Some people simply like cats. Others seem almost magnetically drawn to them. They notice the cat hiding underneath the table at a party, happily spend 20 minutes earning the trust of an animal that initially ignores them and somehow understand that a slow blink or quiet appearance beside them can be a form of affection. Popular culture often reduces these people to the stereotype of the introverted “cat person,” but psychology paints a much more complicated picture. Research into Big Five personality traits, human-animal attachment, social support, empathy and human-cat interaction suggests that loving cats can involve both characteristics of the person and qualities of the relationship cats offer. Importantly, none of these factors can tell us someone's personality simply because they love cats.
