Are cats psychopaths? New research says, probably

[iemanja]

Have you ever wondered what was on your cat's mind? Well, a new study suggests that it may be something a little darker than we'd like to think.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University surveyed several pet owners to see what level of psychopathy their cats landed on based on human standards. Their findings were published in the December issue of the Journal of Research in Personality.

What they found was that a majority of cats surveyed fell under the spectrum of psychopathy.

To narrow down how a cat could be considered a psychopath, researchers asked 549 pet owners questions like "My cat vocalises loudly (e.g. meows, yowls) for no apparent reason," "My cat runs around the house for no apparent reason," and "My cat does not appear to act guilty after misbehaving."

The "triarchic" concept of psychopathy was used to create a new feline-centric criteria for psychopathy. Under the "triarchic" concept, levels of boldness, meanness and disinhibition are used to measure psychopathy in humans.
Cats checked all three of those boxes, but two other traits emerged: human-unfriendliness and pet-unfriendliness.

https://www.kare11.com/article/life/animals/cats-psychopaths-research/67-9b724c98-3656-48d8-8da9-7b31985daf25?fbclid=IwAR2_mUwU9Hcfe3J3ssX28UvcE6dhy44YcJKXImPldNGAHrIKSg8Ot6qDHHg

Is your cat a psychopath? Take the questionnaire for your own cat. https://osf.io/ysb9z/

[Wingus Dingus]

1. We knew that.

[EX500rider]

2. yep

[shrike3]

12. I brought home some lovely plants for our bay window.

First thing our male cat did was go up and knock 'em off, this evil gleam in his eye.

[scarletlib]

3. No. They are cats. One step removed from the wild.

[iemanja]

4. the idea is that their psychopathy comes from their ancestry in the wild

that it enabled them to catch prey. But now that they are domesticated, they retain some of those characteristics.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. I believe that concept applies to humans as well.

Traces of psychopathy inherited from ancient times when humans had to be brutal assholes to survive. People like tRump, Jairhead Bolsonaro and Jeffery Epstein are positive proof.

Thank goodness we inherited far more kindness, love and charitable properties from our DNA.....

[iemanja]

17. Some of us inherited kindness, many didn't.

That point about the wild, however, could extend to many species, including dogs. Yet I think we can all see that dogs are not sociopaths but rather Democrats.

[Poiuyt]

6. My cat is trying to murder me

She keeps trying to trip me on the stairs

[iemanja]

15. my dog, now deceased, used to do that.

But she was otherwise very loving.

[mainer]

7. Does that make dogs Democrats?

You know, that whole socialistic pack mentality thing?
I’ve heard of heroic dog actions to save and protect their owners. But cats? Not so much.

[iemanja]

9. Yes. It's a known fact

When cats are born, they believe they are in a state of liberty, and from then on they are determined to keep it that way. No one tells them what to do. They don’t believe it takes a village, because they know they might have to take instructions from the village idiot in the local government.

And, sorry if you’ve got one and you’re a Republican — but dogs are liberal Democrats. Some are possibly Socialists, though probably none will ever admit it.

Dogs are communal by nature. They run in packs. They dream of their days as wolves, sharing responsibilities.

Sure there’s a pecking order – an alpha, a beta and a zeta. It’s only humans who pretend that egalitarianism levels the playing field entirely.

Unfortunately, this instinct to subvert their personal welfare to the good of the whole also makes dogs easy to control. Big brother, in the form of their human masters, creates laws and executive orders that dogs slavishly abide.

https://www.politico.com/story/2011/08/cats-are-republicans-dogs-are-dems-061687

[mainer]

20. "Dogs are community organizers"

Haha. So true. thanks for the article.

&quot Dogs) are community organizers, herding sheep and other creatures of the field into groups for the betterment of their welfare."

[shrike3]

11. There are exceptions.

My husband habitually took a nap downstairs, where it was cool. One day, my little black cat running upstairs, meowing like crazy. I finally said, "All right," and followed her. She kept looking behind me and giving short meows as we went downstairs. She stood in front of my husband, a very worried look in her eyes. I asked, "What's going on?" He explained: She was prone to come down to use the litter box right after he lay down. He always said, "Hey, girl," and she'd meow back. Today, he decided not to say anything, to say what she'd do. He didn't give her her greeting. Out of the corner of his (closed) eye he could see her approach, got up on her hind legs, looked at him, turned and came running up the stairs.

Of course, once he started talking, it was like nothing had ever happened.

[AZProgressive]

13. My cat is my hero

But I have a lucky Russian blue. I would probably be a lot worse off without her. Plus she is easier to take care of than a dog.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Well, if it quacks like a duck....

KY......

[keithbvadu2]

10. I am the cat. You are not.

Owner comes in the front door.
Dog:::: Oh, boy! He's home. He's home.
Cat:::: Who's that?
.

[nuxvomica]

14. This is pure flapdoodle

First of all, the questionnaire is addressed to humans, who are notoriously stupid when it comes to understanding cats. "Does your cat run around the house for no apparent reason?" How do you think a cat would answer that about their human companions? To a cat, we are the ones engaged in pointless activity and vocalizations (and there are times I would agree with that assessment).

[marie999]

16. My cat scored a 1 on everything. Maybe he isn't really a cat.

Catbirds peck him on the butt and he doesn't move. Sometimes I get up real close to him to make sure he is still breathing.

