---
title: Dog or cat? It depends on your personality!
description: "\"While dog owners have more sociable personalities cat owners are are higher educated, research has found\""
---

[Almo Nature Blog ](https://blog.almonature.com/en-gb)

# [Dog or cat? It depends on your personality!](https://blog.almonature.com/en-gb/dog-or-cat-it-depends-on-your-personality)

 Written by [Almo Nature](https://blog.almonature.com/en-gb/author/almonature) | Sep 1, 2015 10:00:00 PM

Hands up who has never lived with a pet whether as a child or as an adult. Chance encounters aside,  **the adoption of a dog or a cat** is usually determined by personality or lifestyle of the owner and, of course, by their preferences. This is confirmed by research conducted in 2014 by a team led by  **Denise Guastello**, a psychology teacher at Carroll University.  **200,000 people** were surveyed to discover if there are some innate characteristics of dog and cat owners; surprisingly, the survey revealed that aspects such as sense of humour, the level of education and social behaviours affected their pet choices. 

### **Dog lovers: expansive and cheerful**

Do pets reflect their owners and vice versa? Probably! According to the research from Carroll University,  **dog owners** are more extroverted and sociable than cat owners. This personality fits perfectly with  **the social nature of a dog**, which loves to be part of a group and considers its human partner its  [true pack leader](https://www.almonature.com/en/learns/role-pack-leader-dog/?hsLang=en-gb). Dogs are expansive in their gestures of affection – licking, tail wagging and presenting their paws for attention while their owners are expansive in their personality and humour – a perfect match! Surely,  **openness to friendship** is the hallmark a dog lover, as lead researcher Denise Guastello, describes: "It makes sense that a dog person is going to be more lively, because they're going to want to be out there, outside, talking to people, bringing their dog." 

### **Cat lovers: independent and sarcastic**

Cat owners have features compatible with the nature of their favourite pet too. Introverted and passionate about solitary hobbies such as reading,  **cat owners** generally have a higher level of education and a subtle sense of humour in which sarcastic speech prevails. The likeness to their owners is immediately obvious thanks to the innate characteristics of a cat,  [a** ****relational anima**l](https://www.almonature.com/en/learns/do-cats-choose-an-owner/?hsLang=en-gb), that is autonomous but not an  [opportunist](https://www.almonature.com/en/learns/are-cats-opportunists/?hsLang=en-gb). Guastello explains: “If you're more introverted, and sensitive, and you're more at home reading a book, a cat will be your kindred spirit as it doesn't need to go out for a walk or to socialise."Which of the two animal owner personalities do you see in yourself? Whichever your orientation, living with a pet - dog or cat - is a rewarding experience.

[View full post](https://blog.almonature.com/en-gb/dog-or-cat-it-depends-on-your-personality)

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