Personality is the key to finding your happiness

I don't have an awful lot on this because I can't find the study which by the way is published in the Journal of Personality and Psychology. But according to The Times newspaper report, "Personality is key to finding happiness".

Image: MikeB

The author goes on to state that "Your personality has more of an impact on your level of life satisfaction than your circumstances", according to a study. That says to me that the important thing is about how one responds to changing circumstances that seem to be beyond one's control. And that is down to personality.

The researchers hail from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Tartu in Estonia. They wanted to cross check what other people thought about the happiness of other people and what these people thought about their own happiness. There were 20,000 participants.

The cross referenced responses suggested that 80% of the differences in people's life satisfaction could be traced to their personalities according to the researchers led by Dr. Rene Mottus.

Comment: I take this to mean that one's personality dictates how one responds to life events. I think this is about the classic argument that the way you deal with life is how you respond or react to events. 

You can deal with these events positively and find solutions and a good way forward or you can succumb and become a victim to events that happen around you, seemingly beyond your control. With a good personality, a more positive personality, a more optimistic personality you can be happier in getting over these life problems.

That's my personal interpretation and Dr. Rene Mottus said that: 

"Broadly speaking, more satisfied people were more emotionally stable, extroverted and conscientious. But more specifically those satisfied with their life felt understood, excited and decisive, while less satisfied people felt envious, bored, used and unrewarded.... ..Personality tends to be stable, gradually shaped by a mix of thousands of experiences and genetic factors so the more satisfaction is about personality, the less it is expected to react to life's ebb and flow."

In the paragraph above we see two contrasting personality types. One is emotionally stable and conscientious and "extroverted". I take that to mean a person who is confident enough to express their views and optimistic enough to be as positive as one can be when faced with life's problems.

The other personality type is one who is less likely to be positive and conscientious in working towards a better lifestyle. They are perhaps less energetic and therefore become bored. They appear to be envious of people who are more energetic and more conscientious. But when they are less energetic and less conscientious they might tend to decide that they are being 'used' by society (victims). And if they decide they are unrewarded it is perhaps because they are not working hard enough to gain reward, to be rewarded.

This seems to be the difference between a personality which takes a more positive view of life and someone that is prone to negativity. The half full versus half empty mentality. That's my interpretation.

It can be very hard to maintain a positive attitude, I fully accept that. But it certainly pays to be as active as possible and as positive as possible. To get up when knocked down and keep trying. It is hard to do but the rewards are there. 

They are there for all to see. The problem is it can be hard to drag oneself out of a situation where one is bored and feeling unrewarded but the best solution is to start becoming active. In short, to work towards a goal. To be productive. To have a target. That takes effort and self-discipline. But people need targets and PURPOSE in life. We must find purpose to gain life satisfaction.

I sense that self-discipline is behind these results. It's a very important aspect of life and a very difficult one, I fully understand.

Is it possible to change your personality? We inherit personality and it is moulded throughout our lives. It's a bit of nature and nurture. I think it's possible to change one's personality slowly and conscientiously. It takes effort. Sometimes meeting a person can change one's personality and lifestyle.

If you find it difficult to become more conscientious and positive, it would help to get support in some way. The bottom line is it takes effort unfortunately. And I wonder whether today there are too many Gen Z people who tend to think that the world owes them something and they don't really have to apply themselves very hard for a very long time to get rewards. But you do unfortunately.

There is an element here of the positive cycle going upwards and the negative cycle going downwards. The more effort you put in the better things become and the better things become the more motivated you are and the more motivated you are the better things become because you put more effort in. The reverse can happen.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Assessing cat personalities through owner questionnaires

In my view, it's not possible to gather accurate information about the personalities of different cat breeds by surveying their caregivers. This is due to the subjective nature of owners, who, in my honest opinion, may not possess the objectivity necessary to make a personality assessment meaningful. Moreover, personality assessment itself is inherently imprecise, especially when applied to domestic cats.

Scottish Fold owner filling out questionnaire on the personality of their cat. Image: MikeB

There are two imprecise processes at play: an evaluation by an owner who is biased due to their strong attachment to their cat, and the ambiguous task of assessing personalities, which tends to yield unreliable information. This is the case with the Burns Pet Nutrition survey, as reported by the Daily Mail online.

They say that the Burns Pet Nutrition survey has revealed that the Scottish Fold has been named as the top cat by the British. The survey participants said that they were most intelligent cat breed (75%) and the most affectionate (67%). 

Taylor Swift and other celebs have promoted this cat. That too has had an influence on responses to the questionnaire.

Of course, at this stage I've got to mention the fact that the Scottish shouldn't be a cat breed at all because it is inherently unhealthy due to the genetic mutation which it carries causing the cartilage of the cat to be malformed which results in the flat ears and potentially defective cartilage throughout the body. 

Breeders of the Scottish have to be incredibly careful and they can't breed Scottish Fold with Scottish Fold because if they do the result in offspring are unviable.

This is why there are many "Scottish Straights". These are Scottish Fold cats without the folded ears because half the cats that the breeders produce don't have folded ears because of the above-mentioned breeding requirements. I don't think enough people realise this.

And I don't think enough Scottish Fold owners realise that this is a very contentious cat breed which in Germany would be banned because of their torture breeding laws.

Anyway, to return to this survey. "A whopping 92% of cat owners found them [the Scottish Fold] the easiest to train compared to other breeds."

I find this last point extraordinary. How many people train their cats in the first place? Very few. I think what this means is that Scottish Fold owners found that their cat companion picked up routines and habits through informal training which happens in every cat owning home. I think this is a very subjective finding.

The survey also found that over half of British cat owners rated Ragdolls as the most affectionate ahead of Maine Coons at 46%. And in terms of personality more than 50% of Brits said that Ragdolls had the biggest personalities 46% choosing Maine Coons and 41% preferring Bengals.

There were over 2000 participants who also said that the calico cat is easiest to train with 80% of owners reporting that they responded best to instructions. The calico cat is a tortoiseshell-and-white cat and nearly always female. Once again I think this is a subjective assessment which should not be taken seriously.

