Genetic factors significantly influence cat personality, fearfulness, and stress reactivity, with important implications for breeding and rehoming decisions.
Behavioural genetics research has transformed understanding of why cats vary so dramatically in sociability and stress tolerance. This has direct welfare implications: kittens with fearful fathers raised identically to bolder-fathered kittens still show significantly more fearful responses, demonstrating that genetic predisposition is not fully overcome by early experience. This matters for breeder selection — choosing confident, sociable breeding males improves offspring welfare prospects. It also matters for rehoming decisions — accurately assessing temperament at rehoming, rather than assuming all kittens are similarly adaptable, enables better placement decisions that reduce return rates and improve outcomes for both cats and adopters.