exclusively indoors," they wrote.

"Cat owners, veterinarians, animal behaviorists, and scientists often focus on the behavioral problems of stressed cats rather than on the behavior of psychologically healthy cats and their inter- and intra-species interactions," the researchers continued. "Development of an accurate standardized ethogram (inventory of species-specific behaviors) for pet cats would facilitate creation of standards for optimal housing and welfare, like the Five Freedoms for captive animals."