Apologies for the negativity, but I am aiming for realism. If you consult scientists conducting thorough surveys on feline behaviour using questionnaires, they will agree that the results are often dubious. It seems to depend on how the questionnaire is drafted and if it allows for crosschecking and weeding out inaccurate responses. There might be some merit to that, but generally, questionnaire surveys of cat owners, such as this one, ought to be regarded with skepticism.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Ginger toms are friendlier and more confident that other domestic cats

It is dangerous to generalise but I think that it is fair to say that the general consensus among cat aficionados and perhaps some experts is that ginger tom cats are or tend to be more confident and more friendly than your typical domestic cat of other coat types and colours. But the "evidence" is largely anecdotal. That means there's no hard scientific evidence behind this claim. Although if enough people say it then you could argue that that is good evidence derived from personal experience.

Confident and friendly ginger tom cat at a supermarket.

RELATED: ginger cats are almost 18 times more predisposed to skin cancer than other domestic cats excluding white cats. Why? Find out my reason by clicking on the link below:

Pheomelanin in ginger hair greatly predisposes ginger cats to skin cancer.

A BBC article quotes Roger Tabor a broadcaster and naturalist and an expert on cats. He said the following on this topic:

"To be a ginger cat, a female kitten has to inherit two copies of the ginger gene, but males only have to inherit one. Measurements have also shown that generally male ginger toms are heavier than most cats of other colours. Male ginger cats tend to be both taller and broader than most other moggies - apart from the North American Maine Coon."

It could be that if ginger tabby cats are a little larger than average this makes them more confident and therefore more fearless which improves the possibility that they might become "leaders" in a cat colony. It also might make them more outgoing. So there may be a scientific connection here.

From my perspective, I remember meeting a ginger tabby cat in Malta who was indeed a leader of a cat colony. A colony of cats rescued by the lady who owned the house where he lived. Her name was Martha Kane. She has passed over the rainbow bridge to meet her beloved rescue cats there but her website is still on the Internet and I refer to it out of respect for her.

On the Internet there are a lot of stories about ginger cats looking very confident and liking the attention they draw when in public places such as a ginger and white tabby called Nala who likes to sit on ticket scanning devices at a station in Stevenage in Hertfordshire. No doubt he likes the heat from the devices but he probably also likes to meet the people passing through the devices.

And there is a ginger and white tabby cat in a branch of Tesco in Norwich, beloved of the public, but the management are not quite so sure about his presence. He likes to sit on self-service checkout machines looking for a bit of attention. 

And in Ely, Cambridgeshire, another ginger tabby called Garfield became very popular in Sainsbury's. After his death a eulogy was held in the city's cathedral and a brass monument was erected in his memory.

Here are some other points provided by my assistant:

Ginger cats, also known as orange or marmalade cats, are indeed quite special! Their striking appearance and unique coloration make them stand out, but it’s their temperament that truly captivates cat lovers. Let’s explore why ginger cats are often described as friendly, sociable, and outgoing:

• Friendly and Affectionate Nature: Ginger cats are known for their friendly and affectionate behaviour. They thrive on companionship and love engaging in playtime and interactions with their human counterparts. If you’re looking for a feline companion who enjoys cuddles and attention, a ginger cat might be a great choice!

• Sociability: These cats tend to be more social than some other coat types. They often seek out human attention and enjoy being part of family activities. Their outgoing nature makes them wonderful companions for households with children or other pets.

• Independence with a Dash of Charm: Beneath their sociable exterior, ginger cats also have a streak of independence. They strike a balance between seeking affection and having their own space. Their playful and curious personalities add to their charm, making them delightful pets.

Remember that individual personality and temperament can vary among cats, regardless of coat colour. While ginger cats generally exhibit these positive traits, there are always exceptions. If you’re considering adopting a ginger cat, spend time getting to know the specific cat’s personality to ensure a good match for your home and lifestyle! 😺🧡.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Which cat is more affectionate, a Maine Coon or a Ragdoll?

I've got to be a little bit irritated by the question in the title. Perhaps I shouldn't be doing this post which by the way is a cross post from another website. It's the kind of information people might like to have before adopting either a Maine Coon or a Ragdoll or perhaps another cat breed.

But the question is a little bit misguided in my view. Although I have strong views on this sort of thing. The point is this: each individual cat of whatever breed they come from has their own individual personality. It is therefore sometimes unhelpful to say all the cats of one breed have the same personality.

That said, the Ragdoll would probably be described as the more affectionate of these two breeds because they are selectively bred to be very laid-back and indoor cats almost. They are calm and gentle and affable. This translates to affection. No other breed is specifically bred to have a particular character i.e. laid back and floppy (like a ragdoll toy).

But, that said, Maine Coon cats can also be very affectionate although a person who I rely upon to describe cat breed personalities, Gloria Stephens, a cat show judge and breeder herself, and by the way a Maine Coon cat owner, says that the Maine Coon cat can be somewhat independent and not necessarily a lap cat.

This hints at the fact that the Maine Coon is a little bit more independent-minded than the Ragdoll which lends itself to believing that the Ragdoll is the more affectionate of the two.

Personally, I would go to the breeder and check out the kittens and let the kitten choose you. You will decide yourself once you interact with Maine Coon kittens and Ragdoll kittens as to which individual kitten is more affectionate for you. 

Sometimes kittens and cats are attracted to a particular person so the affection can be directed at you, the person asking this question! There is such as thing a chemistry.

There is no better way than meeting the cats. It is a 'must' really.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

16 most affectionate cat breeds who love a good cuddle

I'll say it strongly: the title is pure mumbo-jumbo and it comes direct from Pets Radar, a cynical website in my opinion where they regularly employ clickbait with a complete disregard for factual truth. They are cynically misleading the general public and those who want to adopt a cat for the first time. In fact, they are taking the piss out of people. That's what they are doing. They are playing with the internet. Don't listen to their advice. I'll tell you the truth.

The truth is far less prosaic. It is far less interesting. I know that people who want to adopt a cat from a cat breeder like clarity in terms of the cat's character. They want to know what they are buying. They want certainties. That's why Pets Radar provides it. But it is false.

16 most affectionate cat breeds who love a good cuddle. A random bred cat being affectionate. The nose-to-nose cat greeting occurs frequently. It is a friendly greeting and pleasant for both parties. I think the human likes it more and feels blessed to be treated as a genuine friend by their cat. Image in the public domain.

All the individual cats of each cat breed are going to be bred to be friendly and affectionate. Above all else, domestic cats who are part of a cat breed are just like any other domestic cat.

