Your cat wants to kill You: debunking a popular myth

Recently in the Internet appeared the shocking headlines. Discussed in these publications, is that Your pet cat or pet of the entire family of fat-cat actually want to kill You. The following articles talk about the fact that cats just hide their intentions, but a new study has proved the existence of animal evil thoughts. But it's all pure imagination of journalists, trying their best to raise the ratings of their publishers. Although, of course, some truth in their stories is still there.





The truth is that really Marieke Gartner from the University of Edinburgh led a team of scientists who decided to study the characteristics of the personalities of the cats. First, scientists studied the behavior, habits and reactions 100 cats from local shelters. In the second phase, the researchers went to the most famous zoos and wildlife parks, where he observed the behavior of big cats in different conditions. After these two stages, scientists still almost a year analyzed the data.





As it turned out, cats have a lot in common with the person. It concerns the existence of such personality traits in animals as emotional instability (neuroticism), conscientiousness, extraversion, friendliness and openness to experience. But domestic cats, like their wild relatives, mainly more pronounced only three – impulsivity, dominance, and neuroticism. Most interesting is that exactly the same "set" have the African kings of beasts – lions. This fact became the cause of speculation that Pets are hatching evil plans.





Some scientists even picked up the wave. For example, Max Wachtel, a doctor of psychology, expressed the view that cats are still little predators, so they can be expected anything.

To this statement Marieke Gartner said that domestic cats do not have intentions to kill their masters. In this case neuroticism in animals was associated with what was happening in their lives. So, at the stage of studying domestic cats, the animals were followed up in shelters where they fall for different reasons. Of course, the cats were stress related not only to stay on the street and habitat change (once home), but with the advent of the people in their lives (this includes those that were born homeless).





In wild cats of neuroticism is associated with many factors: in the zoo is the lack of space and visitors, which irritate animals; and in special parks of the wild nature — a different danger, which animals are constantly on the alert, the care of posterity, and even urgent problem of food (in such parks, of animals, of course, fed, but hunting instincts take their toll, and the big cats even hunt for small rodents).





In fact, it is difficult to draw conclusions about the identity and intentions of the cats, because they been much less studied than other animals, like dogs, for example.

Of course, cats and dogs the most popular Pets in the world. That is why they are always compared.

But at a time when more than a thousand years ago dogs were domesticated and bred to meet our needs, cats were still wild. For this reason, they are still genetically similar to their wild ancestors. And cats came to the man of the Mercantile reasons – too good a habitat.





"Cats, like people, have different personalities, — said Marieke Gartner. Some of them are affectionate and love their owners, and some more independent. But do not assume that cats are selfish. Because these animals are in the majority single, and therefore in relationships with people they can choose the same line of conduct." published

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Source: mif-facts.com.ua

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