A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat

Relationship and Owner’s Self-Perception

Ming-Qing Dong, Kuo-Liang Huang*

Department of Industrial Design, Design Academy, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing,
400000, China
*Corresponding author. Email: shashi@scfai.edu.cn

Abstract. The prevalence of loneliness and social anxiety in modern society is

increasing. This has led to growing attention being paid to the human-pet rela-
tionship as a means to alleviate psychological issues. This study aims to explore
the factors influencing owners' perceived human-cat relationships and provide
recommendations for improving the quality of life for both pet owners and their
cats. We adapted the CAT-Tri+ questionnaire and made various improvements
for assessing domestic cats’ personalities and the human-cat relationship, tailored
for the Chinese cat owner population. Through data validation, the questionnaire
was found to objectively measure the human-pet relationship, providing a basis
for enhancing the quality of life for both parties involved. We conducted a survey
and correlation analysis based on this questionnaire, four significant factors that
influence cat owners' subjective perception of the human-cat relationship were
identified: "owner's gender", "cat's sex", "cat's age", and "time spent together".
Based on the results, we briefly summarized their implications, providing refer-
ence indicators for optimizing the human-cat lifestyle for cat owners and offering
suggestions for researchers studying the human-cat relationship.

Keywords: Human-Animal Relationship, Human-Cat Relationship, Domestic

Cat, Well-Being.

1 Introduction

1.1 Background
Due to the fast pace of modern life, many individuals living alone experience varying
degrees of loneliness or social anxiety [1]. Owning a pet is one way of alleviating the
growing psychological issues in modern society. However, due to work and other life
commitments, the time spent together between humans and pets is limited, leaving the
pets to spend a significant amount of time alone at home. This can lead to psychological
stress for the pets and, in severe cases, result in symptoms such as depression and sep-
aration anxiety [2].
While pets can serve as a source of relief for human loneliness, their own mental
well-being also requires attention. From the perspective of cats, their inability to clearly
communicate their needs or desires in a timely manner can lead to abnormal behavior.
© The Author(s) 2023
Y. Chen et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 2023 2nd International Conference on Public Culture and Social Services
(PCSS 2023) , Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research 787,
https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-130-2_11
78 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

This subsequently affect the harmony and interaction patterns between humans and
cats, resulting in negative impacts for both parties involved. In today's society where
pet ownership is widespread, the psychological well-being of pets and the coexistence
between humans and pets have gradually become topics of societal concern.

1.2 Physical and psychological characteristics of domestic cats

Most pets lack the ability to clearly express their needs and emotions, which makes it
difficult for owners to perceive any abnormalities in their pets or understand their needs
[3]. This communication barrier is particularly pronounced among cat owners. One rea-
son for this is that cats are far less domesticated than dogs and still retain characteristics
like their wild counterparts (e.g., hunting and feeding) [4]. Additionally, cats do not
have many social needs, as they can fulfill their survival requirements, including food
sources, without relying on humans [5]. Furthermore, there are still many gaps in the
study of cat psychology and behavior, making certain behaviors and habits of cats in-
comprehensible to us. These factors contribute to a more complex relationship between
humans and cats compared to humans and dogs, thus more challenging to meet the
emotional needs of cats.
The lifestyle of most domestic cats is to live indoors, which leads to more alone time
and a greater need of attention to their psychological well-being. Cats primarily rely on
vision to perceive their environment, and moving objects can greatly stimulate their
curiosity [2, 6]. Due to restrictions on cats' habits, age, and living environments, there
is a significant occurrence of overweight and obesity among cats [7]. This, in turn, leads
to increased health problems, abnormal behavior, and a decrease in their willingness to
interact with their owners.
In conclusion, daily activities, diet, living conditions, and interaction between hu-
mans and pets have varying degrees of impact on the physiological and psychological
well-being of domestic cats. These challenges further contribute to the perception of
cats' behavior as "unpredictable", making it difficult to accurately assess the human-cat
relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the human-cat rela-
tionship and assist cat owners in establishing a positive relationship that benefits them
and their cats.

