Is your cat destroying your love life? This study says yes. Laura Furr Mericas FacebookTwitterEmail It’s no secret: Straight guys often use pets to get dates. And it works. There’s even science that backs it up. But according to a new study, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, dudes need to ditch their cats in their dating profiles if they are really serious about securing a Valentine. Sounds brutal. But again, we’re just looking at the science, folks. The study featured in the peer reviewed journal “Animals” and (amazingly) titled “Not the Cat’s Meow? The Impact of Posing with Cats on Female Perceptions of Male Dateability” found that heterosexual males posing with a cat in their photos were “less masculine when holding the cat, higher in neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness; and less dateable” by more than 1,300 women.