New Cat Study Provides Quiz to Measure Cat Psychopathy In Hopes Of Decreasing Abandonment

Scientists have developed an online quiz to measure cat psychopathy. That’s right, you can find out just how much a psychopath your cat actually is!

Ultimately, the goal of this quiz is for feline parents to identify and adjust less-than-favorable traits in order to decrease abandonment.

According to CNET, researchers out of the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University developed the quiz. Their full study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, measures 46 feline behaviors across 549 case studies.

Cat Psychopathy Is Inherited & Helpful

Rebecca Evans, the lead researcher of the study, told Metro that “all cats have an element of psychopathy.” Within feline ancestry, these traits were “helpful” for survival. Acquiring “food, territory, and mating opportunities” depended upon these behaviors.

In humans, psychopathy is measured by examining levels of boldness, meanness, and inhibition. For this study, researchers examined similar traits as exhibited by felines.

Are they oblivious to danger? Do they torment their prey, instead of just killing it? Are they aggressive toward other cats in their perceived territory? Do they intimidate other animals out of their preferred areas in their living space?

What To Do With Quiz Results

(Picture Credit: AaronAmat/Getty Images)

Basically, the quiz, which you can find here, asks feline companions a series of 46 questions about their cats’ behaviors. All of the questions aim at measuring the aforementioned traits.

Then, the quiz offers some solutions if your cat ends up with high levels in one or more of the traits that shape cat psychopathy.

For instance, if a cat’s level of boldness is very high, the quiz suggests providing a cat tower of significant height. Little adjustments could make all the difference in creating an environment for your feline that contributes positively to their happiness.

We need adjustments in our environments to be happy as humans, so why wouldn’t a feline?

For some, though, the quiz will just serve to let you know that your feline is normal — and that, perhaps, you need an adjustment more than your cat.

Do you think your cat would score high on the quiz for feline psychopathy? Do you think the quiz might help cat parents adjust some behavioral issues? Let us know in the comments below.