1.3 Impact of social development on human-animal relationship and

well-being
The human-animal relationship refers to the bond that develops between a pet owner
and their pet through symbiosis, which exists independently of human social interac-
tions [8]. Previous research on the human-animal relationship and human-animal inter-
action has mainly focused on three aspects: (1) animal-assisted intervention; (2) the
effects of pet ownership on human health; and (3) the benefits of human-animal inter-
action for the well-being and welfare of pets.
The intimacy between humans and pets in social development can bring physiolog-
ical and psychological benefits to individuals. As a result, animal-assisted interventions
were developed. Medical research has shown that the interaction between humans and
 A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat Relationship 79

pets helps reduce the risk of diseases caused by psychological factors. Moreover, the
presence of pets can alleviate negative emotions such as fear, despair, and loneliness
for many patients [9]. For example, by simply engaging in prolonged eye contact with
one's pet dog, the concentration of oxytocin in both the owner and the dog increases
[10], which has potential positive effects such as regulating stress, coping with anxiety,
and enhancing psychological resilience on individuals [11]. Owning a cat also has sim-
ilar effects. Experimental studies have shown that the presence of cats significantly
lowers the heart rate and blood pressure of their owners, and this effect is positively
correlated with the degree of attachment the owner has to the cat [12].
Pet ownership proved beneficial to both youth and older adults. For adolescents, pet
ownership is associated with the development of a sense of responsibility, empathy,
and prosocial behavior [13]. For older adults, owning a dog increases their willingness
and opportunity to engage in outdoor walking activities [14], thus helping to maintain
their overall physical functioning. Additionally, the sense of responsibility leads to a
greater investment in caring for their pets, which derive emotional value from the com-
panionship and interaction. This could serve as a supplement to their social support
[15]. These reasons make pet ownership a supportive factor for both youth and older
adults in maintaining well-being.
Human-animal relationships not only benefit humans but also pets, for the oxytocin
concentration effect also applies. Being in a familiar environment and establishing a
good relationship with humans, physical contact such as stroking and brushing can gen-
erally increase the secretion of oxytocin in pets. This may result in pets displaying more
positive behaviors [16]. A good human-animal relationship allows pets to live in a more
relaxed and secure manner, enhances their ability to cope with anxiety, and helps reduce
their risk of illness and injury. As a result, the costs associated with caring for them are
indirectly alleviated.
In summary, a good human-animal relationship is mutually beneficial. However, a
few questions arise. How can pet owners accurately perceive the nature of their rela-
tionship with their pets? How can we establish a good relationship with pets that is
beneficial for both? To answer these questions, research focusing on personality and
behaviors of cats is needed.

1.4 Domestic cat personality and behavior assessment

Due to the current inability to objectively measure the relationship between cat behav-
ior and personality traits, there is a lack of assessments to obtain human-cat relation-
ship. Currently, the assessment of cat personality is primarily achieved through owner
ratings [17, 18, 19, 20]. These studies typically involve asking owners questions related
to their cat's daily activities and using Likert scales to quantify the cat's tendencies in
different behavior categories. By analyzing the data, connections between the observed
behaviors and personality traits have been established.
Several scales have been developed to assess domestic cat personalities. However,
some questions left untouched. The most prominent one is the lack of consensus in the
factor structure and naming convention of personality traits. Gartner et al. suggest that
friendliness, dominance, and curiosity are the most valid personality factors for cats
80 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

