What is my cat’s personality?
Researchers in Australia and New Zealand asked the owners of 2,802 cats to rate them on 52 personality words, then grouped the words that tend to go together. Five clusters came out, now called the Feline Five: neuroticism (wary, anxious), extraversion (curious, active, clever), dominance (bossy with other cats), impulsiveness (sudden, erratic) and agreeableness (affectionate, gentle with people). Every cat has all five; its personality is the mix.
This cat personality test turns the five into ten everyday moments: the doorbell, a new cardboard box, you sitting on the sofa, midnight, another animal at the food bowl, a pan crashing to the floor, a toy on a string, a visitor’s hand, a mug on the edge of the table and another pet in its favourite spot. Two moments per trait, three answers each. Your cat gets a score from 0 to 100 on all five, and a type named after the one that leads: the Secret Agent, the Inventor, the Landlord, the Wild Card, the Lap Diplomat, or the All-Rounder when none stands out.
It is a way of talking about your cat, not a diagnosis. The study’s authors suggest the profile can help with care: hiding places for a wary cat, puzzles for a curious one, separate bowls in a house where one cat bullies another. A sudden change in personality, such as hiding more or no longer playing, can be a sign of pain or illness and is a question for a vet.
What the test asks
Ten moments from an ordinary week in a cat’s life.
The moments
- The doorbell rings: greet, watch, or vanish
- A new cardboard box, and how soon your cat is inside it
- You sit on the sofa, and how close your cat comes
- Midnight: sleep, a patrol or a sprint up the stairs
- Another animal at its food bowl, and a rival in its favourite spot
- A pan crashing to the floor, and how long it takes to recover
- A toy on a string, a visitor’s hand and a mug at the table’s edge
Your result
- Your cat’s type, named after its leading trait
- All five Feline Five scores from 0 to 100, as bars
- What each trait means for looking after your cat
- A share card with your cat’s type and all five bars
Before you start
- About two minutes; tap an answer, it moves on by itself, and Back undoes a slip
- Works on a phone or a computer with 3D graphics (WebGL) switched on
- Nothing you answer is stored or sent anywhere
Cat personality: common questions
Is this test free? Do I need to sign up to see my result?
Yes, it’s free, and there’s nothing to sign up for: no account, no email, no payment. Your result appears on this page the moment you finish, and you can share it or play again straight away.
Are my answers saved or sent anywhere?
No. Your answers and your result stay in your browser: nothing you pick or type is sent to us. The live site counts anonymous visits (that a test was opened, how far people got, whether they finished) without any of the answers. Your latest result is kept in this browser so you can find it again, and a challenge link carries only the name of your result. If you add a photo of your cat to the share card, it is drawn on your device and never uploaded.
How long does it take, and can I play on my phone?
About 2 minutes. It works on a phone, tablet or computer in any up-to-date browser, as long as 3D graphics (WebGL) are switched on, which they are almost everywhere. Sound effects are optional: the switch is in the top corner.
What does the cat personality test tell me?
The cat personality test gives your cat a type and a 0–100 score on each of the Feline Five: neuroticism, extraversion, dominance, impulsiveness and agreeableness. The type is The Secret Agent, The Inventor, The Landlord, The Wild Card, The Lap Diplomat or The All-Rounder. The result sheet adds what a high or low trait means for looking after your cat, and lists your answer to every moment. The share card shows the type and all five scores, with your cat’s photo if you add one, and a challenge link lets a friend compare cats.
How is my cat’s type worked out, and how accurate is it?
You pick what your cat does in ten everyday moments, two for each trait; each answer scores 0, 1 or 2, so every trait lands between 0 and 100. The type is named after the strongest trait if it reaches 75; if none does, your cat is The All-Rounder. The traits come from Litchfield and colleagues’ 2017 study, in which owners of 2,802 cats in South Australia and New Zealand rated them on 52 personality words. The ten moments are our wording, not the researchers’ validated scale, and both are owners’ opinions rather than measurements.
What are the five cat personality traits?
The Feline Five are five traits, not five boxes: neuroticism, extraversion, dominance, impulsiveness and agreeableness, and every cat has some of each. They mirror the Big Five used for people with two differences: cats get dominance, about how they treat other cats, and impulsiveness takes the place of conscientiousness. The five come from a 2017 study of 2,802 pet cats.
Can a cat’s personality change?
A cat’s behaviour can change, and a sudden change deserves a vet visit before it gets called personality. A cat that suddenly hides more, stops playing or turns grumpy may be in pain or unwell. The test describes your cat as it is now; if the result looks very different from the cat you knew last year, ask a vet first.
Where it comes from
The five traits and the care notes follow the published study. The ten moments are our own wording, two per trait; they are not the researchers’ validated scale.
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