Temperament in Domestic Cats: A Review of Proximate Mechanisms, Methods of Assessment, Its Effects on Human—Cat Relationships, and One Welfare

Abstract

Temperament can be defined as interindividual differences in behavior that are stable over time and in different contexts. The terms ‘personality’, ‘coping styles’, and ‘behavioral syndromes’ have also been used to describe these interindividual differences. In this review, the main aspects of cat temperament research are summarized and discussed, based on 43 original research papers published between 1986 and 2020. We aimed to present current advances in cat temperament research and identify potential gaps in knowledge, as well as opportunities for future research. Proximate mechanisms, such as genetic bases of temperament, ontogenesis and developmental factors, physiological mechanisms, and relationships with morphology, were reviewed. Methods traditionally used to assess the temperament of cats might be classified based on the duration of procedures (short- vs. long-term measures) and the nature of data recordings (coding vs. rating methods). The structure of cat temperament is frequently described using a set of behavioral dimensions, primarily based on interindividual variations in cats’ responses toward humans and conspecifics (e.g., friendliness, sociability, boldness, and aggressiveness). Finally, cats’ temperaments have implications for human–animal interactions and the one welfare concept. Temperament assessment can also contribute to practical aspects, for example, the adoption of shelter cats.

Reliability and Validity of Seven Feline Behavior and Personality Traits

“…Previous feline personality studies have found one to six main personality dimensions [2], which often somewhat differ between studies. In an extensive review about feline personality, Travnik and colleagues [2] named some of the dimensions as friendliness, aggressiveness, boldness, openness, activity, impulsiveness and dominance. Previous studies have labeled these traits variably.…”

“…Personality can be defined as interindividual differences in behavior which are stable over time and in distinct contexts [1]. Personality is influenced by genetics, the environment and their interactions [2]. Personality differences between individuals have been found in several species, including domestic cats [3].…”

“…In cats, stable individual differences emerge before weaning [4]. Importantly, knowing the personality type of a cat can be used to enhance its welfare [5,6]: for example, fearful cats may benefit from additional hiding places [2]. In addition, owners are more satisfied with their pets if their pet's personality matches their own [7].…”

“…In some studies, veterinarians ranked cat breeds based on their professional experiences of seeing, handling and treating cats of different breeds in the clinic [10,11]. Other researchers have used ratings or behavioral observations of cats' caretakers in shelters or in laboratory colonies [12,13] or behavioral tests [2]. Finally, many studies have utilized owner-completed questionnaires.…”

“…These previous studies utilized questionnaires, which are a practical and fast method to collect behavior data [4]. Questionnaire answers agree with behavioral observations [20], but still, they are more subjective than direct observations [2], making the validation of questionnaires undeniably important [21]. Internal consistency is the most studied measure in feline survey studies (e.g., [15,18,19,22,23]).…”