[MerryBlooms]

18. My cats are indoor only, we are very vocal with each other.

Both my cats let me know when they are in need, when they're getting ready to upchuck a furball, or just want to chat or some love. We have a daily routine. They know my work schedule... Right now, they are super excited because it's Christmas decorating time. They've both been monitoring the progress on the Christmas tree. They lay under it, but when we're decorating, lay on the chair next to it and watch our every move. They never climb or do anything naughty. What amazes me every year... They know what presents are theirs! They don't try to open them, but they will lay next to them under the tree, then Christmas morning when opening pressies comes, they go nuts! Every year there is the little tin foil ball I make from our roll in the cupboard, that is my Manx's favorite. lol

When I get home from work, they're both waiting for me at the door. I love that. My Siamese immediately rolls over making 'Skitch Skitch', sounds, and my Manx is purring and bumping his head into my legs. These are the first and only cats I've ever had, and I couldn't be happier or more in love, and they're not psychopaths. I had always had dogs before these two sweethearts. I honestly believe, if the human does right by the furbaby, the furbaby will be a well adjusted loving animal. You have to take the time to properly adjust your cat and really get to know your cat. Plus, that questionnaire was geared towards outside cats. NO cat should be an outside cat. Outside cats are at high risk for disease, detriment to wildlife and death, by accident, other animal attack, or poisoning.

[iemanja]

19. I'm glad you have such loving pets

I once had a very affectionate cat.

[keithbvadu2]

21. I'm here! Pet me. Love me. Prrrrrrrrrrr.

I'm done..... See ya.

[iemanja]

24. I had one who would crawl next to people

Prrr and ask to be pet, love it a while, and then suddenly bite the person when she'd had enough.

[MerryBlooms]

22. I am too. My sister's cat is very aggressive with her,

Me and my 2 kitties. My 78 y/o sister was a light scattere of her cat until they came to live with me. That of course, made her cat aggressive towards human hands and aggressive in general. He cat was so out of control, it would jump on my back and bite me when I turned around. I forbid my sister to swat her, but it's taken 3 years to calm this cat. The cat also bullied my 2 cats, horribly. The squirt bottle, a firm, but no yelling, No, then a little love, has cured the bullying. Her cat is super sensitive to touch, so just a few rubs on her cheeks has solved most of her attacks on humans.

Take the time to know the cat. They are not psychopaths.

[iemanja]

26. You're the cat whisperer.

[MerryBlooms]

28. Lol, no. But I love these babies and want them happy and healthy.

I went with common sense and it worked. It took a long time to build this relationship. My Siamese won't have anything to do with her, but my Manx tries, he loves kitties and even tries to make friends with the ferals I take care of from his inside window panes. It's super cute to watch. He'll go from window to window, purring. He bumps his head against the window. My Manx is 15 now and my Siamese is 13. Couple sweet old guys. I don't know what I'll do without them.

The one feral was damaged from the Almeda fire. He was burned on his right side. He's just now getting to where he spends time with me on the porch. I buy him a lot of sardines, lol. I listen to the old "What's My Line", and he will com up after his meal and sit with me and listen and snooze. He's really busted up. His left ear is broken in half, his right eye, right face has burnt marks, and his tail is broken in 4 places. I bought him a warm bed and feed him his favorite sardines 4 times a day, plus dry and canned food. There are 2 other fire survivors I take care of, but not in near as bad of shape. Plus feeding a den of raccoons... The mommas had the babies way late in the season because of the drought here, and then the county cleared the blackberries, so no food. I feed baby raccoons and their moms, because neighbors were complaining about them getting into the bird feeders. One person said there was poison out, so I started feeding the raccoons to keep them from getting killed over stupid bird seed. It worked. I have them here at night and feed them, and no one has complained since. I couldn't stand the thought after all these animals have been through the fires, being poisoned because of stupid bird seed!

Sorry for the long post and rant.

[Takket]

23. this is absolute nonsence

Cat are not psychopaths. They act the way they do due to instinct. Asking a human a subjective question like "my cats runs around or meows for no apparent reason" doesn't prove anything other than that their owners don't know why cats run around or meow.

Cats are no more psychopaths than snakes are evil because they slither and someone chose to give them a prominent place in the Garden of Eden.

"In an interview with Vice's Motherboard, researchers said the reason cats may fall under this spectrum of psychopathy is due to their animalistic and wild nature. "

I cannot even express how stupid this criteria is. ALL ANIMALS have animalistic and wild nature! I'm sure they see cats as remorseless killers....... remorse is a human concept. Any animal that kills another could by called a psychopath if you apply human concepts of morality to them.

[FelineOverlord]

25. All my cats were sweet and incredibly affectionate

When I was young I shared my twin bed with 8 cats. 😹

All my cats have been sweeties 😻.

I can’t wait to have cats again. 😸

[dsp3000]

27. I have two really affectionate cats, and would take them over a dog any day.

Sure they will knock over my drink from time to time, but what dog doesn't do that either? My MIL has a puppy that terrorizes my twin 2 year olds. steals their toys and rips them up.
My cats go up to my kids, get petted they get loved up, then go chill on the couch and watch the kids do their thing. yeah, no contest here.