[21]. The Feline Five suggests five factors: neuroticism, extraversion, dominance, im-
pulsiveness, and agreeableness [17]. In the Domestic Cat Personality Inventory (DCPI-
e1), six factors were extracted, namely playfulness, nervousness, amiability, domi-
nance, demandingness, and gullibility [18]. CAT-Tri+ has extracted boldness, disinhi-
bition, meanness, pet-unfriendliness, and human-unfriendliness as the main factors
[19]. Lastly, in the cat-owner relationship scale (CORS), three factors related to human-
cat relationships were discovered: human-cat interaction, perceived emotional close-
ness, and perceived costs [20]. The inconsistency in the number of factors arises not
only from the different focuses of researchers but also from the complexity of factors
involved in cat personalities, resulting in multifaceted interpretations of each factor
across different scales (e.g., "extraversion" on the Feline Five scale encompasses not
only the level of activity but also traits like boldness and curiosity). The diverse naming
of factors is influenced by the usage of synonyms in animal personality research [21,
22] (e.g., agreeableness and sociability, both referring to the friendliness of pets). The
complexity of factors involved leads to variations in encoding methods taken by re-
searchers, resulting in interrelated and somewhat distinct factor divisions.
Therefore, when conducting research on human-cat relationships, the scale used
should meet the following criteria: (1) The dimensions should cover typical personality
traits in cat personalities that are meaningful to owners, and the naming of these dimen-
sions should be clear and easy to understand; (2) the results generated by the scale
should be associated with the owner-perceived human-cat relationship to further inves-
tigate the link between cat personality and the human-cat relationship. Among the men-
tioned scales, the first four factors of CAT-Tri+, boldness, inhibition, meanness, and
pet-unfriendliness, are highly correlated with owners' perceptions of cat personality and
behavior. The last factor, human-unfriendliness, is negatively correlated with owners'
self-rated human-cat relationships. The items on this scale can comprehensively cover
scenarios of in-home environment. After completing and scoring the scale, human-cat
relationship is revealed to some extent. For the purpose of this study, CAT-Tri+ can
meet the basic requirements for exploring cat personality and the human-cat relation-
ship, making it a suitable starting point for this research.

2 Methods and materials

This study is based on the theoretical foundation of the CAT-Tri+ scale. We focus on
the understanding and perception of the daily behaviors of their pets among cat owners
to explore the correlation between factors related to humans and cats and the relation-
ship perceived by the owners.

2.1 Questionnaire development

Before designing the survey questionnaire, we conducted a scoping review to gather
relevant literatures as the fundamental framework for questionnaire development. The
initial draft of the questionnaire was based on the CAT-Tri+ scale. We translated all
items in the questionnaire and added detailed operational definitions to the items based
 A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat Relationship 81

on the Chinese residential context. We also optimized the presentation format of some
items for online questionnaire administration. Subsequently, we sought suggestions
from scholars and experts regarding the content items of the questionnaire and revised
them to enhance face validity and content validity. Finally, based on this initial ques-
tionnaire, we invited seven participants for a pilot test to evaluate the clarity and coher-
ence of the items’ statements. In addition, we asked the participants to provide feedback
on the items and any difficulties (if presented) encountered during the response process.
After revising and optimizing the questionnaire, it was reviewed again by scholars and
experts to form the questionnaire used in this study.
The final questionnaire consists of five dimensions, namely boldness, disinhibition,
meanness, pet-unfriendliness, and human-unfriendliness, for a total of 46 items. A 5-
point Likert scale was used for these items. Additionally, the questionnaire includes a
basic demographic survey of both the pet and the owner, including gender, age, time
spent together, and self-rated human-cat relationship, comprising a total of 8 items.
Refer to Table 1 for details of the questionnaire items.

2.2 Subjects basic profile

Chinese cat owners were our main subjects of interest. Therefore, our inclusion criteria
for survey recruitment are individuals who own at least one cat as their pet, while ex-
clusion criteria are individuals who do not have any pets or own only dogs or other
types of non-cat pets. A total of 406 valid responses were collected (152 males, 254
females) after screening and excluding invalid questionnaires with short response times
(less than 1 minute) and repeated responses. The distribution of cat sex was 198 males
and 208 females. The distribution of cat breeds was: Chinese Lihua (n = 45), Chinese
Sanhua (n = 76), Shizi (n = 64), Jianshou (n = 35), British Shorthair (n = 59), American
Shorthair (n = 37), Ragdoll (n = 48), Siamese (n = 25), and others (n = 17). Informed
consent was provided to all participants, and the data was anonymized before analysis.

2.3 Data analysis

We analyzed the data collected through SPSSAU data tools (source:
https://spssau.com) [23]. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were exam-
ined using Cronbach's α and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). One-way ANOVA and
chi-square tests were conducted to explore the factors influencing perceived human-cat
relationship.

3 Results

3.1 Questionnaire and data validation

First, we conducted Cronbach’s α test and exploratory factor analysis. See Table 1 and
Table 2.
82 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

Table 1. Results of Cronbach’s alpha test.

