By Allie Katz –
I’ve often heard someone described as a “dog person” or a “cat person” and wondered if there was some basis to this theory. Being a “cat person” or a “dog person” is one of those coincidental things born of the fact that some people just know they prefer the company of cats, while others prefer man’s best friend. After doing some research on the topic, it turns out that (according to scientific research) your pet preference may be more closely related to your personality traits than you thought. At least that’s what academic studies from various sources show. I’ll give you my take on this at the end of this article.
The Association for Psychological Science annual meeting revealed that dog owners tend to have more energy and a more outgoing personality than those who favor cats. Despite the fact that dogs tend to be the goofier, more excitable and more rambunctious of the two pets, their owners are, in some ways, more straight-laced. The study concluded that dog owners tend to stick to the rules more often than their cat-loving counterparts.
It seems that cat lovers favor taking a practical approach to problem-solving, even if it sometimes meant bending the rules a little. Cat lovers appeared to be more sensitive and reserved than those who prefer dogs. As for what each group gets out of their relationship with their pets, the dog lovers enjoyed the companionship, while the cat fans craved the affection.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found similar results, but concluded that those who identified themselves as dog people were more conscientious, more agreeable, and less neurotic than cat people. Cat people were, much like their preferred pets, showed a perplexing mixture of openness and nonchalance.
While having a dog or a cat can lower your blood pressure, improve your heart health, and help you live longer, it seems that dog lovers may have the advantage. In fact, researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Diet and Activity Research found that dog owners were more physically active and less sedentary. Other reviews of research have also revealed that even dog owners who don’t regularly walk their dogs tend to get more exercise than cat owners. If you need a little more convincing that you should adopt a furry friend, check this out: 15 Amazing Benefits of Adopting a Pet.
OK, I promised you my blow-by-blow, paragraph-by-paragraph take on all of this, and here it is:
To begin with, people who make the statement, “I don’t like dogs,” or “I don’t like cats,” are not the brightest bulbs in the human chandelier. They’re the same folks who dislike other people based on ethnicity, nationality, religion, politics, etc. We animal lovers know that, like each human, each dog or cat should be judged on their individual personality.
So dog owners stick to the rules, do they? I read somewhere that many serial rapists and killers (if they have pets) prefer dogs. This is probably because cats won’t tolerate their Narcissistic crap.
In response to the studies presented by the above-mentioned institutions, how’s this for a perplexing mixture of openness and nonchalance; I think that any conclusion regarding psychological profiling of humans in direct relationship to the type of pet they prefer is pure, unadulterated PASTURE PATTIES!
Alas, dear hearts, how could any of us ever have a logical, intelligent thought without relying upon the plethora of research studies done by academia?
Oh, I didn’t tell you; I’m an irresponsible, disagreeable and neurotic ANIMAL PERSON.
