Want to test if your cat is a psychopath in a new survey?

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Cats are strange and curious creatures.

Have you ever wondered if your feline friend is a psychopath? Especially when their pupils dilate, leaving their eyes almost entirely black as they prepare to pounce?

Well, researchers have created a new survey to determine exactly that at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. It can be taken here.

“It’s likely that all cats have an element of psychopathy,” Rebecca Evans, one of the researchers, told McClatchy News in a statement.

Some cats might score higher than others on the survey’s psychopathy scale, according to Evans.

“We believe that, like any other personality trait, psychopathy is on a continuum,” she noted.

The questionnaire emerged from the new to study published in the December issue of the Journal of Research in Personality.

They used the Triarchic model of psychopathy, which measures psychopathic tendencies in humans by examining characteristics of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition.

Researchers surveyed 549 cat owners in a questionnaire to determine if their cat exhibited these behaviors and, if so, to provide examples, according to the study.

Some questions included: “My cat hides and jumps on people/animals (e.g. behind corners, doors, countertops)” or “My cat torments its prey rather than killing it right away” and ” My cat exhibits mood swings (e.g. purrs when petted but suddenly bites).

Based on the results, the researchers found that all three triarchic factors of psychopathy were relevant to cat personality.

However, they identified two additional factors: unkindness to pets and unkindness to humans.

For this reason, the researchers created a new “CAT-Tri+” questionnaire to “test owners’ perceptions of the cat-owner relationship with respect to cat psychopathy,” the study states.

This survey “could be used by owners to highlight unwanted behaviors affecting the cat-owner relationship,” according to Evans.

The research found that “meaner, bolder cat owners reported a lower quality owner-cat relationship,” she noted.

“Not all psychopathy factors negatively affect the cat-owner relationship. Owners with more uninhibited and pet-unfriendly cats reported a higher quality cat-owner relationship.

The CAT-Tri+ questionnaire can inform cat owners and even shelter workers about behavioral interventions, according to Evans.

“For example, a cat that scores high on the ‘boldness’ scale may benefit from tall cat trees and tall scratching posts, as CAT-Tri+ items suggest that a bold cat enjoys exploring and climbing. “, explained Evans.

Such environmental enrichment could “reduce agonistic behaviors toward people, other pets, and possessions.”

For animal shelters, workers could use the questionnaire to gauge how well a certain cat is suited to a particular household.

“For example, a cat that scores high on the ‘pet-unfriendly’ scale may benefit from being housed in a home where there are no other pets,” Evans said.

Additionally, professionals such as veterinarians and feline behaviorists could use a feline owner’s responses to the questionnaire to develop strategies for managing unwanted behaviors in cats.

Evans described felines as living “in the moment” and said they “only respond to positive or negative reinforcement that occurs almost immediately after the behavior”.

When asked what inspired Evans and her colleagues to conduct their research, she replied that there were many sources given that they were all “crazy cat ladies”.

“Some of us study non-human animals (primates, rodents), and some of us study psychopathy in humans…so we decided to join forces and see if psychopathy is something that also concerns our feline friends,” she said.

The varied personalities of the researchers’ own cats also inspired their work.

Evans said her cat, named Gumball, scored high on the disinhibition scale – “meaning he can be quite vocal, close-seeking and excitable!”

“Personally, I’m also interested in how owners’ perceptions of psychopathy in their cat can affect the cat-owner relationship,” she added.

The elements of psychopathy were important adaptive qualities for cat ancestors to hunt for food, mark territory and seek mates, according to Evans.

Evans and colleagues are conducting a new survey that includes the CAT-Tri+ questionnaire as well as additional variables of interest to researchers that can be taken here.

On the new researchers’ Twitter page, people can keep up to date with future cat research they might be involved in.