In fact, you might find some individual cats described as moggies i.e. non-purebred cats who are friendlier than any individual cat from any cat breed. It often boils down to the nature of the individual cat.

It is disingenuous to presume that all the individual cat of one particular cat breed all have the same character in terms of their level of affection. It isn't logical. It isn't common sense.

Breeders focus on the appearance of the cat primarily. The character comes from the foundation cats and obviously they want their cats to have good, friendly and affectionate characters. They want their cats to be confident and outgoing. They do work on this but it is not a science. And of course, there is nature/nurture. The cat's experiences later on in life and in the early years of development affect their personality.

So, you can't provide a clear answer as Pets Radar think you can do. Well, they don't actually think that. As mentioned, they are cynical. They just feed information that they think people want to hear. Their objective is to get as many readers as they can and they don't care whether the information that they provide is correct or not.

I'm being harsh but rightly so in my view. It isn't just Pets Radar who do this. The newspaper The Scotsman has done it frequently as well. It's all click bait. It's all very wrong and I don't want to see people adopting cats to be so misled.

If you want to adopt - as everybody does - an affectionate purebred cat which you will have to buy at over £1000 normally, you really should visit the breeder that you have selected, talk to him or her and meet the cats. Ask some pertinent questions. Challenge the breeder. Discuss the matter in depth and then adopt the kitten that comes to you if that happens.

But you're not going to know for sure whether the cat you adopt is going to be super-affectionate or more affectionate than any other domestic cat. Just presume that your selected cat will be affectionate provided that you are affectionate towards him or her.

And that's the last point I want to make. The level of affection that a cat delivers to their caregiver is largely dependent upon the level of affection that their caregiver delivers to them. It is reciprocated. Affection is an emotion. And the emotions of a cat and how anxious or calm they feel is dependent upon the environment in which they are placed and that environment is dependent upon the work and efforts of the caregiver.

16 most affectionate cat breeds who love a good cuddle. All domestic cats enjoy a cuddle at some time or other. It just needs to be done on their terms. Image: public domain.

In the interactions between caregiver and cat are so important. They should be gentle, calm and friendly. Owners should never yell at their cat. They should never be aggressive towards their cat. They should not be irritated by their cat if their cat behaves in a way that displeases them. And this comes down to expectation management as well.

People need to remember that the domestic cat is a domesticated wildcat. They have inherited the wild cat behaviours but of course they've adapted to the human environment. They are domesticated. But expect a domestic cat to have wildcat traits which occasionally emerge.

Be realistic, please. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet because a lot of it is tailored to please the readers rather than, like this article, tailored to be entirely factual true. The raw truth counts in my view. And in that way, we can expect better animal welfare as well because people's expectations are accurate.

What would you do if your mostly indoor cat goes outside and doesn't want to come home?

Sometimes you might do all you can to keep your cat safe and secure. You make them a full-time indoor cat and you look after them well. Or they might be a mainly indoor cat and sometimes they go outside and return willingly.

If your cat was raised as a stray or feral cat, they might want to revert to the outdoors lifestyle because it is a lifestyle that they know. It's those early weeks - the first seven weeks of life - which are so important for a cat. What they learn during that sensitive time they carry with them all their lives.

It is actually a bigger issue than that as all domestic cats are barely domesticated it is said. Arguably their natural instinct is to live outside the artificial environment of the human home.

Cat prefers to live outside the human home. Image: in public domain.

If you have domesticated a feral cat or adopted a rescue cat that was a stray or feral cat, they might want to revert to the wild so to speak.

They simply might prefer to live outside the human environment which means the human home. And in my opinion, there is not much you can do about it. You may see them, talk to them and try and entice them back but they decide to stay in the 'wild'. 

You can try and keep them inside full-time and more importantly transform the inside of your home to where it becomes very cat friendly with a catio or two and some window boxes to sit in to watch the outside (cat TV). There would be a couple of climbing trees up to the ceiling and so on and so forth.

But this would be something that a typical homeowner does not want because they want their home to accommodate humans and being entirely suitable for humans. A compromise is the way forward.

However, if a cat with an urge to live outside wants to vacate a home which has been reasonably modified to accommodate cat behaviour, they'll do it no matter. 

The rather negative point that I'm making is that on some occasions domestic cats simply want to live outside and are prepared to put up with the hardship. If that is the case, there is not much you can do about it.

You may have to kiss your cat goodbye because ultimately people don't own cats. They possess them if you want to put it that way. They probably don't even possess them. They live with domestic cats and care for them but they have their own mind and you have to let them express their own behaviours in the hope and expectation that your efforts will be sufficient to keep them with you as a companion.

There is the faint possibility that another cat - provided that cat really gets along with the resident cat - might help to keep the cat at home; to 'anchor' them. That's a chancy way to proceed because often resident cats don't get along well with incoming cats. 

And a former stray cat is likely to be more territorial than is typically encountered. That might make them more difficult when asking them to get along with a new cat.

Domestic cat personality varies as much as human personality. Discuss.

Those of us who know cats also know that they have individual personalities. We know this from personal experience more than any other way. However, we - the cat and animal lovers of the world - can now rely on hard science to back us up.

Domestic cats have as much personality variations as humans! Image: MikeB

Alexander Weiss of the University of Edinburgh, one of the lead authors on a study which concluded that "wild male chimpanzees scale the social ladder more successfully if they have more bullying, greedy and irritable personalities" has said that the personalities of animals vary as much as human personalities.

That is a big statement as it goes further than most other scientists in stating that animal personality is as wide ranging as human personality.

In the 1950s and 1960s the famous Jane Goodhall was accused of "the worst kind of anthropomorphism" when she said that the chimpanzees that she was studying in Gombe National Park, Tanzania had a range of personalities. Some were bolder or more fearful than others.

At the time, 70 years ago, people were far more ignorant about animal sentience than today. A lot has happened in the intervening 70 years. We are now far more aware of the intelligence and sentience of animals. The emotions that they experience. And the pain that they suffer by, for example, veterinarians. Pain management has come on leaps and bounds.

We are still learning but this is a very useful and encouraging development as it must improve animal welfare generally.

Humans can no longer regard animals as 'objects' to use and abuse. It still happens with many species such as fish which remarkably are still seen as inanimate objects by fishermen and women. They feel pain and are left to die on the deck of ships by suffocation.

