What happens when guys add their cats to their dating app profiles?
These photos don’t just relay attractiveness; a recent study suggested that 43% of people think they can get a sense of someone’s personality by their picture. You might guess that someone who has included a photo of themselves hiking is an outdoorsy type of person.
But as scientists who study human-animal interactions, we wanted to know what this meant for pet owners – in particular, male cat owners.
If you’re a guy who owns a cat, what kind of effect does it have on suitors if you post a picture posing with your favorite feline?
Prior studies suggested that women do judge a potential male partner based on whether he has pets. While they favor men with dogs, the results showed that they also give men with cats an edge over non-pet owners.
Because of this, we reasoned that men pictured with cats would probably be viewed as more attractive and desirable than men who didn’t pose with any animals.