Cronbach’s
Cronbach’s
Items CITC α if item de-
α
leted
1-1. My cat likes to explore unfamiliar places 0.679 0.890
1-2. My cat likes to explore dangerous places 0.653 0.891
1-3. My cat fails to perceive danger 0.561 0.896
1-4. My cat likes to sit on high places 0.566 0.896
1-5. My cat likes to climb 0.595 0.894
1-6. My cat is comfortable outdoors 0.613 0.894
1-7. My cat ventures far from home 0.610 0.894 0.901
1-8. My cat is very territorial, it chases un-
0.623 0.893
known cat out if show up
1-9. My cat preys on smaller animals 0.636 0.892
1-10. My cat tortures its prey before killing
0.632 0.893
them
1-11. Among other cats, my cat is dominent 0.645 0.892
1-12. My cat is hostile towards cats in the
0.641 0.892
neiborhood
2-1. My cat turns into "hype mode" from
0.700 0.880
time to time
2.2. My cat is energetic all the time 0.641 0.884
2-3. My cat is friendly / has an affinity to hu-
0.614 0.886
man
2-4. My cat needs company 0.633 0.885
2-5. My cat needs constant stimulation 0.608 0.886
2-6. My cat meows loudly 0.562 0.889 0.895
2-7. My cat sits on (or steps on) things I’m
0.608 0.886
using purposely
2-8. My cat is afraid of being alone 0.579 0.888
2-9. My cat pesters people when it needs
0.679 0.882
something
2-10. My cat is easily distracted 0.574 0.888
2-11. My cat is very curious 0.634 0.885
3-1. My cat is disobedient 0.695 0.876
3-2. My cat never learns lessons 0.623 0.882
3-3. My cat is not afraid of punishments 0.623 0.882
3-4. My cat likes to wreak havoc 0.717 0.874
3-5. My cat steals food and water from peo- 0.892
0.637 0.881
ple or other pets
3-6. My cat likes to ambush and scare people
0.653 0.879
or other pets
3-7. My cat disturbs people or other pets
0.644 0.880
when they are resting
 A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat Relationship 83

3-8. When my cat plays with people, they

quickly move for real (e.g., bites people 0.617 0.882
suddenly)
3-9. My cat doesn't look vain at all after do-
0.627 0.881
ing something bad
4-2. As opposed to the other pets and people
in the house, my cat has control over 0.976 0.609
common areas
4-3. My cat occupies positions other cats like 0.513 0.733
4-4. My cat is dominant among other cats in
0.514 0.733
my house
4-5. My cat is hostile towards other cats in 0.767
0.518 0.732
my house
4-6. My cat is dominant among other non-cat
0.303 0.772
pets in my house
4-7. My cat occupies positions other pets (in-
0.296 0.773
clude non-cat pets) like
4-8. My cat is hostile towards other pets (in-
0.299 0.772
cludes non-cat pets) in my house
5-1. Between me and my cat, my cat is domi-
0.611 0.843
nant
5-2. My cat does not like to be touched or get
0.653 0.836
close
5-3. My cat seems to have a changeable tem-
0.718 0.824
perament 0.860
5-4. My cat is hostile towards children / I fear
0.661 0.834
that my cat will do harm to children
5-5. My cat behaves aggressively towards
0.661 0.834
strangers
5-6. My cat purrs while attacking people 0.600 0.846
Source: authors.
Through Cronbach's α reliability test in Table 1, dimension 1 (α = 0.901), dimension
2 (α = 0.895), dimension 3 (α = 0.892), and dimension 5 (α = 0.860), the α coefficients
for four dimensions exceeded 0.8, indicating high reliability for these dimensions. The
α coefficient for Dimension 4 was 0.767, which falls between 0.7 and 0.8, indicating
good overall reliability.
The expected number of factors in this study was 5, namely boldness, disinhibition,
meanness, pet-unfriendliness, and human-unfriendliness.

Table 2. Factor loading and communality.