The study I have referred to showed that some chimps are more sociable than others while others are introverted. Some are prone to pick fights while others are more relaxed.

The finding of the study was that male chimps with low conscientiousness and dominant personalities got on better in life. They were more successful in chimp society,

Can you see the parallel in human society? I can. It is the nasty types. The dominant alpha males who essentially at root run human society which is why there are so many flaws in it. 

Within the domestic cat world, there are the bullies and the bullied in multi-cat homes. The latter hide and are inclined to be stressed and timid. The bullies are content.

With the tiger world, scientists found that 'majestic' tigers did the best. They got the best tigresses and ate the best. They were healthier. Same thing.

Personality counts and the dominant more objectionable characters do the best as this is a world of the survival of the fittest as stated by Charles Darwin. It is a rough, tough world. For many it is an unpleasant world for this reason.

Can you predict an adult cat's personality from their behaviour as a kitten?

This is a question that is sometimes asked. I think you have to apply a bit of common sense. There would seem to be two distinct personality types (a) confident and outgoing and (b) timid, shy and retiring.

2 main character types for cats. Image: MikeB

Cat adopts person

Sometimes people tell us their stories when adopting a cat from a shelter. They say that the cat adopted them. The same applies to dogs.

When a rescue cat at a shelter comes to the potential adopter in any one of many ways, it indicates that they are a little bit more confident than another cat who stays at the back of their cage. The one that holds back is the more reticent retiring one.

You can tell the difference between two different types of cat in terms of confidence levels. This character trait will be with them all their lives. And that's quite important because the degree of confidence compared to the degree of timidity is quite an important factor in how the other aspects of the cat's character develop.

Developing character

For instance, a confident cat is more likely to come forward, interact and to explore and to have new experiences and therefore become more rounded and more able to deal with strange and novel things.

In contrast, the timid cat will enjoy less experiences and even might hide when anything new happens. Both cat types have their advantages in my opinion. 

But the point here is that you can tell how a kitten will develop on these broad-brush aspects of character namely confidence and timidity.

Confident cats are more popular

Most people like confident cats because they interact more. But the advantages of a timid cat are often not discussed. One benefit is that because they are more retiring and content to be less active, they are more likely to enjoy the benefits of being full-time inside the home.

They are less likely to want to go out and explore. They are, therefore, less likely to come to harm. And if they are indoor/outdoor cats they are less likely to wander away far and wide if they lack confidence. Getting lost is less of an issue.

Timid is better

I think a domestic cat which is slightly timid is perhaps a better domestic cat companion than a confident one.

The trend nowadays is to keep cats indoors full-time particularly if you live in an urban environment. You don't want to live with a very boisterous active cat under those circumstances.

Bengal cat

Example, the Bengal cat is known to be pretty active, confident and lively. Some people keep them in apartments full-time. I don't think that can work.

In fact, when I lived in an apartment block a friend of mine in a nearby block was the caregiver of an F3 Bengal cat, Daniel. This cat was climbing up the walls to get out.

And when the owner took Daniel out into the gardens for a walk it was impossible to contain him. If he was off the lead he was gone. The point is that apartment living for the confident boisterous outgoing cat might be too challenging.

But apartment living for a timid retiring cat who likes to hide is a good place to be. There is the advantage.

That argument goes against the general consensus that confident cats are better cats.

Young cats killed on roads

And let's remind ourselves that the cats most likely to be killed on the roads are young, immature and confident male cats. They are the ones who like exploring and taking risks.

What I'd choose

I'd argue that the better cat to live with is a slightly retiring, slightly timid, female. That's what I would choose if I was going to adopt a cat right now. Or even better than that you might adopt a disabled cat like a blind cat because you can then keep them indoors full-time without feeling guilty as you've got to keep them indoors.

Character nuances

As to the finer nuances in character, to go back to the original argument, I think you have to wait to when they become adult to find out what they are. Which, by the way, is one reason for adopting an adult cat over a kitten despite the fact that kittens are the most popular type of cat to adopt from a shelter.

If you adopt an adult cat, you know what you're getting, particularly older ones. When you adopt a kitten, you are adopting a cat companion which you don't know that well.

Hector

There is an interesting story on social media about a woman who adopted a male cat called Hector. When he was a kitten, he was sweet and funny but when he grew up "he became a cat that no one could touch, except me. He was easily overstimulated and would attack one's hand while he was being petted."

So, her male cat went from sweet and funny to too difficult to handle. You don't quite know what you're going to get when you adopt a kitten because you will not be able to really predict their adult character except for the broad-brush aspects as mentioned

Cat owners think that tabby cats are wilder than non-tabby cats

Mackerel tabby stray cat. Pic in public domain.

This is an extension of the discussion as to whether a domestic cat's personality is linked to their coat colour and pattern. There's been quite a a lot of discussion about that. In an earlier post I referred to Dr. John Bradshaw who, in his book Cat Sense, did state that sometimes genes which have a say in a cat's personality are physically quite close to genes which control the cat's coat type and colour. So it appears on occasions that there may be a link between coat and personality but it seems to be rather tenuous to me and uncommon. You might like to read that article in which I discuss this. Please click on the link below:

Cat personality linked to coat colour?

In this article I am looking at the assessment of a domestic cat's personality through a particular study.

I'm going to rely on the conclusions of a study by a PhD student at the University of California, Davis. Rebecca Morgan looked at various aspects of domestic cat personality but also whether there was a link between coat colour and type and behavioural characteristics. 

She stated:

"The results of this study indicate that cats do exhibit individual differences in behavior that are quantifiable and predictable based on their owners’ subjective assessments."

There is nothing in that statement which tells us that a cat's coat type and colour, in general, is linked to their personality. It just states that domestic cats have their own personalities which we do fully understand. It does state that these differences are large enough to be measurable. 

This is also something that we understand as cat owners. And assessments of domestic cat personality are going to be subjective. When people assess domestic cat personality it seems to me that it is impossible to do it entirely objectively. You are relying upon people to look at cat behaviour and then assess the individual as to their personality. Subjectivity is going to make the process less accurate. People tend to project their ideas about personality onto their cat.

A good example is another observation by Rebecca Morgan. She said that her study produced evidence that there are higher levels of shyness in cats that have a wilder appearance. From that she means that tabby cats (agouti gene cats) are being assessed as having a wilder appearance and also being shyer (wildness and shyness go together). She also states that tabby cats with a wilder appearance do not have the sex-linked orange pigmentation. So, she's referring to brown/grey tabby cats as being wilder.

