Table 3.
Hypotheses, their Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test statistics, sample sizes and p-values used to examine the questionnaire’s convergent validity. All p-values were corrected for the false discovery rate (FDR).
| Factor | Hypothesis | Test | Statistic | n | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fearfulness | Female cats more fearful | t-test | 4.95, df = 4254.7 |
4316 | <0.0001 |
| Russian Blue, house cat, Bengal and European more fearful than Cornish Rex, Burmese, Persian and Exotic | t-test | −7.63, df = 346.02 |
1421 | <0.0001 | |
| Cats with owner-reported problematic behavior more fearful | t-test | −5.12, df = 431.62 |
2184 | <0.0001 | |
| Activity/ playfulness |
Older cats less active/playful | correlation | −0.43 | 4193 | <0.0001 |
| Fearful cats less active/playful | correlation | −0.15 | 4316 | <0.0001 | |
| Cornish Rex, Korat, Bengal and Abyssinian more active/playful than British, Ragdoll, Sacred Birman, Siberian, Neva Masquerade, Persian and Exotic | t-test | 10.32, df = 954.84 |
972 | <0.0001 | |
| Aggression toward humans | Older cats more aggressive | correlation | 0.11 | 4193 | <0.0001 |
| Cats living in multicat households less aggressive | t-test | 4.81, df = 1067.9 |
3319 | <0.0001 | |
| Turkish Van and house cat more aggressive than British, Persian, Exotic and Oriental breeds* | t-test | 8.61, df = 1011.5 |
1216 | <0.0001 | |
| Sociability toward humans | Female cats less sociable | t-test | −7.25, df = 4221.4 |
4316 | <0.0001 |
| Fearful cats less sociable | correlation | −0.24 | 4316 | <0.0001 | |
| Active/playful cats more sociable | correlation | 0.21 | 4316 | <0.0001 | |
| Korat, Oriental breeds* and Abyssinian more social than British, Sacred Birman, European Persian and Exotic | t-test | −6.51, df = 516.9 |
632 | <0.0001 | |
| Cats with owner-reported problematic behavior less social Not met | t-test | 1.67, df = 407.87 |
2184 | 0.052 | |
| Sociability toward cats | Older cats less sociable | correlation | −0.34 | 4193 | <0.0001 |
| Female cats less sociable | t-test | −11.70, df = 3909.3 |
4316 | <0.0001 | |
| Fearful cats less sociable | correlation | −0.12 | 4316 | <0.0001 | |
| Cats with owner-reported problematic behavior less sociable | t-test | 4.89, df = 397.33 |
2184 | <0.0001 | |
| Excessive grooming | Fearful cats have more excessive grooming | correlation | 0.16 | 4316 | <0.0001 |
| Burmese and Oriental breeds* have more excessive grooming than Siberian, Neva Masquerade and Norwegian Forest cat | t-test | 3.25, df = 474.91 |
502 | <0.001 | |
| Cats with owner-reported problematic behavior have more excessive grooming | t-test | −6.91, df = 364.49 |
2184 | <0.0001 | |
| Litterbox issues | Older cats have more litterbox issues | correlation | 0.15 | 4193 | <0.0001 |
| Male cats have more litterbox issues Not met | t-test | 0.09, df = 4254.80 |
4316 | 0.484 | |
| Cats living in multicat households have more litterbox issues Not met | t-test | 1.21, df = 1315 |
3319 | 0.888 | |
| Cats with owner-reported problematic behavior have more litterbox issues | t-test | −11.59, df = 352.38 |
2184 | <0.0001 |
* Oriental breeds = breed groups “Oriental” and “Siamese and Balinese”. Statistically significant p-values (<0.05) are in bold.