The cat breed which is the most affectionate is the Ragdoll, a cat breed from California ‘manufactured’ during the heyday of the creation of new breeds. At the other end of the spectrum and low on affection is the well-known, wild cat hybrid, the Bengal. I have seen this personally. Also the wild cat component of the Bengal, the Asian leopard cat is a small, untameable and difficult to handle cat. That said, the Bengal is incredible popular so this perceived lack of affection cannot be that bad.
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- Photos copyright Helmi Flick
I have answered the question and therefore will briefly comment on the answer. Obviously there are many non-purebred cats who are incredibly affectionate. The point should be made in their interests.
The information above comes from a study which I have referred to in two articles. Eighty veterinary clinics specialising in cats were interviewed on the telephone for 30 minutes on the premise that the clients of purebred cats would have passed on information to their veterinarian. Thus, veterinarians become knowledgeable about certain traits and characteristics with respect to the purebred cats.
You can read about both the Ragdoll and the Bengal on this website in some detail. The International Cat Association (TICA) breed standard for the Bengal cat states:
“Temperament must be unchallenging; any sign of definite challenge shall disqualify. The cat may exhibit fear, seek to flee, or generally complain aloud but may not threaten to harm.”
We can see, therefore, that the association is aware of the potential for a Bengal cat to be less than friendly because they are a wild cat hybrid and that wildness comes through sometimes. This ‘warning’ of disqualification at competition will not be found on the standards for non-wild cat hybrids.
The point that I am making is that it is no surprise to me that the Bengal cat is at the other end of the spectrum to the most affectionate breed as concluded by this study. The same would apply to all wild cat hybrids such as the Savannah.
I would suggest, by the way, that other cat breeds will be as affectionate as the Ragdoll and alternative conclusions may be drawn from different studies or better still from anecdotal evidence by which I mean cat owners’ first-hand experience.
Aggression Towards Human Family Members
This is associated with affection and therefore I mention it here. Unsurprisingly, the Bengal cat comes out worst under this heading while the Ragdoll has the lowest aggression towards human family members.
Michael, once again, after having 50+ years of kitties in my life, my mongrels have been the most affectionate. I truly feel it is how they are raised as babies that affects the behavior the most. My Bengal is not a pure bread, she likes affection, but only on her terms. She doesn’t like to be held and is not a lap cat by any means, but she does like cuddles and kisses. Most of my boys have been the most affectionate out of any of my cats. I had one female, a Blue Burmese mix, who was, by far, my best cat overall. At the time I had her, she was with me for literally half my life — she lived to 19. She is really the one who showed me that I was to be a *cat mom* forever — and it was because of her that my Mom noticed the bond I have with ANY cat. I’m sure some breeds are more affectionate than others by genetics, but I do believe it is also how the cat is raised from birth with socialization factors. My 2 boys, who are brothers, Mario & Luigi (yes, after the Mario Brothers game), were orphaned as babies and raised at a veterinary clinic until old enough to be adopted. They were apparently handled a lot because they are the most affectionate out of my brood of 13 kitties (all adopted/rescued). I am able to be affectionate with any of my *kids* — mom demands it!! LOL!! but they generally don’t mind. My Bengal has her own page on facebook — ‘Mimi the Bengal Girl’ — created by her former *Mommy* before she passed away. I am now page admin — go check her out and give her a *like*!! Pics of all my *kids* are on there someplace. . . ♥♥♥
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Agree with all you say. Most affectionate cats by far come from the random bred population. Thanks for sharing your thoughts again, Diane. Appreciated.
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