Biologist Tatyana Antonenko has clarified that no Cat Tinder mobile application exists in Russia to match shelter cats with prospective owners.
Speaking to Russian news outlet NSN, the associate professor at Altai State University in Siberia responded to reports by the Telegram channel Mash, which had claimed that a specialized digital platform was created to rehome pets.
Antonenko explained that her research was tied to an animal adoption initiative rather than software development. The project began at the Laska animal shelter in the Altai region after receiving a Russian presidential grant titled Beauty Will Save the Cat.
To better understand the behavior of the shelter animals, the project leader assembled a team of specialists and volunteers. Antonenko conducted lectures and practical sessions for the team to teach them how to observe feline traits.
Shelter Training Success
Each volunteer observed a specific cat to identify its individual personality. The shelter staff then incorporated those behavioral observations into adoption advertisements to help match cats with suitable homes.
The targeted observation program helped 480 shelter animals find new owners. Out of all the rehomed pets, only one or two cats were returned to the shelter.
Antonenko confirmed that she holds a registered patent for a scientific method that categorizes animal temperaments into phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, or melancholic types. However, she noted that this exact patented method was not used directly at the shelter because it requires individual scientific observations.
Feline Behavior Research
She reiterated that no software application or Cat Tinder service was ever developed for the shelter. Antonenko added that serious research into cat behavior remains rare across Russia.
Antonenko has studied feline behavior since 1994. She remains the only scientist in the country to have defended a candidate of sciences dissertation, the Russian equivalent of a PhD, specifically focused on cat behavior.