Clearly, subjectivity has entered this assessment. I'm not able to read the entire dissertation but I'm confident that people assess tabby cats as potentially wilder than non-tabby cats because the original domestic cats were domesticated wild cats. The North African wildcat has a tabby-type coat. The link is there. People are perceiving the North African wildcat in their tabby domestic cat. And from that starting point they are allowing their imaginations to decide that a tabby cat is wilder than a non-tabby cat.

Solid-coloured cats and bicolour cats look more domesticated. If they look more domesticated, they are more domesticated, is, I guess, the thought process.

Friendliest and most aggressive cat breeds

The friendliest cat breed is said to be the Oriental and Siamese both long and short haired. This is according to a University of Helsinki study in which they questioned the owners of about 4000 purebred cats living in Finland. They admit that when you assess cat personality through a questionnaire you don't necessarily obtain accurate information because subjectivity can distort the results.  Although they did their best to make the results as accurate as possible:

For validation, we studied the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity of this questionnaire and extracted factors.

The Burmese ranks highly in friendliness too. They friendliest originate in the Far East - coincidentally?

Friendly Oriental Shorthair. Photo: Helmi Flick.

I will also add that it is difficult to label an entire cat breed with a clear personality because by and large breeders don't breed for personality but for appearance. That said, it is known that Siamese cats or those cats within the Siamese family, as I call them, are vocal and interactive. If a domestic cat wants to interact, they have to be called friendly. Cats of the Siamese cat family are like this. They can be quite demanding and have loud voices. 

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Information on cat behavior – 13 snippets

But sadly, the Turkish Van has been branded the most aggressive cat breed by quite a margin by this group of scientists (but how big is the difference?). Once again there has to be a caveat against their conclusions. I suggested in an earlier post that it is possible that the human participants in this study all bought their Turkish Van cats from the same breeder. And what if that breeder had a foundation male cat who was a little bit aggressive but a beautiful specimen in terms of appearance. That would distort the results. Or perhaps the same male foundation cat's offspring were all used by various breeders in Finland. That, too, would have the same effect. I'm just suggesting that distortions in these sorts of surveys can occur and I'm sure the scientists would go along with that.

Aggressive Turkish Van? No, but perhaps in comparison to the more friendly Siamese and Oriental. Photo: Helmi Flick.

However, I have read in the past, in a different study as I recall, that the Turkish Van has this reputation. It's interesting in one way to because I believe that the Turkish Van and Turkish Angora are the same cat. I believe that the cat fancy split one Turkish cat into two breeds. On that basis you would have thought that the Turkish Angora will also be aggressive but it is not listed in that way in the study.

There is difficulty in assessing a cat's personality in any case. The circumstances under which they live affects their behaviour and therefore the assessment of personality. A breeder can alter personality through selective breeding. This is a cat's personality being affected by inherited genes. But personality is also affected by environmental conditions and experiences. For example, a Turkish Van living in a slightly difficult human environment where the owner perhaps is not there a lot of the time and there are other cats, one of which might be a bully, would result in that individual Turkish Van presenting a less appealing personality to their owner.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Siamese Cat Behavior Problems

I believe that when assessing cat personality, you have to do it on a cat-by-cat basis and in a good environment from the cat's perspective to ensure that you bring out the best in them. I don't know whether these conditions were wholly met by this study. I doubt it. The strength of the study is that they looked at 4000 cats or more. That's a large number and therefore some of these wrinkles that I have mentioned might have been ironed out to a certain extent. Therefore, the study has some value.

The friendliness of the cats of the Siamese cat family squares up with the views of Gloria Stephens who wrote the book Legacy of the Cat. She knows cats very well particularly cat breeds because she was a show judge. Her views validate the conclusions of the scientist. But I would make your own mind up on whether the Turkish Van is aggressive. I think that you will find many very friendly examples of this breed. But as for the Siamese, Oriental Shorthair, Oriental longhair, Balinese and Burmese, you'll find that they are friendly. But are they any more friendly than many other individual cats of other breeds or non-purebred cats?

That's an issue which needs to be mentioned briefly. If you're talking about friendliness and aggressiveness in individual cats, you will find millions of fantastically friendly shelter cats waiting to be adopted. You don't need to go to a breeder and rely on her and fork out $1000. You can pay the far cheaper shelter adoption fee and probably find an individual cat which is more friendly than even the friendliest of Siamese cats.

There is one last point that comes to my mind. If you say that the Turkish Van is more aggressive than the Siamese you have to ask by how much. If it is by a small amount, you might not even notice it in day-to-day living. It is a question of degree. Once again, I am watering down these results because I am sceptical about them although by all means read the study if you wish which you can do so by clicking on this link. It is called: Reliability and Validity of Seven Feline Behavior and Personality Traits.

Is cat personality linked to coat colour and type?

People like to think that there is a connection between the appearance of someone or an animal and their personality. British people refer to tortoiseshell cats as being "naughty torties" or having "catitude". Sometimes blotched tabbies are referred to as "real homebodies". And mackerel tabbies are seen as being independent. While white patches on a cat's coat have a calming effect on the personality.

Incidentally, it is not until fairly recently that people started to understand that domestic cats have a personality. Even scientists believed that only humans had personalities. That seems hard to believe nowadays.

Is this tortie a naughty cat? Photo:Twitter.

I've always felt that red tabby cats have good relaxed characters. Red tabbies are also called ginger or marmalade cats. They always seem to be spoken of in glowing terms as companions with nice, affable characters. But this is all anecdotal. To turn to science, some scientists believe that the biochemistry that creates different coat colours and types also affects the cat's brain. This is called "pleiotropy". But apparently there is little evidence to support this scientific theory says Dr Bradshaw in Cat Sense.

Perhaps we are on a more solid scientific footing when we turn our attention to the purebred, pedigree cats. With pedigree cats there is a lineage so we know the parents and grandparents; in short, there is a family tree, which allows scientists to study the inheritance of the genes.

There is a relatively restricted gene pool in breeding lines which allows the temperament of a founding cat to be brought forward all the way down the breeding line. So, for example, there is a limited number of high-quality male cats within each breed who are available to produce the type of coat desired as per the breed standard. As a result, the personality of these tomcats becomes predominant within a section of all the cats in a single breed.

