Cats prefer women? A new study says so, but the jury is out on this one

Cats are interesting creatures to say the least. They do communicate differently than their canine counterparts do (or at best, we simply process their respective ways of communicating differently). Cats, for many of their owners, can be a little challenging to understand.

But do felines have a preference for men or women? It's fair to say that most people would have a tendency to think that women are favored by the species.

But why? This got me thinking.

It makes logical sense to many for several reasons, I think:

• Cats are physically more delicate than most dogs. In history, dogs were associated more with men and more "sturdy" activities like hunting and gaming. Traditionally — and albeit to some, misguided — women are seen as being more delicate than men.
• Most people believe that women are more intuitive than men. Ditto for cats as opposed to dogs. (Is that because cats may not seem physically and vocally expressive as canines?)
• The seemingly mysterious nature of felines baffles some, and in literature, the female essense has been popularly associated as being mystical.

Are connections like this behind the popular thought that cats prefer women, or is there a more concrete basis for this theory? Research led by Kurt Kotrschal of the Konrad Lorenz Research Station and the University of Vienna says so.

In studying 41 cats and their owners, there was evidence that cats were more drawn to their female owners more frequently than male owners, but there is some skepicism.

What do you think? Has this been your experience? Take the poll and leave your comments below.

Read more on the study here.

poll by twiigs.com

Lorrie Shaw is a pet blogger and frequently writes about dogs. She welcomes your contact via email, and to follow her daily adventures as owner of Professional Pet Sitting on Twitter.