You may have seen the headlines: “Study: Cats may Legitimately Be Psychopaths.” “Is Your cat a Psychopath? Probably, Researchers Say.” “If Cats Were People, They’d probably be Psychopaths, Scientists Say.” I cringed whenever I saw one of those headlines, not just because they are simply absurd and ultimately harmful to cats, but also, because the referenced study is very flawed.
Feline behaviorist Mikel Delgado, PhD, who has been working with cats for over 20 years and was a postdoctoral researcher at the school of Veterinary medicine at the university of California, Davis, published a detailed post debunking this absurd study.
“The authors propose that there has been a lack of research on feline psychopathy because there’s no available questionnaire for exploring these traits in cats. I might instead argue that there’s no point in studying something that doesn’t really exist.” writes Mikel. As she dove additionally into the study, she found herself wondering “have these researchers lived with any cats?”
I encourage you to read Mikel’s post on her exceptional blog, What Your cat wants – and to cut to the chase, no, your cat is not a psychopath!
Image Pixabay stock photo
Ingrid King
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11 comments on Cats Are Not Psychopaths
Gina says:
December 21, 2021 at 1:35 pm
The people who wrote that post must be ashamed! very harmful to cats and absolutely untrue.
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Lurchie says:
December 21, 2021 at 12:01 pm
Are cats delightfully weird? Of course! Psychopaths? No way.
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Eleanor Skibo says:
December 20, 2021 at 5:32 pm
Whoever, or whatever group or institution said cats are psychopaths are out of touch with reality and veterinary science. Cats are terrific loving creatures, that are psychic and in tune with nature and mankind, but no way are cats psychopathic creatures.
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Sherri says:
December 20, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Such utter and complete baloney!!! These so called “studies” are infuriating. On the contrary, it is HUMANS who are a lot of typically the psychopaths! I am middle aged now and have literally had cats in my life considering that I was born. I have never had anything other then sweet, loving cats. Yes, they all had their own personality but they were/are all stunning souls.
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Jeri says:
December 20, 2021 at 12:19 pm
Wish the post was from a safe source, but it’s not. I would love to read it as I have 4 stunning male cats all with different personalities.
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Susan C. Beurket says:
December 20, 2021 at 12:14 pm
I’ve heard of this “Are cats psychopaths” before, but I thought it was a JOKE! I had no idea any individual had been foolish enough to try to research this & say it’s real! I agree w/ what Mikel said about “have these researchers lived with any cats?”!
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Stephen Mann says:
December 20, 2021 at 10:27 am
This seems to be an attempt to create another damaging myth and doesn’t require a action only total disregard.
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Theresa Anspaugh says:
December 20, 2021 at 9:22 am
I know a lot more people that are psychopaths than cats. If cats are treated with love and respect, there are no psychopaths. I know of strays that have become adoptable with TLC and are appreciative of a forever home.
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Susan C. Beurket says:
December 20, 2021 at 12:16 pm
Yes!
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Janine says:
December 20, 2021 at 7:58 am
They are absolutely not psychopaths. They just have their own special personalities.
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Diane Austin says:
December 20, 2021 at 4:50 am
Thank you for this, Ingrid!
I love felines, always have, and don’t believe for one second that they are psychopaths!
Di – Ontario, Canada
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