Single men who are hoping to land a girlfriend may want to keep images of their cats out of their dating profile, or so suggests a new study. Colorado State University researchers showed photos of two men — posed with and without a cat — to hundreds of women and found that when the man’s feline companion was in the picture, they were viewed “as less masculine; more neurotic, agreeable, and open; and less dateable.”
… Around 38% of women shown a cat-free photo of one subject said they were likely to date him and 37% said they would consider a serious relationship — but this dropped to 33% for both casual and serious dating when they were shown a picture of the same man holding a cat. The percentage saying they would never consider going out with him rose from 9% to 14% when the cat was in the photo.
… With the second subject, the percentage of women saying they wouldn’t go out with him rose from 40% to 45% after they saw him with the cat.