Factor loading
commu-
Items Factor Factor Factor Factor Factor Factor nality
1 2 3 4 5 6
1-1 0.757 0.017 -0.002 -0.096 0.041 -0.010 0.585
1-2 0.701 0.127 0.113 -0.015 0.015 -0.085 0.527
1-3 0.614 0.057 0.100 0.093 0.134 0.049 0.419
84 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

1-4 0.661 0.083 -0.071 -0.186 -0.105 -0.096 0.504

1-5 0.674 0.160 -0.101 -0.166 -0.103 -0.064 0.533
1-6 0.691 0.008 0.018 0.008 -0.050 -0.050 0.483
1-7 0.657 0.065 0.118 0.207 -0.001 0.076 0.498
1-8 0.670 0.132 0.128 0.070 -0.015 0.020 0.488
1-9 0.685 0.090 0.151 0.088 -0.001 0.068 0.513
1-10 0.696 0.090 0.079 0.065 -0.006 0.062 0.507
1-11 0.703 0.119 0.031 0.011 0.133 -0.056 0.530
1-12 0.684 0.123 0.127 0.186 0.009 0.048 0.536
2-1 0.046 0.124 0.572 -0.485 0.036 -0.006 0.581
2-2 0.192 0.196 0.464 -0.473 -0.013 0.020 0.515
2-3 0.059 -0.007 0.522 -0.451 0.054 -0.007 0.482
2-4 0.053 0.134 0.564 -0.375 -0.027 -0.028 0.481
2-5 0.153 0.124 0.663 -0.181 0.078 0.011 0.518
2-6 0.058 0.124 0.680 -0.111 0.009 -0.057 0.496
2-7 0.122 0.106 0.694 -0.129 -0.047 -0.093 0.536
2-8 0.041 0.066 0.694 -0.121 -0.024 0.045 0.505
2-9 0.055 0.126 0.655 -0.298 0.011 -0.030 0.538
2-10 0.041 0.018 0.688 -0.151 0.067 -0.026 0.504
2-11 0.155 0.197 0.491 -0.441 -0.047 0.010 0.501
3-1 0.044 0.784 0.043 -0.053 -0.002 -0.064 0.625
3-2 0.031 0.717 0.054 -0.045 0.002 0.011 0.520
3-3 0.037 0.731 0.011 -0.181 0.026 -0.004 0.570
3-4 0.126 0.776 0.099 0.060 0.019 -0.080 0.639
3-5 0.101 0.727 0.022 0.003 0.021 0.094 0.549
3-6 0.170 0.705 0.110 0.004 0.068 0.006 0.543
3-7 0.098 0.676 0.204 0.193 0.063 -0.057 0.553
3-8 0.194 0.637 0.225 0.147 0.022 0.020 0.517
3-9 0.181 0.674 0.095 0.087 -0.016 -0.006 0.505
4-2 -0.013 0.022 -0.014 0.065 0.808 0.561 0.973
4-3 0.014 0.068 0.043 -0.004 0.965 -0.190 0.974
4-4 0.018 0.051 0.014 -0.013 0.967 -0.192 0.975
4-5 0.028 0.052 0.024 0.026 0.966 -0.192 0.975
4-6 -0.006 -0.014 -0.044 0.114 -0.125 0.974 0.979
4-7 -0.015 -0.014 -0.075 0.118 -0.129 0.968 0.973
4-8 -0.008 -0.036 -0.034 0.093 -0.126 0.974 0.976
5-1 0.030 0.030 -0.202 0.667 0.033 0.058 0.492
5-2 0.081 0.036 -0.387 0.622 0.026 0.142 0.565
 A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat Relationship 85

