When shown a photo of one of the men without a cat, 38 per cent of women said they were likely or very likely to casually date him and 37 per cent said they would consider a serious relationship.
But add a pussycat and those numbers drop down to 33 per cent for each category and the percentage of women saying that they would never date the man rose from 9 per cent to 14 per cent.
For the other man in the study, the inclusion of the cat did not affect his positive ratings but it did mean that more women were likely to rule him out completely.
The scientists behind the study said that results likely come from deep cultural stereotypes about dog and cat owners.
"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," they wrote.
"Women prefer men with 'good genes,' often defined as more masculine traits," they added, citing previous research.
"Clearly, the presence of a cat diminishes that perception."
The study did not examine whether the size of the cat was a factor in women's decisions. Photo / Supplied
