爱登堡大学和布朗科斯动物园的研究表明，猫和非洲狮有相似的个性。有人据此推断，你的宠物猫正想要摆脱你呢。

　　I fear that cat research has been heading in a disturbing direction for some time. Last year, a wise anthrozoologist declared that your feline thinks you're just one big, stupid cat. Earlier this year, researchers in the UK said cats really don't need their owners at all. And now this.

　　近些年来，关于猫的研究结果都很令人担忧。去年，一个“机智的”人类学家声称，猫咪认为主人只是一只又大又蠢的猫而已。再早些年，英国的一些研究人员表示，猫咪根本不需要主人。现在，我们又有了以下实验。

　　Some have interpreted a study from the Bronx Zoo and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland as saying that your cat might be trying to bump you off. Yes, kill you, eat you, that sort of thing. The study is entitled "Personality Structure in the Domestic Cat, Scottish Wildcat, Clouded Leopard, Snow Leopard, and African Lion". Truly, I love these academic titles.

　　有人将爱登堡大学和布朗科斯动物园的研究翻译过来，称你的宠物猫可能正想要杀了你呢。对，杀了你，吃掉你，或其他类似的想法。这个研究的名子是“家猫、苏格兰野猫、云豹、雪豹、非洲狮的个性结构”。说实话，我喜欢这些学术名称。

　　研究表明:你家的猫咪可能正想谋杀你!

　　The researchers set out to discover whether there were any consistent similarities in personality between these disparate types of felines. What they found was that each had three dominant personality types. The Scottish wildcat, for example, had at its core dominance, agreeableness and self-control. Which is not dissimilar to many of my Scottish friends. As for domestic cats: Dominance, impulsiveness and neuroticism. I can see how living with humans makes you neurotic. I have experienced this. However, what the researchers further discovered was that these three were the same personality traits prevalent in African lions. And we all know that these lions, especially when they feel threatened, tend not to disappear into their manes

　　研究人员从这些不同猫科动物的个性相同点着手，发现每种都有三个类型的主要个性。比如苏格兰野猫的支配性、亲和性和自我控制性，这和我苏格兰朋友们的个性很相似。而家猫的个性是：控制、冲动和神经质。我知道，和人相处久了，是会变得神经质些，因为我就有这样的经历。但是，研究人员还发现，家猫的这三种个性和非洲狮的很相像。并且，我们都知道，这些狮子不会选择退让，特别是它们受到威胁的时候。

　　The researchers studied the animals' behaviors along a popular test of the "Big Five" human personality aspects: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion/Introversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. When it comes to domestic cats, the research report said of their neuroticism that it had " the highest loadings on anxious, insecure, and tense, suspicious, and fearful of people."

　　这些研究人员通过人类的“五大”个性特征来研究动物的行为：经验开放性、自觉性、外向性/内向型、随和性/神经质。他们的报告表明，家猫比较神经质，“对人类感到极为焦虑、不安、紧张、多疑和害怕。”

　　What are we doing to these animals? Or have they always been this way? The mere thought that cats are fearful of us and might, therefore, want to take us out is chilling. But still less chilling, perhaps, than knowing and seeing what humans do to each other.

　　我们对这些动物都做了些什么？或者说，它们一直都是这样的吗？猫咪们对我们感到很恐惧，还可能希望杀了我们这一想法让人心寒。但是，人类对自己同胞所做的事可能更让人心寒。

　　Marieke Gartner, one of the researchers involved in the study, told me that it was "a pretty far stretch" to suggest that your cat actually wants to kill you. She said: "Cats have different personalities, and they ended up living with us because it was a mutually beneficial situation. Some cats are more independent, some are quite loving. It just depends on the individual. It's not that cats are self centered. It's that they are a more solitary or semisolitary species." Yes, but are they secretly harboring ill-feeling toward us? Gartner explained: "Cats don't want to bump you off, but people often don't know how to treat them and then are surprised by their behavior."

　　这项研究中的一个研究员高德纳告诉我说，研究结果几乎足够表明，你的猫其实很想杀了你。她说到：“不同的猫也有不同的个性，有些之所以和我们人类住在一起是因为这是一个双赢的选择。有些猫比较独立，有些猫很亲和，这取决于猫自身。并不是说猫都以自我为中心，只是它们是更喜欢独居的物种。”但是它们对我们心怀不满吗？高德纳解释到：“猫并不是想杀了你，只是人们不知道应该怎么对待猫，所以很容易对它们的行为感到惊讶。”

　　A hundred cats from Scottish shelters were examined. The researchers observed the wilder animals in various zoos and wildlife parks across the UK and the US. Even though the scientists concede that their work is by its very nature imperfect and more research is required, they concluded: "Across the five felid species we assessed, personality structure was strikingly similar."

　　研究人员对苏格兰庇护所的一百只猫都进行了实验，还观察了英国和美国的不同动物园和野生动物园里的比较野生的动物，他们承认自身的研究本身并不完美，并且须要进行更多的实验。但他们还是总结到：“我们所研究的这五种动物的个性是非常相似的。”

　　Yes, you've got a little lioness in your house. She's not your friend.

　　是的，这就是说你家里养了一只小狮子，她不是你的朋友！

　　Please remember, therefore, the three main personality traits of your cat: Dominance, Impulsiveness and Neuroticism. And tread very carefully.

　　所以，记好你家猫咪的个性：控制、冲动和神经质！小心地对待她！