Cat People vs. Dog People: An Actual Study

This is just what the world needed—some reliable scientific data about cat people vs. dog people.

Recently, my friend pointed out how stupid it is that people expect each other to identify as cat people or dog people—especially if they’re already categorically animal-lovers. The cat vs. dog argument is really just a thinly veiled way to talk about gender differences, and at the end of the day it makes not one inch of difference if someone who adores animals prefers an agile, moody cat to yappy, playful dog.

That said, the canine vs. feline question is widely accepted as a partial indicator of personality, if not outright psychology. That seems to be what hunch.com had in mind when they polled over 200,000 pet-owners on whether they were cat or dog people, then crossed those responses with lifestyle surveys to try to zero in on specific differences between dog and cat people.

Here’s what they came up with:

Dog people are:
15% more likely to be extroverts
36% more likely to use a pop song as a ringtone
11% more likely to say they’d support cloning, but only for animals or pets
18% more likely to consider Paul McCartney their favorite Beatle
9% more likely to think of zoos as happy place
30% more likely to enjoy slapstick humor and impressions

Cat people are:
11% more likely to be introverts
14% more likely to cling to friends at a party
17% more likely to have completed a graduate degree
25% more likely to consider George Harrison their favorite Beatle
10% more likely to send messages on Twitter
21% more likely to enjoy ironic humor and puns

This all lines up pretty much exactly how you’d expect. Cat people resemble cats—they’re coy, they like to spend time alone, and they appreciate the finer things in life like graduate degrees and Fancy Feast wet food. Dog people are similar to dogs—they like to socialize, they’re a sucker for Paul McCartney’s puppy eyes and they have kind of corny taste (i.e. they like zoos). It’s not their fault—they’re just dogs.

If hunch.com ever decides to dig past the surface on this debate, there are a few additional questions I hope they’ll explore. For example:

Are cat people more adventurous in bed? Why are dog people so bad a lying? Is there a correlation between how much someone drools in her sleep and what kind of animal she prefers? How many more times a day do cat people make mean, judgy comments about their friends? Are cat people objectively “cooler” than dog people? Is a predilection for the musical “Cats” an indicator of the likelihood of a cat person becoming a cat lady? Why do older women wear so much leopard-print? Can they help it? Why do young women insist on dressing like grandmothers? Is cat or dog preference something you’re born with or something your parents did to you? And finally, if your mom’s favorite album was Paul Simon’s “Graceland” are you definitely going to grow up a dog person?

Let us know, hunch.com.