5-3 0.076 0.028 -0.241 0.728 -0.014 0.046 0.597

5-4 0.085 0.073 -0.209 0.700 0.029 0.104 0.558
5-5 0.058 0.086 -0.170 0.746 0.014 -0.012 0.596
5-6 0.116 0.077 -0.235 0.639 -0.025 0.092 0.492
Source: authors.
Based on Table 2, the items under Dimensions 1, 2, 3, and 5 exhibit strong correla-
tions with their respective factors, which aligns with the initial expectations and indi-
cates good construct validity for these four dimensions. However, the items under Di-
mension 2 show not only a high correlation with Factor 3 but also a certain degree of
negative correlation with Factor 4. Factor 4 represents human unfriendliness, which is
negatively associated with the quality of the human-cat relationship. On the other hand,
Factor 3 represents disinhibition in cats, which reflects the inability to resist impulses,
high activity levels, and difficulty controlling emotions. These characteristics may be
perceived by owners as positive traits, such as being affectionate and lively. Hence, this
kind of result is reflected in the data analysis.
The items under Dimension 4 exhibit correlations with both Factor 5 and Factor 6,
indicating that the items intended to belong to one dimension now occupy two factors.
In this study, Dimension 4 represents "pet-unfriendliness" and aims to measure the de-
gree of unfriendliness exhibited by cats towards other pets in the household. The situa-
tion of pet ownership can be categorized into "only one cat," "multiple cats," and "one
cat and other non-cat pets." The original study employed an additional "not applicable"
option on top of the 5-point Likert scale [19]. Conversely, during the pilot testing of the
initial questionnaire, some participants had difficulty understanding the intent of the
"not applicable" option, leading to increased cognitive load during the response pro-
cess. To address this issue, the current study utilized the advantages of online question-
naire and implemented the skip command to redirect respondents based on their pet
ownership situation, thereby increasing the ease of use. Specifically, items 4-3, 4-4, and
4-5, targeting individuals who own multiple cats, exhibit strong correlations with Factor
5. Items 4-6, 4-7, and 4-8, targeting individuals who own both cats and non-cat pets,
exhibit strong associations with Factor 6. Item 4-2, which applies to both groups, shows
high correlations with both factors.

3.2 Extraction of factors related to perceived human-cat relationship

To further investigate the factors influencing the owner-perceived human-cat relation-
ship, one-way ANOVA was conducted with a cut-off value of p< 0.05. See Table 3-6.

Table 3. ANOVA test results (x=owner gender).

Owner gender
Items F p
Male(n=152) Female(n=254)
1-1 3.16±1.23 3.48±1.19 6.82 0.009**
1-4 3.25±1.20 3.50±1.13 4.276 0.039*
86 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

1-7 3.19±1.27 2.93±1.24 4.042 0.045*

2-6 3.55±1.10 3.31±1.16 4.441 0.036*
4-6 3.47±1.41 2.76±1.32 5.131 0.026*
4-8 3.50±1.20 2.74±1.22 7.522 0.008**
Note. **p< .01 *** p< .001. Source: authors.
From Table 3, "owner's gender" has a significant influence on items 1–1, 1-4, 1–7,
2–6, 4-6, and 4–8. Specifically, female owners are more inclined to agree with items
1–1 and 1-4 compared to male owners, while male owners are more inclined to agree
with items 1–7, 2–6, 4-6, and 4–8.

Table 4. ANOVA test results (x=cat sex).

Cat sex
Items F p
Male(n=152) Female(n=254)
1-2 3.35±1.13 3.08±1.29 4.905 0.027*
1-4 3.53±1.10 3.28±1.21 4.586 0.033*
5-1 2.26±1.07 2.63±1.18 10.793 0.001**
5-2 2.18±1.13 2.45±1.12 5.668 0.018*
5-5 2.34±1.15 2.64±1.22 6.292 0.013*
Note. **p< .01 *** p< .001. Source: authors.
From Table 4, "cat's sex" has a significant influence on items 1-2, 1-4, 5-1, 5-2, and
5-5. Overall, regarding the items that inquire about the "boldness" trait of the cat (items
1-2 and 1-4), the owners' perception tends to be positively evaluated. However, for the
three items (5-1, 5-2, and 5-5) that inquire about "human-unfriendliness," the percep-
tion leans towards the negative. Specifically, the owners who have male cats tend to
agree more with items 1-2 and 1-4 compared to the owners who have female cats. Con-
versely, owners of female cats tend to express a more neutral attitude in items 5-1, 5-2,
and 5-5.

Table 5. ANOVA test results (x=cat’s age).