For example, there was a time about 20 years ago when British Shorthair cats bred in Scotland with tortoiseshell, cream and especially red coats were difficult to handle. They traced this personality trait back to a single male cat who had a difficult personality. This, incidentally, is an example of breeders breeding for appearance over personality. This founding, male cat was unsuitable, it seems.

And also pointed cats, which you will see both in the Siamese and other pedigree cats and indeed in non-pedigree cats, are likely to be vocal. This is a well-known trait for Siamese cats. The reason, it is said, is because the gene that causes the points i.e. the dark extremities to the cat's body are rare unless that cat has at least one Siamese in its recent ancestral past.

Another way in which coat type and colour can be linked to personality is when the gene that controls the coat is physically close, on the same chromosome, as the gene that affects the way the brain develops. Under these circumstances the chances that a kitten will inherit the combination of these two genes, one affecting the coat and one affecting the brain is much higher. They tend to be inherited together although it doesn't always happen.

An example would be the dominant white gene which causes a cat's coat to be devoid of pigment and therefore is white, sits next to a gene which causes both eyes to be blue and the cat to be deaf. That's why white cats are often deaf with blue eyes or they have odd-eye colour. Because the cat is deaf it affects their personality and therefore in this instance coat type and colour affects personality.

I am indebted to Dr John Bradshaw for the above. Some more...

One aspect of people attaching personality to coat type is that it may colour their opinion of their cat (excuse the pun). The point that I am getting at is that if a person believes that tortoiseshell cats are naughty and if with that belief, they mishandle their tortoiseshell cat and are scratched, the two aspects to their relationship come together which may result in the cat being relinquished to a shelter.

A study found that participants were likely to attribute friendliness to orange cats and intolerance to tricolour cats and aloofness to white and tricolour cats. White cats were seen as being more shy and calmer than cats of other colours.

The participants to the study said that they thought personality was more important than colour when selecting a cat companion. This is interesting because cat breeders of purebred cats attach more importance to appearance that personality. There appears to be a disconnect between cat breeders and their clients.

This is wrong: '20 cat breeds that are very independent'

Newsweek presents an article entitled 20 cat breeds that are very independent. They quote Vicki Jo Harrison, the president of the International Cat Association (TICA). They wanted her assistance on the sort of breeds that are more independent than others which would suit people who are at work all day and away from their home.

Cat home alone crying. Image: screenshot

I'm going to disagree strongly with both Newsweek and Ms Harrison even though she is the president of a very well-known cat association.

I'll tell you why I can disagree with her. The personalities of the various cat breeds are described on the Internet on websites and in books. Everyone has had a say at it. Often the same words are recirculated around the Internet. One author will copy another. These descriptions have little value in truth. That's the first difficulty in trying to pick out a breed which has a personality which allows them to be alone all day.

The second problem is this. Foundation cats are not selected by breeders for their breeding lines on the basis of their personality. Or if they do select for personality, it is a secondary issue. The primary criterion is the appearance of the cat. If all cat breeders selectively bred for character, you might be able to put some faith in the descriptions of the personalities of these breeds. But they don't. And even then, the base character; the feline character will dominate and domestic cats need company.

Therefore, we have to rely on the overall feline character. What I mean is that the character of the purebred cats is the same as the character of the non-purebred cats. It is the feline character; the raw cat within the domestic cat. This is a character which is aligned to the wild cat ancestor for obvious reasons because the domestic cat at heart is a domesticated North African wildcat.

On this argument all the cats of the various of cat breeds have very similar characters or personalities. Therefore, you can't differentiate one from the other. Therefore, you cannot select a cat breed which is more independent-minded than another. That's my argument, in perhaps simplistic terms.

There might be some small variations in character between the cat breeds. For example, Siamese cats are described as being loyal and they are more vocal. Persian cats are more laid back and decorative. The Ragdoll is meant to be super-laid-back and suited to home life. But you'll get aggressive Ragdoll cats sometimes depending upon the life experience. This is not a precise science and I think it is unreasonable and unrealistic to write an article about cat breeds which are 'very independent'.

CLICK FOR PAGES ON CAT PERSONALITY TYPES

Also, they list 20 cat breeds. That's a very large number but what they're really saying is that the domestic cat per se is quite independent-minded in any case. That is what people think. But even that is wrong because domestic cats need the company of their human caregiver. They are domestic cats. They are socialised to be with humans. That is their raison d'être. Divorced from their humans, they can suffer from stress which can lead to conditions such as idiopathic cystitis. This might be caused by separation anxiety, a condition which is often talked about on the Internet.

There will be countless millions of cats suffering from stress because they have been labelled as being independent and therefore ignored. Some people might go to work confident in the belief that their cat is just fine being left alone for 10 hours. In my honest opinion they are not fine under those circumstances. Watch some videos of cats left alone all day and tell me they are fine. They are desperate for the return of their caregiver.

Newsweek and Ms Harrison are wrong to discuss the cat breeds like this.

Does Royal Canin Calm work?

Yes, Royal Canin Calm does work. I can verify this because I have tried it out on my cat. He does not need calming but I wanted to try it out because on occasions he can be a little bit hyperactive and I wanted to see whether this took the edge of his behaviour. It did.

My cat chilled out!

However, I do not let him eat Royal Canin Calm exclusively. Far from it, in fact. I mix a little bit in with his standard dry food which he grazes on during the night so this calming dry food is only a relatively small part of his diet. Despite that relatively small amount it still has an effect.

I can clearly see the difference. He looks a little bit more chilled out and perhaps it is fair to say that he sleeps a bit more. This is exactly how I like him so I will probably continue with this mix of standard dry cat food which for me and him it is Hills Oral Care.

Clearly it is going to depend on the individual cat as to how this product works and I suspect that in some cats it won't work as well as in other cats. However, it is definitely worth a try if you're cat is noticeably anxious. And it certainly is applicable in times of general stress such as when fireworks are being set off or when moving home.

How does the product work? They say they use hydrolysed milk protein "which contains a peptide that regulates stress, and L-tryptophan, which can increase serotonin (the happy hormone) levels.

How do peptides regulate stress? There is an online study which appears to be on the subject. It is called "Stress peptides sensitise fear circuitry to promote passive coping". The study is completely unintelligible to me!

