Men who like cats are less likely to get a date, according to a study by Colorado State University.
As per the study, women are less likely to swipe right or say yes to men if they are posing with a cat in a picture.
Hundreds of women were shown pictures of two men, which were both pictured with and without a feline companion.
Scientists find that men’s luck got noticeably worse when a woman saw their picture with a cat.
According to the authors, “Men holding cats were viewed as less masculine; more neurotic, agreeable, and open; and less dateable.”
38% of women said they were likely or very likely to casually date, while 37% said they would consider a serious relationship when shown a picture of the men without a cat.
However, the numbers dropped to 33% when the women were shown a picture of the same man holding their feline friend, and those who did not want to get involved with the man rose from 9% to 14%.
While the men’s positive ratings did not decline significantly when pictured with a cat, women were found to be highly likely to rule them out as a potential partner.
When pictured alone, 40% of the respondents expressed their uncertainty to date the men casually, and 41% expressed they are unlikely to consider them for a relationship.
The number rose to 45% on both categories as soon as a cat joined the men in the picture.
The authors concluded that the findings are likely the result of long-held cultural stereotypes about cat and dog owners.
They wrote, “It is important to note that these findings were influenced by whether the female viewer self-identified as a ‘dog’ or ‘cat’ person, suggesting that American culture has distinguished ‘cat men’ as less masculine, perhaps creating a cultural preference for ‘dog men’ among most heterosexual women in the studied age group.”
“Women prefer men with ‘good genes,’ often defined as more masculine traits. Clearly, the presence of a cat diminishes that perception,” they added.