Cat age
Ite
<10 10 weeks- >7 F p
ms
weeks(n=79) 7years(n=285) years(n=42)
3-7 3.23±1.30 2.92±1.23 3.40±1.21 3.984 0.019*
4-6 3.94±1.20 2.90±1.37 2.78±1.48 4.099 0.021*
4-7 4.00±0.79 3.02±1.22 2.78±1.56 5.018 0.009**
5-3 2.76±1.28 2.39±1.13 2.67±1.20 3.689 0.026*
5-4 2.58±1.10 2.28±1.16 2.79±1.22 4.903 0.008**
Note. **p< .01 *** p< .001. Source: authors.
From Table 5, "cat's age" has a significant influence on items 3–7, 4-6, 4–7, 5–3, and
5–4. Owners who have cats aged less than 10 weeks tend to express agreement on items
 A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat Relationship 87

4-6, 4-7, and 5-3. On the other hand, owners of cats aged between 10 weeks and 7 years
tend to give negative opinions on items 3–7 and 5–3 compared to other age groups.

Table 6. ANOVA test results (x=time spent together).

Time spent together

Items F p
Few(n=309) Much(n=97)
1-5 3.59±1.11 3.31±1.18 4.527 0.034*
1-7 3.11±1.24 2.76±1.26 5.825 0.016*
2-7 3.23±1.12 3.54±1.23 5.272 0.022*
4-5 3.20±1.20 2.69±1.41 4.294 0.040*
Note. **p< .01 *** p< .001. Source: authors.
From Table 6, "time spent together" has a significant influence on items 1–5, 1–7,
2–7, and 4-5. Specifically, owners who spend less time interacting with their cats tend
to express agreement in items 1–5, 1–7, and 4-5 and tend to hold a neutral attitude in
items 2–7. On the other hand, individuals who spend more time with their cats are more
likely to express a neutral or positive attitude in items 1–5, 1–7, and 4-5, while holding
agreement in items 2–7.
In addition, we conducted a chi-square test with the independent variable "time spent
together" and the dependent variable "self-rated human-cat relationship". The results
are presented in Table 7.

Table 7. Results of Chi-Squared Test.

Time spent together

Items Select-ion Few Much Sum χ2 p
（n=309） （n=97）
Good 134(44.08%) 55(58.51%) 189(47.49)
Self-rated
human-cat Normal 125(41.12%) 27(28.72%) 152(38.19)
relationship 6.245 0.044*
Bad 45(14.80%) 12(12.77%) 57(14.32)
Sum 304 94 398
Source: authors.
It can be concluded from Table 7 that owners who spend more time with their cats
tend to be more positive in their self-rated relationship, and the proportion of ambiguous
(selecting "normal") or negative feedback is lower as well. This result aligns with the
common understanding that spending more time with pets helps owners develop a bet-
ter understanding of their relationship.

4 Discussion

The human-pet relationship is an important factor that influences the quality of life for
both humans and pets. However, previous research has primarily focused on medical
88 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

