The Behavioral Style of the Cat Predicts Owner Satisfaction

A 9-item, reliable measure of owner satisfaction with their cat, the CatSat, was developed. Item response analysis indicated that the CatSat discriminates lower levels of satisfaction better than higher levels. Correlations between the CatSat and a measure of attachment to the cat (Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale) suggest that satisfaction and attachment are separate but somewhat related constructs. To predict owner satisfaction with their cat from owner personality and the behavioral style of the cat, 225 owners answered the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five personality test and rated their cat on 29 adjectives which were collapsed into six dimensions of the behavioral style of the cat. Results from a multiple regression analysis suggest that owner satisfaction with their cat is not reliably related to owner personality. Owners’ perceptions of how amiable and demanding their cat was accounted for approximately half of the variability in satisfaction with the cat. Amiable and less demanding cats were related to higher levels of cat satisfaction. There were no statistically reliable interactions between the personality of the owner and the behavioral style of the cat, although some interactions yielded small effect sizes. To increase owner satisfaction, young kittens can be made friendlier by being handled daily during their sensitive period for socialization. Owners might increase their satisfaction with their cat by being careful to not reward demanding behaviors from their cat as such rewards could lead to operant conditioning of demanding behaviors.