Johnson: Cats have personality types, too

Aloof, superior, detached — such are the traits most often assigned to those of the feline persuasion.

Perhaps it is their regal poses, or the way they climb to the highest spots they can reach only to look down on the humans below with intensity.

They aren’t always accurate and are often fodder for heated debate, but stereotypes and generalizations are things the human mind creates to simplify information as it searches for meaning, patterns and standards by which to understand the world.

An inability to relate or understand can be found at the root of many generalizations, a possibility in the case of cats.

With oval pupils and exaggerated colors, their eyes are not like the dog’s, or ours, rather, they look almost snake-like.

They are the epitome of grace — they slip, slink, pounce, bound, curl and climb in ways that seem to challenge the rules that limit the rest of us, making other creatures seem awkward and gangly.

Hiding sharp and dangerous claws that come out at their command, a soft, fluffy paw can convert to a deadly weapon in an instant while the rest of us have nails and claws that tend to get in the way more than help most days.

And of course there is purring, a strange sound that is closer to a running motor than a natural sound.

Most of all, they are known for making it clear — that while they enjoy the food, the petting, the toys and all the other luxuries and can certainly adapt to a life of being cared for — they don’t completely need us.

To the contrary, while some of the critters humans domesticate become entirely dependent, many cats still like to hunt and can feed themselves, prefer to call the shots on when and how they take their affection and in general, like to do their own thing.

It is the sum of their traits — appearance, movements, sounds and strong independent streak — that no doubt leads to cats getting a blanket reputation for having one personality, often known as the “cat” personality.

As in the case of most generalizations and stereotypes, however, the cat stereotype is an oversimplification, and most anyone who has spent time around cats can attest to the fact that while they share common traits, they are each unique.

Now science is backing up the fact that cats do indeed have more than one personality trait.

After more than a year of research, scientists from the University of South Australia have announced to media that cats actually come in five personality types.

The conclusions stem from “Cat Tracker,” a citizen scientist project directed by the research team, which, in addition to tracking the movements of Australian pet cats via GPS collars, has owners complete online personality tests on their feline friends. The full study will be published after results are sent to participants, the research team has said via social media.

The five traits that emerged through the study are classified as: skittishness, outgoingness, dominance, spontaneity and friendliness, similar to the “Big Five” human personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism — which means people have more in common with cats than is often assumed, researchers state.

If, as has been discovered in the case of humans, the personality types can change with phases of development over the course of a lifetime, cats just might be complicated like us too.

Could be eventually what we find is it's not differences that lead to the stereotypes we have, but rather, if we hope to understand "them,” we'll need to understand ourselves a little better first.

Sharna Johnson is a writer who is always searching for ponies. You can reach her at:

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