A Turkish study of 31 cat-owning households revealed that cats are more likely to meow at their male owners.

For some cat owners, a cat's personality can be unpredictable, especially compared to a dog, man's most loyal friend. A recent Turkish study on domestic cats found that local cats interact with their owners differently depending on the owner's gender. For example, when greeting their owners at the door, cats meow significantly more frequently at male owners than at female owners.

This study, led by Kaan Kerman, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Bilkente, involved volunteers recording cat behavior in their homes, rather than relying on laboratory observations.

A study of cats' reactions upon entering a home

A total of 31 households participated in the experiment. Before entering their homes, participants were

required to attach a small camera to their bodies and greet their cats as usual. Each owner recorded the first five minutes after entering and sent the video to the researchers.

To ensure consistency in their analysis, researchers focused on the first 100 seconds of each video clip. They observed 22 behaviors related to how cats greet their owners and counted the frequency of meows, finding that the meows differed significantly depending on the owner's gender.

Cats are more "enthusiastic" towards male owners.

A study found that in the first 100 seconds, cats meowed an average of 4.3 times at male owners and 1.8 times at female owners. This difference mainly reflects how cats welcome their owners home.

Experts cannot pinpoint the reason behind this phenomenon but believe it may be related to male owners' less attentive habits. Kerman suggests that male owners may be less likely to notice their cats' need to greet them compared to female owners.

Kerman emphasizes that this finding only proves a certain behavior in Turkish domestic cats and cannot be considered a global phenomenon. The reason Turkish domestic cats have developed this behavior may be due to cultural factors.