Cats like to play it coy. They want your attention, but act like they don’t. They’re shy unless they’re in the mood to be the center of your world. A team of researchers in Japan got curious about this weird vacillation between shyness and extroversion. They found that cats are basically human babies. Here’s what that means.
According to a study published in PLOS One, scientists at Kyoto University surveyed 300 cat owners using questionnaires originally designed to track infant temperament. We normally consider cats aloof sociopaths who occasionally like to cuddle, but the researchers found that they had a much more flourishing life than we outwardly projected.
The data was able to be broken down into four distinct Personality types: highly sociable, sociable, fearful, and shy.
Scientists Discovered That Cats Have Something Surprising in Common With Human Babies
The shy group was especially interesting, as they showed fearfulness but also an uncontrollable urge to investigate. That one exhibited classic human infant-like shyness. It’s the cat equivalent of a baby staring at you, then shying away when you move near. Male cats and former strays were especially represented in this category.
Lead author Madoka Hattori—who, speaking with Gizmodo, says she started her scientific career at age six by testing if her pet cat was left-pawed—notes that understanding these personalities can help owners and shelters stop treating hiding cats as just “timid.”
Maybe don’t force them to interact; instead, give them the time and space they need to feel comfortable in a social situation. Kind of like us.
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