http://www.care2.com/greenliving/cats-shape-clues-to-personality.html
Cat’s Shape–Clues to Personality?
When searching for a cat or kitten to adopt, how can you tell if your selection will be a lap lounger, a shy cat, or an adventure seeker? Purebred cats tend to have certain characteristics personality traits, though individuals within breeds may be very different. With the typical shelter cat, personality clues may be linked to the shape of the cat’s face.
Kit Jenkins, program manager for PetSmart Charities, has spent more than 20 years studying the behavior of cats and dogs in animal shelters. She has developed a theory of cat face geometry , which is based on the fact that feline faces usually fall into one of three physical shapes: square, round, or triangle. While noting that genetics and life experience play major roles in how cats think and act, Jenkins contends that parsonality is also influenced be a cat’s physical shape. Here’s how she describes the various types.
SQUARE. These cats are big and solid with square faces and rectangular bodies. Think Maine Coon. Jenkins dubs them the “retrievers of the cat world.” Eager to please, square cats tend to be affectionate and love to snuggle and give head-butts.
ROUND. These cats sport flat faces, large eyes, circular heads, and rounded bodies. Think Persian or Burmese. These types might be called the “lap dogs” of the feline world. They tend to be low-energy, easily frightened, submissive cats who gently display their affection to trusted family members.
TRIANGULAR. These are the sleek, long, lanky cats with big ears and faces that narrow at the nose. Think Siamese or Cornish Rex. Jenkins calls them the “herding dogs of the cat world.” Triangle cats are curious, smart, athletic, and chatty, and they thrive in active households.
Jenkins has shared her personality theory with shelter workers, animal trainers, and behaviorists all over North America. Animal behaviorists and veterinarians say her observations serve as another tool in helping people find a cat who meets their lifestyle and personality. Although just a theory, Jenkin’s observations have been supported by her peers; to date, though, nothing has been published in a scientific journal.
When I think about all of the cats I have loved, it’s almost uncanny how well Jenkin’s theory holds up. Does her theory work with the cats in your home? Do you have a curious “triangle” or a lap-loving “round”? Tell us!
Adapted from The Cat Behavior Answer Book (Storey Publishing, 2007) by Arden Moore.
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18 comments
add your comment »I tend to believe a woman who's spent over 20 years of her precious life studying something she's felt worthwhile...I mean, I believe she does notice something, it may not be complete research, but i do not think its incorrect...the article did say Kit mentioned environmental influences that have been on the cat play a part as well...I have 3 sisters, Siamese-tabby, they love to sneak outside, they love to jump and climb, very smart and sweet....every morning they run through the entire house chasing each other before their noon nap, and they're so rambunctous about it, you can hear their feet on the floor from outside, I live in Hawaii so maybe that could have something to do with their athleticism.....(all triangular, of course)....If anyone's read The Beak of the Finch, about Darwin's finches on the Galapagos and what caused 'adaptive radiation', meaning one finch with a medium sized beak led to numerous finch populations all with different beaks...it was all due to what size food that population had been focusing on over generations (different sized nuts some became specialized at over others) ...this article shows that different head shapes contribute to personality types, just like different shaped noses on an airplane make it better and more specialized for different kinds of flight.....that's what Kit is talking about...of course, they're all still airplanes doing airplane things; )
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Wini's comment about the difference between "theory" and "hypothesis" is spot-on!
I'm sort of a cat-magnet and I'm not so sure about this hypothesis. It's worth testing. She should get an animal behaviorist to help her write up an article for cat fanciers and do quantifiable survey. I've had 2 of fetchers - one longhair, one short. The longhair liked to lie on his back and have his tummy /paws rubbed. The shorthair was a shoulder cat. Both triangle heads.
I remember in one litter of kittens (apparently one littler can come from different fathers) we had 1 longhair tabby, 3 b/w "tuxedo" cats, 1 silver grey (dumb as a box o'rocks), and one tabby with a hint of tortoise. All with heads roughly triangular. 1 tuxedo was shy with people and always in fights, 1 tux was the most affectionate and loving sweetie who often gave nose kisses... There are so many factors to personality - how the pet has been treated by humans, its inborn personality traits, its comfort level with other animals, and its health. I had a mean round-faced rescue cat with arthritis that bit without warning during flareups (she'd run across the room and attack your feet - or bite you in your sleep). But I had a tortie rescue cat who'd been severely abused then dumped in a park - and was a gentle, playful darling who adored kids. She hated to be held in arms, but if given her own way would perch on your hip or snuggle in your lap. - she died recently and we all miss her SO much.
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My tabby square headed male cat is huge and loves to play fetch the catnip mouse and totally a lap cat.If you don't give him the attention he needs he will nudge you with his head. My white persian cat who is long and lean loves to go walking on her leash around the block where we live. She will stop when she wants to rest a minute and off we go again and she also loves to kneed at my neck as to say I love you. I love both my pets. She is more of the triangular style breed. Great article.
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I agree--has more to do with breeds and related breeds having similar personality traits and also similar appearance because of their heritage. "Triangle" cats are descended from Siamese, so they will look and act like a Siamese typically. It's common sense.
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This has more to do with the breed of the cat than the shape of their head.
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Lovely article - I agree with the observations made.
We have two of the Square variety and they turn nine this October - Siberian Forest cats - head butting and cuddling and retrieving are the order of the day! I have had cats all my life and love the various descriptions you make - too true!
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Doesn't always apply. Had a huge square faced tabby, much like your picture, and about 18 pounds of trouble. Beautiful, but just as mean as could be. He would bite you with his huge fangs or smack you with his huge claws and wouldn't bat an eye. We all gave him a wide berth. If you were sane you didn't try to head butt.
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I have no comment on the hypothesis of cat head shape as a personality predictor. I just feel a need to say that "just a theory" is a really loaded term. Scientifically, a theory is statement of how things work that has been backed up by trial and error over a long time. To say that evolution is "just a theory" is that it is as close to fact as science can get. It is a law of nature. To say that something that is untested scientifically is "just a theory" is an oxymoron. If it is "just a theory", well, a theory, by definition, has been tested scientifically. If it hasn't been tested, it is, at best, a hypothesis. Given this particular hypothesis' wide dissemination, it seems a shame that it has not been tested scientifically. Maybe someday it will be "just a theory". In the meantime, to avoid the arguments over what is and isn't a theory, could people please start recognizing the correct terminology. I, and I doubt I am alone in this, would appreciate it. Casual language can and has done harm.
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my roundheaded cat and my triangularheaded cat totally fit the profile! :]
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Hi, my boy is 'square' & LOVES cuddles & headbutting. he is a BIG ginger & white tom who is diabetic & prone to cystitis! we all love him to bits...
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