studies and pet personality research, with limited research examining the owner-per-
ceived human-pet relationship. This study employed a questionnaire in which cat be-
haviors were measured through owners rating, aiming to investigate the factors that
influence the owner’s perception of human-cat relationship. Through quantitative anal-
ysis of the collected data, four factors related to the human-cat relationship were iden-
tified: "owner's gender", "cat's sex", "cat's age", and "time spent together", along with
their associations with cat behaviors.
(1) "Cat's sex" has a significant influence on various items in the "boldness"
and "pet-unfriendliness" dimensions. The results of our study indicate that owners
of male cats are more likely to perceive their cats as "bold" (items 1-2 and 1-4) and
have a stronger belief that their relationships are positive (items 5-1, 5-2, and 5-5). In
contrast, owners of female cats tend to have more conservative attitudes across all
items. Generally, male cats have a higher activity level than female cats, tend to display
a higher level of friendliness, and are more attached to the family [24]. From these
characteristics, we speculate that the observed differences in the results may be at-
tributed to the behavioral patterns associated with cats’ sex.
(2) "Cat's age" significantly influences the perception of "pet-unfriendliness"
and "human-unfriendliness" dimensions of cat behavior. The development of do-
mestic cats can be roughly divided into three stages: 2–10 weeks as the kitten learning
period; 9–16 weeks when their eating, social, and daily activity behaviors gradually
establish; and after 7 years, their eating habits may change, accompanied by a decrease
in daily activity levels [25, 26]. Based on this pattern and our finding, 10 weeks - 7
years is a stage where cats are relatively stable in terms of their behaviors, which result
in lower scores in the dimensions of boldness and pet-unfriendliness, and thus are more
likely to receive positive evaluations from their owners compared to the other two age
groups. Meanwhile, kittens younger than 10 weeks have behaviors that are not fully
developed and are less familiar with their living environment, owners, and other pets
(if presented). Therefore, their owners are more likely to perceive them as having a
"changeable temperament" (item 5-3) and exhibiting more dominance towards other
pets or people in the household (items 4-6, 4-7).
(3) "Time spent together" has a direct impact on the owner's perception of the
human-cat relationship. Spending more time with the cat clearly increases the fre-
quency of interaction, making it more likely to meet the cat’s daily activity needs. Con-
versely, less interaction results in more alone time indoors for the cat, which reduces
the owner's opportunities to observe the cat's behavior. Item 4-5 ("My cat is hostile
towards other cats in my house") reflects the social behavior between cats and their
conspecifics. Our result indicates that people who have less interaction with their pets
tend to suspect that their cats have hostile feelings towards other cats. However, based
on previous research, the social behavior of cats towards conspecifics is primarily in-
fluenced by their early environment (0–12 weeks) and their experiences with other cats
[27]. The impact of human-pet interaction on the behavior of cats (especially hostile
behavior) is still not well established.
(4) "Owner's gender" has a significant influence on certain items related to the
"boldness" and "pet-unfriendliness" dimensions. However, the specific mecha-
nisms through which the owner's gender affects their perception of the human-cat
 A Study on the Factors Related to Human-cat Relationship 89

relationship are not yet clear, and further research is needed to confirm this finding.
Additionally, "time spent together" has a direct connection to owners' self-rated human-
cat relationships. Owners who spend more time interacting with their cats tend to per-
ceive their relationship as positive. Conversely, less interaction leads to ambiguous re-
sponses. This result aligns with the general understanding of the human-pet relation-
ship.
In summary, the conclusion drawn from this study is that pet owners' subjective per-
ception of the human-cat relationship is influenced by four factors: "owner's gender",
"cat's sex", "cat's age", and "time spent together". We believe that the discovery of these
factors may help cat owners further understand the relationship between cat behavior
and human-cat relationships, which may also serve as a guide for improving their well-
being.

5 Conclusion

This study is based on the CAT-Tri+ questionnaire to investigate the correlation be-
tween the behavior of domestic cats and the human-cat relationship. The identified sig-
nificant factors are: "owner's gender", "cat's sex", "cat's age", and "time spent together"
The underlying implications and meanings of the findings were discussed.
For cat owners, the questionnaire used in this study helps them gain more insights
into the human-cat relationship. In real-life situations, owner-perceived human-cat re-
lationships often come from observations and experiences. Through this questionnaire,
cat owners can learn about their cats' behavior in different contexts, which grants more
detailed interpretations of their cats’ personalities. This enables them to improve the
human-cat relationship more objectively. For example, if their cat receives a high score
in the dimension of "inhibition," it indicates that the cat has a high level of activity and
needs more opportunities for interaction. To foster a harmonious relationship, owners
can spend more time playing with their cats, provide cat supplies or toys, and diversify
activities to meet the cat's needs for exercise.
For future research on the human-cat relationship, factors such as "owner's gender",
"cat's sex", "cat's age," and "time spent together" are important factors that influence
owners' interpretation of cat behavior and perceived human-cat relationship. For cat
owner selection, having sufficient time to interact with their cats should be considered
a criterion to ensure a basic understanding of the pet's daily behavioral habits. For cat
selection, it is recommended to choose cats that are between 10 weeks and 7 years old
to reduce the possible interference.
The quality of the human-cat relationship is not only influenced by the factors men-
tioned in this study but also related to many other factors such as cat breed, diseases,
neuter status, etc. The complexity of the variables and conditions involved made it im-
possible to cover them in this study. Therefore, we suggest that future research explore
other related factors to enhance the research framework for domestic cat behavior and
the human-cat relationship.
90 M.-Q. Dong and K.-L. Huang

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