Another study published on the Eureka Alert website which came out of Northwestern University Medical School and San Diego State University says that "a peptide found in the brain and in the body can reduce both hormonal and behavioural manifestations of stress."

They say that in people who are depressed there are abnormal levels of this peptide. This discovery may help doctors diagnose and treat depression and other stress-related illnesses.

In what appears to be an animal test, they administered the peptide prior to exposure to stress and it significantly reduced levels of corticotropin or ACTH , (by 50%), a hormone that plays a major role in controlling the body's response to stress.

Do cat siblings get along?

Do cat siblings get along? It is an important question. On the face of it, if a person adopts two siblings from the same litter when they first adopt a cat they give each cat an instant companion for life. This can take a load of responsibilities away from the cats' owner because they can entertain themselves. 

Domestic cats are social creatures despite what you read on the Internet about them being independent and solitary. Over 10,000 years of evolution in domestication they had developed into far more social creatures which means they need companionship which in turn means that their human guardian should be around. Sometimes they can't be around because of work commitments which is when a cat companion steps up to the plate.

Lykoi cat siblings. Photo: Brittney Gobble.

So the question as to whether cat siblings get along can be vitally important. And the answer is yes and no. When they are kittens and sub-adults they do get along. They entertain each other and play-fight with each other. The world is perfect if they are in the right home. But when they grow up and become individuals with better developed characters they can start to dislike each other. They may be incompatible. The relationship cools and they drift apart. Sounds familiar?

I do not have statistics on the percentage of siblings who are compatible or incompatible. But there is quite a good chance that they will be incompatible so you can't bank on adopting siblings in the expectation that they will get along for the rest of their lives. This means the policy of a double adoption of kittens from a shelter might not work.

That does not mean you can't adopt two rescue cats from a shelter who are adults. In fact there is an advantage to adopting two adult cats that need to get along because you know that they get along. The shelter staff will be able to assess this and tell you. The cats have been tried and tested. Their characters have matured so if they do get along it will likely be permanent.

I remember when I adopted my cat from an animal rescue centre, the organiser told me that cat siblings do not get along. She must have had a bad experience in adopting siblings herself. Or she had noticed that within the shelter siblings were fighting. She was partly right. Sometimes they don't, as mentioned, but they might and they often do. It's down to personalities.

But once they become adults they like to establish their home range. In the wild when kittens become adults and leave the natal nest they go out into the big wide world and establish their home range i.e. their territory. They want their piece of landscape and if they are in a home together they might be fighting over that territory. Or they might fight over some of the assets such as food and the litter tray.

And if they are incompatible they may urinate inappropriately, they may defecate inappropriately or they may spray urine and finally they may scratch furniture and walls to mark territory. So it will be a bad scene despite best intentions.

I think that the only surefire way of knowing if two cats will get along is by trying it out. That's why I think cat shelters should allow adopters to take a cat back to their home where there is a resident cat for a week to see what happens. They should be open to the possibility of the cat being returned. That should be part of the contract. It may be possible in some cat shelters. I don't know of any other way to deal with this very difficult question of multi-cat homes. Perhaps I'm being too negative because I know their are some very successful homes in which there are several cats.

And when you think about it in this instance domestic gas are being no different to human beings. How many dysfunctional families do you know? How many human siblings do you know who fight with each other because who dislike each other? It is very common for human siblings not to get on.

I myself don't get on very well with my brother and I never got along with my late sister. We were quite different characters. Hell, I didn't even get on with my parents that well either.

Are cats narcissists?

I think that it is ridiculous that anybody can find the time to ask if cats are narcissists. It's an absurd question but I'm going to try and answer it other than simply decry it as ridiculous. In order to answer the question as  to whether domestic cats are narcissists you have to first define the word "narcissist". It means, "a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves".

Incidentally, I realise that I am being unnecessarily serious because the question is meant to be a bit of a joke but there may be a slightly serious element to this which is why I'm discussing it a bit more than simply knocking it on the head.

You can see the obvious, which is that the definition starts off with "a person". This immediately cuts out of the equation all cats at a stroke! The concept of narcissism is exclusively dedicated to humankind. It is a condition created by people for people and defined by more people. It has nothing to do with animals and everything to do with the human-animal.

Narcissistic domestic cat? No. Flashy? Yes! Photo
in the public domain.

I suppose the question as to whether cats are narcissists might come from the fact that they are inherently solitary creatures and somewhat independent-minded (but becoming more sociable over years of domestication). Some people see them as aloof and difficult. They see them as demanding attention and pushing their human owner around. So if a domestic cat is demanding attention all the time or their human owner believes that they are demanding attention they might also believe that they are narcissistic.

Some cats like Siamese cats have a very positive and some would say demanding meow. It's quite a hard sounding meow. The Siamese is also a loyal cat and they like to be next to you. If you combine those two traits you might say that they are narcissistic, if you think being demanding is narcissistic. I am waffling really badly because in truth there is nothing more to say other than domestic cats are not narcissists.

People do tend to forget that domestic cats are cats and not little people. We do tend to anthropomorphise our feline friends. We project our emotions onto them and they are reflected back. So if we feel a bit down we will argue that our cat also feels a bit down because he looks a bit sad. The thing is they are not sad. We're just looking at their face and changing its appearance to suit our emotions and thoughts at that time.

An awful lot has been said about the mental state of domestic cats including their mental health and their emotions. We don't know much, and I'm referring to the best experts in the world, about cat emotions and cat mental health. We know a bit in that they have emotions, at least the basic emotions, and we know that they can be content and discontent. We know they feel pain and can suffer from stress and feel the opposite: relaxed. But the finer details of their emotions, we don't know much in truth. If we do it is guesswork.

And the profound mental health disorders such as narcissism and psychopathic states of mind are not for felines but humans.

Allow the friendship between cat and person to grow over many years

What I'm going to say is essentially common sense but I do believe that it is worth saying it nonetheless. It comes from first-hand experience, actually. When you adopt a kitten and live with her for the remainder of her life your relationship will change over those 15 to 20 years.

Man loves cat and vice versa. For illustration purposes only. Pic in public domain.

This is because you will change, your circumstances will change and above all the character of your cat companion will change. Of course, it depends upon the inherent character of the cat (and person) and the environment in which they live. But if your cat is a little bit feisty and perhaps a bit standoffish which may concern you slightly then you might expect things to improve over the next 10 years as your cat goes from being a teenager, through to being a youth and then to a middle-aged lady.

