Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Catriona Thomson: Cats or dogs? Apparently it all comes down to personality

We all love our pets, but research has shown that our preference for dogs or cats can say a lot about us.

Apparently your preferred pet all comes down to your personality (Image: Chendongshan/Shutterstock)
Apparently your preferred pet all comes down to your personality (Image: Chendongshan/Shutterstock)

We all love our pets, but research has shown that our preference for dogs or cats can say a lot about us, writes Catriona Thomson.

One person’s faithful tarantula or snake might be another’s phobia, but who am I to judge people’s pet choices?

Over time, I have shared my life with a whole host of furry, feathered and scaly animal companions, but pet ownership comes with responsibilities and financial commitments.

Taking a peek at the SSPCA rehoming website shows that not everyone can cope with this reality. The rise in lockdown pets demonstrated that humans are social animals who need affection, but there are both joys and pitfalls to animal ownership.

Our family has a small ginger cat who is usually to be found asleep in a prime spot in front of the fire, living the life of Riley.

Ginger has had a few scrapes: she once got herself stuck on our roof overnight, meowing piteously and unable to climb down. A perilous, last-ditch ladder rescue proved successful. Otherwise, an embarrassing call to the local fire station would have to have been made.

Since then, Ginger’s paws have remained on terra firma. Instead of climbing, she concentrated on perfecting her hunting techniques, initially catching butterflies – but a telltale, sticky, black moustache alerted us to her newly acquired craving.

I ask you, what creature eats a slug and then thinks: “Boy, that was delicious, I must have more” before vomiting them up on the carpet?

She has now expanded her repertoire of targets to include rodents, rabbits and birds, some of which were more mobile than others.

Are you a cat or a dog person?

I am conflicted about whether cats or dogs make the best pets. One of my earliest childhood memories is the arrival of our mongrel – an utterly unique character with an endearing talent for escapology. Nothing can beat the wide-eyed adoration of a faithful dog, and its ability to wag its entire body with happiness.

Extensive research has been carried out, discovering that there are shared personality traits between those who consider themselves either cat or dog people. So, which camp do you fall into?

Shout out to rabbit people (Image: Oleksandr Lytvyne/Shutterstock)

In 2010, the University of Texas found that dog owners tended to be more social and outgoing, while cat owners were creative, philosophical, and non-traditional, but slightly more neurotic.

In another study, by Carroll University in 2014, it was concluded that dog owners tended to be more active and would closely follow rules. They also found that cat lovers were introverted and sensitive, more open-minded and less inclined to follow rules strictly. However, controversially, cat lovers scored higher in intelligence tests.

I’m still undecided about whether canines or felines get the top spot but, recently, I’ve upped my crazed cat lady credentials (and rule-breaking proclivity) by taking the cat for a short stroll, just to get the best of both worlds.


Catriona Thomson is a freelance food and drink writer

Conversation