Claim: Cats take after their owners

Question

The study claims that cats take after their owners main characters after a long period of time.

Answer 1

Although there is a link between behavior and personality on dependents, in this case owners and their cats, the research provided isn’t scientifically profound enough to solidify this claim. The research evidence by PLOS ONE presented in the article used survey-based data. Though many cats did emulate some owner characteristics, the responses appear more perception based. A definitive answer to this statement could be explored through more extensive research by studying mannerisms, brain patterns, and relationship. Despite the fact that many owners felt their cats reflected their own personality traits, the statement cannot be fully confirmed as true. 

The link below provides the same research, but with an explanation on the study’s limitations: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-heart/202009/what-cat-s-personality-says-about-their-owner

Answer 2

There's uncertainty within the credibility of this researchers argument. Their study includes surveys asking current cat owners to question the personality of their cats to prove that the owners strongest traits will transfer to their pets. The research would be more credible if they had studied the behaviors of the cats and the owners over time, and checked for progress along the way. The personality's of cats all vary and change as the cat grows. Saying their personality relies solely within the owner after a single survey does not give enough data to make the statement true.

Comments

I agree with this statement, proving alignment between a cat and an owners personality trait seems to be missing some key controls, such as change in personality over time and the idea that owners are conducting the big five test on their cats, who cannot actually answer the questions. It's also possible that the owners notice traits that align with their own more due to projection of your own emotions and traits on to the animal.

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@ayana, did you find any research or news report that could debunk the claim? If so, please include source links in your fact-checks going forward. Thanks!

Answer 3

Although the study claims that cats take after their owners after a long period of time. This can be misleading since they conducted their study based on surveys and did not study the behaviors of cats and owners.

Comments

I agree with this factcheck, but I do think it would be beneficial to include a source for how you arrived at this conclusion. I love the point you made about how this data was collected via surveys rather than observational data, as surveys are an inaccurate way to collect true scientific data.

Answer 4

This article cites several sources from which the authors acquired their findings. Though the writer of this article has no credibility in the study or anything related to it, the sources she uses do have people who have studied this through surveying owners. Unfortunately, this article is more than 5 years old so it could be rather outdated regarding research. I tried to find more articles about this research but most of them are from the same time as the article in question. A big media outlet like, "People," covered this story around the same time this was published so it could be true. However, I would like to say that having the cat's owner survey their cat could create some bias rather than if someone on the outside were to evaluate them.

Answer 5

The article posits that over time, cats begin to mirror the personalities of their owners. It references several sources that underpin this claim, although the author lacks expertise in this area. The cited sources do include researchers who have conducted surveys of cat owners, adding some weight to the argument. However, the article is over five years old, which raises concerns about the relevance of its findings today. In my search for more recent studies, I found that most were similarly dated. Nonetheless, I feel that relying solely on owner surveys could lead to bias, as an independent assessment might yield different insights.

Comments

"In my search for more recent studies" --  always cite your sources. Thanks!

Answer 6

The study referenced in the original article was also referenced in an article by Kinship, and both sources referred to the study as being conducted by PLOS One. The original article linked in the claim said that 3,000 cat owners were surveyed, while the Kinship article referenced the same study but said that over 3,100 cat owners were surveyed. Furthermore, the Kinship article stated that 30 to 60 percent of human personality traits are inherited, which is not dealing with cats at all. Both articles correlate to each other in the sense that both present some evidence that cats are sensitive to their owners’ emotions and therefore are more likely to imitate or take after them. There can definitely be a connection between owners’ personalities and cats’ personalities, but the degree to which the former influences the latter needs more evidence in order to be stated for certain. In addition, the original article linked in the claim actually stated that there is still a lot more research that needs to be done when it comes to this topic, and therefore this claim can be seen as having a tiny bit of fact-based truth but is largely exaggerated.

Source: https://www.kinship.com/cat-behavior/cats-mirror-moods-behavior-study

Answer 7

While the original study does suggest that cats mirror their owner's personalities, the evidence is not sufficient enough to support any definitive claims. The study uses surveys to gather information, and while they are useful, they are less reliable than other scientific research methods. With surveys, people can answer however they wish, whether that be truthfully or not. In this study, people not only answered for themselves, but for their cat, which leaves room for bias. There is also only the one study. So while it is possible that cats mirror their owner's traits, there just is not enough scientific information.

Answer 8

In the Martha Stewart article, it describes the correlation between pet owners and the traits that their cats pick up from them. Although cats can mirror positive or negative traits based on their owners' personalities, it mainly "parallels with the parent-child relationship and the associated wellbeing outcomes for children.” Like children, cats will pick up behavioral issues or quirks based on the environment that they live in. 

Directly taken from the PLOS Study mentioned in the article: “As cats cannot self-report, the behavioural and physical indicators of stress surveyed in this study were used to provide practical, proxy measures of basic wellbeing. However, such measures are no substitute for direct behavioural observations and the collection of suitable biological data that may better quantify aspects of cat welfare.”  

Based on this fact and that the study conducted was a survey of 3000 people, the information provided is not a credible source, therefore, the claim that cats mirror their owners is misleading. 

Answer 9

Although there is a link between behavior and personality on dependents, in this case owners and their cats, the research provided isn’t scientifically profound enough to solidify this claim. The research evidence by PLOS ONE presented in the article used survey-based data. Though many cats did emulate some owner characteristics, the responses appear more perception based. A definitive answer to this statement could be explored through more extensive research by studying mannerisms, brain patterns, and relationship. Despite the fact that many owners felt their cats reflected their own personality traits, the statement cannot be fully confirmed as true. The study referenced in the original article was also referenced in an article by Kinship. The original article linked in the claim said that 3,000 cat owners were surveyed, while the Kinship article referenced the same study but said that over 3,100 cat owners were surveyed. Furthermore, the Kinship article stated that 30 to 60 percent of human personality traits are inherited, which is not dealing with cats at all. Both articles correlate to each other in the sense that both present some evidence that cats are sensitive to their owners’ emotions and therefore are more likely to imitate or take after them. There can definitely be a connection between owners’ personalities and cats’ personalities, but the degree to which the former influences the latter needs more evidence in order to be stated for certain. In addition, the original article linked in the claim actually stated that there is still a lot more research that needs to be done when it comes to this topic, and therefore this claim can be seen as having a tiny bit of fact-based truth but is largely exaggerated.

https://www.kinship.com/cat-behavior/cats-mirror-moods-behavior-study

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-heart/202009/what-cat-s-personality-says-about-their-owner