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What is the context of this research?

The breakdown of the human-animal bond that leads to the relinquishment of cats to animal shelters has negative effects on surrendering owners, as well as shelter staff. A large percentage of cats in shelters are euthanized, leaving shelter staff at risk for post-traumatic stress, perpetration-induced traumatic stress, and secondary-traumatic stress syndrome (compassion fatigue).

In addition to the toll on humans, shelters are stressful environments for the cats and represent a significant animal welfare issue. Research on human and feline personality has the potential to ameliorate some of the negative effects of current animal sheltering practices by providing better ways of keeping animals in their homes and out of shelters.

What is the significance of this project?

Currently, the most effective method of matching cats to appropriate owners and homes is the ASPCA’s Meet your Match® (MYM) Feline-ality™ program. This adoption program has been shown to increase adoption rates and retention, as well as predict some behavior in the home.

However, the MYM® process is time-consuming and labor intensive and can be difficult for understaffed and underfunded animal shelters to implement. Subjective informant survey-type measuring tools of personality have been shown to be as accurate as observational behavioral coding, therefore it is possible that surveys of cats (completed by handlers) could detect the same two personality factors measured in Feline-ality™ and provide a faster, easier, and less expensive method to assess cats.

What are the goals of the project?

The main goal of this project is two-fold: to determine if survey methods of measuring personality traits in cats may augment, and in some cases, substitute for Feline-ality™, and to determine if humans and cats matched using relational personality models report greater relationship satisfaction and attachment, resulting in adoption success.

This project takes a multi-method, multi trait, and longitudinal approach to personality research. Participants will complete a series of surveys related to both human and cat personality at various time points. That information will be compared to the Feline-ality™ behavioral assessment and analyzed together, we will see which traits best predict relationship satisfaction, attachment to the cat, and retention of the cat in the home.