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A psychobiography is a well-established approach to understanding who people are and why they behave the way they do, not through psychological tests or studies, but simply by looking at their history, speaking to their associates, and studying their behavior. Psychobiographers don’t actually don’t need to speak with the subject at all. Because of this, the approach lends itself perfectly to understanding cats!
We’re working on doing some short videos that present psychobiographies of cats. If you’re interested in participating, just head over to this link and fill out a brief form. We can’t highlight every cat, but we’ll do our best to get to as many as we can.
Current Studies
We’re often running surveys to try to understand more about cats: why they do what they do, how we relate to them, how they relate to us, and what sort of an impact we have on each other. Please consider taking part.
Study 1: Cat Personality
There has been extensive research into the personality of people. One of the most widely-used test is the Big 5, which assess people on 5 different personality traits using a simple 10 question survey. We’re exploring if and how such an approach could work for cats as well. We’re exploring what sort of a connection (if any) exists between a cat and owner. To take the survey, head on over here.
Study 2: How Intelligent is Your Cat?
Unlike dog intelligence, scientists have not yet established a normative Cat Intelligence Test.
The Maine Cat Lab, with your help, intends to change that with our beta test, The Maine Cat Lab Intelligence Test: 2.0.
The 10 item updated questionnaire will ask you questions about your cat’s memory, problem solving, attention, emotional intelligence, and accrued knowledge; these are all skills that cat personality and veterinary experts have theorized indicate cat intellect. If you would like to participate in this study, it takes about 5 minutes to answer our questions. We will give you a result (one of 5 cat IQ categories ranging from Guru to Pretty Dim) at the end of the survey.
There is no compensation, but at the end of the survey you will receive your cat’s Intelligence Score and Category. Eventually, we will report statistical distributions of all the cats in our sample so you can see how your Cat’s IQ stacks up against other felines.
Just head on over to this link to take the survey. Feel free (and please) share this widely. The more, the merrier. Thank you in advance!
NOTE: No UMF funds or resources are spent on this study. It’s done as a labor of love by the researchers in their spare time.
This website is still under construction, but we didn’t want the slow pace of Bryce creating the website to stand in the way of us doing what we want to do most: study cats! So come back later for a more complete website experience. In the meantime, you can catch us on YouTube or also find us over on TikTok.
Once you have your result, here’s an overview of our tentative “Cat IQ Tiers”:
Tier 1: “The Cheshire Cat Dreamer” (7-19)
These cats live in their own whimsical worlds. Like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, they’re enigmatic and carefree, often more interested in puzzling than problem-solving. Their mysterious grins light up any room, but they may not be the sharpest claw in the paw. One such dreamer is Kylo, a cat who licks the air while a sink faucet drips water on his head:. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQHFohNH0UI
Tier 2: “The Garfield Gourmand” (20-32)
Indulgent and relaxed, these cats are like Garfield. Masters of lounging and snacking, they’re experts at convincing humans to cater to their whims. Why chase anything when there’s a soft bed and a full food dish? You might say they are conserving their energy, OR they may be masterminds, like this cat who efficiently oozes (rather than walks) down the stairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GTCNnBnivQ
Tier 3: “The Tom Tactician” (33-45)
Persistent and crafty, these cats are like Tom from Tom and Jerry. While their plans don’t always work out, their sheer determination and ability to think on their paws make them formidable (even if their schemes sometimes end with a frying pan to the face).They may have islands of brilliance, such as Cleo, who stealthily steals undergarments and socks from throughout his neighborhood. He’s clearly learned to adapt to his environment (one of the hallmarks of intelligence) however, there isn’t a rationale for their behavior, so.. points deducted: Houston neighborhood being tormented by long-time cat burglar
Tier 4: “The Bagheera Sleuth” (46-55)
Elegant and cunning, these cats are like Bagheera from The Jungle Book. They combine physical agility with sharp instincts, always finding a way around obstacles with the smooth confidence of a jungle legend. Gutsy survivor Jonesy, the ship’s cat in the film Alien, scores in this category and you can see his profile here: Profile of Jonesy, Ripley’s Cat in Alien (1979)
Tier 5: “The Felix Forecaster” (56-65)
Charming and iconic, these cats are like Felix the Cat. With his magical bag of tricks and clever solutions, Felix has been outsmarting problems for over a century. Cats at this tier can improvise their way through almost any situation and make it look effortless. We believe Kurt is solidly in this category: he’s an instagram star with amazing hearing, a very good memory, and gets the hang of new toys and circumstances quickly. Kurt the super cat #viral – YouTube
Tier 6: “The McGonagall Mastermind” (66-70)
These cats embody Professor McGonagall’s Animagus form from Harry Potter. Brilliant, poised, and commanding, they can analyze situations with surgical precision. They are the feline equivalent of strategic geniuses, exuding wisdom and authority in equal measure. One famously smart cat in this category: Orangey, a cat star from the 1950s, who starred in many films and TV shows including Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Orangey’s Cat Personality Profile
FAQs
Cat Lab? Are you . . . doing experiments on cats? No! We’re interested in the way and the why of what cats think and how that might be related to their humans and their history. Our tools are surveys, not scalpels.
So who are you? We are two scholars at the University of Maine at Farmington: Karol Maybury, a Professor of Psychology who specializes in personality studies, and Bryce Cundick, the Library Director who specializes in knowing how to find information. We share a love of cats and questions, and the Maine Cat Lab is one of the results of that.
What other studies have you done? We’re just getting warmed up, but we launched with a study about the connection between the personalities of cats and their humans. You can check out all our results over on our YouTube channel.
Studying cats? Is this real science? Yes! We’re both trained in the creation of scientific, reliable studies. We submit the design to our Institutional Review Board at UMF before we run them, and we use standard scientific analyses to evaluate the results. Just because a study is actually interesting, doesn’t mean it’s not science. 🙂