Why is kidney disease so common in cats? Are orange cats really more gregarious than other cats? What genes are linked to cats who live exceptionally long lives? And, perhaps most mysteriously of all, Why does my cat like to chew cardboard?

These are just a handful of the hundreds of questions posed by Darwin’s Cats community scientists. While these questions span a wide scope—from ancestry to social behavior to health conditions—they all express a common curiosity: what shapes a cat’s traits?

This question is at the heart of genetics research, yet it can’t be answered with genetic data alone. That’s because survey data imparts important context to patterns that scientists can see in genetic code. In this way, survey data provides clues needed to discover how a cat’s DNA may manifest in physical, behavioral, or health-related traits.

How survey data fuels genetic discoveries

Surveys tap into the unique insights of cat owners, who understand their pets better than anyone. When many cat owners come together to contribute survey data, researchers can begin to see the bigger picture of what drives traits in the broader pet cat population.

The power of community science lies in the sheer volume of observable data (also called phenotypic data) that we can collect. While a single survey answer doesn’t tell us much—it’s just a dot on the map—many dots together form lines, and eventually, patterns. And in those patterns lie clues about what shapes a cat’s traits.

Large-scale survey data reveals “clusters” of traits, or groups of cats that share similar characteristics. If many cat owners respond similarly to a question, then those cats belong to a phenotypic cluster. What if cats in the same cluster also share something else in common, like genetics or lifestyle?

For example, one of our survey questions asks if your cat has ever been diagnosed with arthritis. We know that many cats develop arthritis as they get older, but is age the only factor that influences this health trait? Or do certain genetic variants also make some cats more likely to develop arthritis?

To find out, scientists conduct what’s called an association study: a study that cross-references genetic data with survey data to see if cats with similar traits also share a common genetic variant. If a common variant is found in cats with the same trait, it’s considered “associated” with that trait. Understanding if a trait is genetically driven, and to what extent, can inform decisions to improve our cats’ health and well-being. For instance, if arthritis is found to be associated with a specific genetic variant, researchers could use this knowledge to develop targeted treatments or preventive measures that reduce the likelihood that arthritis develops in the first place.

But what if no clear genetic patterns emerge among cats with the same trait? That’s when we return to survey data to probe for possible connections to a cat's environment or lifestyle.

Surveys can shed light on how non-genetic factors may shape cat traits. Many traits arise from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Identifying environmental influences on cat traits can guide adjustments to a cat’s lifestyle or surroundings that may minimize risks. For example, survey responses could reveal links between arthritis and an environmental factor, such as how much time cats spend on hardwood versus carpeted floors.

These types of unexpected influences on traits, and their complex interactions with genetic factors, become clear with large-scale survey data. But large-scale data requires more than thousands of cat owners answering the same question—it requires thousands of cat owners to answer the same many questions. With robust data across a number of characteristics, interesting patterns begin to reveal the roots of cats’ traits. That’s why Darwin’s Cats is working to build the most comprehensive database of cat phenotypic data connected to the world’s largest feline genetic dataset.

Today’s growing survey database can drive tomorrow’s genetic breakthroughs

One of the challenges with historical research models is that studies tend to collect only a limited set of phenotypic data. For example, a study on cat sociability would collect DNA and survey data from highly sociable cats as well as their more reserved counterparts. The genetic data is then analyzed alongside the survey data to look for genetic variants linked to sociability. But if the study finds no significant genetic links to that one trait of interest, the research hits a dead end.

This approach wastes valuable genetic data by not pairing it with enough phenotypic data to draw meaningful connections. But what if instead of returning to the drawing board, the researchers expanded their scope by collecting additional phenotypic data that would allow them to explore connections to traits that weren’t originally considered.

For instance, if owners of sociable cats were also surveyed about additional factors, like the number of people in their household or certain environmental factors, then researchers could look for unexpected correlations to sociability—genetic or otherwise.

This is why it’s more efficient to gather a broad array of data upfront, and then look for patterns and associations. Think of it like assembling a 1,000-piece puzzle: if you pick pieces one at a time and try to figure out their placements in isolation, you’ll get nowhere fast. But if you first sort all of the pieces according to common characteristics, like color or edges, the puzzle will come together more quickly and with less frustration. The same logic applies to genetic research: by collecting lots of survey data first, we lay the foundation to identify meaningful connections more efficiently and with fewer dead ends.

This is the power of the large-scale survey database Darwin’s Cats is building: researchers won’t have to start from scratch every time they want to study a new trait. Instead, they can draw on the database’s existing knowledge to look for connections to genetic or environmental factors that they may have never considered otherwise. The sheer volume and variety of survey data will allow scientists to explore many questions in parallel and draw conclusions that might otherwise take years of isolated research.

The more survey data we have on each cat, the better positioned we are to make meaningful genetic discoveries. In other words, science moves farther, faster when thousands of cat owners answer every Darwin’s Cats survey.

So, jump back into your Laboratory and take another survey today (or maybe take all of them)! You’re doing more than sharing your cat’s quirks—you’re laying the groundwork for genetic discoveries by helping scientists see how genetics and phenotypes fit together, piece by piece.