“A Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus) Model of Triarchic Psychopathy Factors: Development and Initial Validation of the CAT-Tri+ Questionnaire”, 2021-12 (; similar):
We operationalised the triarchic model of psychopathy (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition) in domestic cats using a cat triarchic (CAT-Tri) questionnaire.
In study 1 (n = 549), we identified candidate items for CAT-Tri scales using thematically analysed cat owner questionnaire responses. In study 2 (n = 1,463), owners completed a questionnaire battery; the preliminary CAT-Tri questionnaire, Feline Five, and Cat-Owner Relationship Subscales. In study 3 (n = 30), associations between feline daily activity and Cat-Tri scales were investigated.
A 5-factor cat triarchic plus (CAT-Tri+) solution emerged: Boldness, Disinhibition, Meanness, Pet-Unfriendliness, and Human-Unfriendliness. Disinhibition and pet-unfriendliness predicted a higher quality cat-owner relationship; meanness and boldness predicted a lower quality relationship.
Results: provide insight into the structure of triarchic psychopathy in cats.
…Previous research has reported that owner-rated cat personality consists of 3 ( et al 2014, et al 2019), 4 ( et al 2016), 5 (The Feline Five; et al 2017) or 6 ( et al 2017a, et al 2017b, 2019, 2017) factors. Although there is a lack of consensus over the factor structure of domestic cat personality, a review by 2013 suggested that sociability, curiosity (both facets of feline extraversion), and dominance have the highest validity across studies. et al 2017 conducted the most comprehensive (n = 2,802) study of owner-rated cat personality (52 traits) to date, which informed the Feline Five conceptualization: agreeableness, dominance, extraversion, impulsiveness and neuroticism. Nevertheless, it is possible that existing measures of cat personality do not capture all potential personality factors, especially those that are related to aggression (2004), or other behaviors viewed as undesirable by owners ( et al 2015). Within an evolutionary framework, behaviors associated with survival in threatening contexts (eg. climbing, attacking, hissing) may have been genetically selected for in the ancestors of today’s domestic cat. These behaviors may be conceptually related to psychopathy, and may still form part of the typical cat personality structure (2010).