Uncovering the Mysteries of Feline Behavior: A Fascinating Look into the Mind of Your Adorable Cat

It’s no longer a secret that many cats exhibit psychopathic behavior, as confirmed by scientists instead of just hearsay on a dog-lovers Facebook page. To get a better understanding of whether your feline friend fits the bill, you can take a quiz designed by the cat-owning researchers from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University in England. Their research paper discusses how cats’ meanness, boldness, disinhibition, pet-unfriendliness, and human-unfriendliness traits were measured to determine their similarities to human psychopaths. Although these traits may have been beneficial for cats in the past, they now suggest a lack of empathy, detachment, manipulativeness, and antisocial behavior.

Researchers have suggested that cats may have a degree of psychopathy, which would have been advantageous for their ancestors in obtaining resources like food, territory, and mating opportunities. To determine where their feline companions fall on the psychopathic spectrum, cat owners can take the Cat Triarchic Plus test, which includes 46 questions that explore behaviors such as dominating their owners, hiding and jumping out at people and pets, and tormenting prey. Respondents rank their cats’ behavior on a scale from not at all to extremely well, with scores tallied for five components: boldness, disinhibition, meanness, pet-unfriendliness, and human-unfriendliness. Although a high score may indicate a more psychopathic cat, researchers suggest this may lead to a better relationship between owner and pet in some cases.