It's my experience that a feisty little male cat can become quite mellow in middle-age. I prefer the mellow character. And if you are consistent with the love that you deliver to your cat through excellent care, the bond will deepen between you. There is a reward because your cat will become more attached to you and more often than before seek your attention and enjoy being with you, perhaps lying on your lap or next to you in bed.

The point worth making is that the relationship deepens but the deepening depends upon how the relationship is managed by the person. It is the person who is in charge. Consistency in excellent caretaking with plenty of tender loving care will warm the relationship as the years go by.

It will become very beautiful and tender. Both parties will be supported and enjoy the relationship. The lesson is to be patient, very patient and think long-term. Also be consistent and develop those routines and lifestyles which cats like. They need the reassurance of a well developed routine which suits them. It gives them confidence and through confidence they can express their personality more positively and thereby show their love for you.

This domestic cat is a pacifist

One of these cats is the aggressor and the other, the star of the video, is the pacifist because she strikes a defensive pose as if to say, "Stop that, it's enough". Her behaviour reminds me of Japanese martial arts. The pacifist cat is the tabby-and-white while the aggressive one is a tabby.

No one:

Professor McGonagall doing spells, forgetting she's still a cat: pic.twitter.com/gQOntA9QJT

— Professor Snape (@_Snape_) November 29, 2019

The First Siamese Cats of the Cat Fancy

Cat history is often annoyingly vague unless the cat breed was created through selective breeding on the back of hybridization. The Siamese cat, though is a naturally occurring type of cat with dark fur at the extremities of its body and which was found in Siam (Thailand) for centuries. Of course it may have occurred elsewhere in the Orient. But we know that someone from the West saw the cat and wanted to import it to Europe, specifically England. We are talking about the 1880s.

1889 Siamese cat - Illustration by Harrison Weir.

The first person or one of the first people to import the Siamese cat to the West was Mrs Vyvyan. She lived in Dover, Kent, on the south coast of England. We can say this with some certainty because she is quoted directly by the founder of the world cat fancy, Harrison Weir, in his book Our Cats and all about them (that is how the title looks by the way. I have shortened it a bit). You won't get a better authority than that because the book's author was the number one authority about cat breeds at the time and the date the book was published was 1889. He wrote about something that had just happened. It was fresh news and the section on the Siamese cat in his book features the Siamese and its history to a greater extent than the other breeds he refers to. The Siamese was a novelty at the time and was considered rather exotic.

Mrs Vyvyan says that she believes that the Siamese cats that she acquired came from the King's Palace (the King of Siam - hence the "Royal Siamese cat"). The fact that the King kept Siamese cats indicates that these cats were looked upon as special in Siam. They may have been quite a rare mutation to the ordinary domestic cat in that country.

There are a number of Siamese cat history stories one of which I mention on my Siamese cat history page about the British Consular General who was departing to England and who was given Siamese cats by the King. I don't know how this squares up with Mrs Vyvyan's account of the matter as referred to in Harrison Weir's book. Perhaps someone can leave a comment and clarify the matter.

Let's say that Mrs Vyvyan was one of the first importers if not the first. Her words therefore about the breed carry weight and provide an insight into the health, character and appearance of the original Siamese cats in Siam.

In summary - you can read more on this page - she says that they were loyal and dog-like of character. This reflects the modern assessment of this breeds character. As to health she confirms what Lady Neville says (is Mrs Vyvyan, lady Neville?) that the early Siamese cats had a bad attack of intestinal parasites  - worms. This was a particular and concerning problem. A number of cats died of worms and at the time there was no cure but John Jennings in his book, Domestic Cats and Fancy Cats mentions that there were several treatments one of which was something called "santonine". "One to three grains should be given in milk after fasting for six hours". Mrs Vyvyan feed her cas chicken heads with feathers as a panacea.

So health was a concern for the Siamese cat owner (caretaker) of that era. In fact Mrs Vyvyan says they were delicate in respect of health. As to the all important appearance, Mr Weir, who was a very accomplished artist, illustrates his book with a drawing of the head of a Siamese cat, probably one of Mrs Vyvyan's Siamese cats. It heads this page -  a classic applehead Siamese cat. The pointing is rather odd however as it appears to have a clear demarcation over the eyes in an arch. This may just be a quirky way of drawing the face.

Whatever; as I have mentioned before, the original Siamese was the what is today called the traditional or applehead Siamese. The pointing was almost black in colour (seal point in modern parlance). Ironically, the modern, over-bred Siamese cat with the oriental body shape is one of the least healthy cats, if not the most unhealthy cat of the cat fancy. I wonder if this is an inheritance from the founding cats or due to inbreeding to create to the modern idea of what the Siamese cat should look like, which is incorrect!

British Shorthair Personality

White Brit SH - photo by Tscherno

I have lived with a couple of British Shorthair cats for about 20 days and know cats well. So I'll explain the British Shorthair personality from my experiences.

I will also add a description of the personality from two well know sources, Gloria Stephens of Legacy of the Cat and Dr Fogle author of Encyclopedia of the Cat.

My experiences

The British Shorthair is quiet and unassuming. Their voice is quiet, almost silent. Actually it is silent sometimes. They are reliable and just there for you but do not impose themselves upon you or make demands upon you. They are a bit shy perhaps.

Gloria Stephens

Gloria says that the British Shorthair personality shows independence and affection. This breed is relaxed yet curious. The male appears to be more affectionate than the female. This is an "unflappable" breed of cat. They are suited to apartment living but it must not be too warm as the coat is dense.

Dr. Fogle

He summarizes this cat breed's personality as "genial and relaxed". They are not that keen on being handled, he says. But they are undemanding and gentle. Apparently cat show judges describe them as "four-feet-on-the-ground" cats. That would indicate a solid, sensible personality to me.

Bengal Cat Persian

People search on the internet for "bengal cat persian". Maybe you want a comparison between the active Bengal and the less active Persian? The Bengal is considered more intelligent than the Persian. It is this that leads to greater activity.

Here is a video of a Bengal cat and an Exotic Shorthair (shorthaired Persian) being photographed at a cat show in Oklahoma, USA by Helmi Flick. You can see the difference in their character in how they respond to the situation.