There’s nothing like reigniting (or continuing) the battle between cat lovers and dog lovers, and Facebook found the perfect way, it seems. Their data scientists have reportedly examined 160,000 users based in the U.S. and have in the process confirmed the long-believed cat-versus-dog people stereotypes.

Facebook sniffed around cat and dog lovers' pages

According to a report by the Guardian, the study was run to celebrate International Cat Day, which apparently happened on August 8.

Dogs reportedly don't get a special day. Basically Facebook examined the behavior of both sides of the pet equation to get some insight into their character and how they operate. Data scientists from the popular social media platform wanted to know who is more likely to be single, who has the most friends, as well as who has the best taste in television.

It probably has a lot to to do with those new “reactions” people give to the latest posts. We don’t just like them anymore, but show the whole range of emotions from “wow” right through to “anger.” However they did it, one of the findings in the study was that cat people are far more likely to express annoyed, sad or emotional feelings than dog people.  The canine crowd tends to be more likely to express excitement or pride in their pets.

Facebook references the iconic cat lady

Considering the old tales of the cat lady spinster, it wasn’t that surprising to find out that cat lovers are more likely to be single than their doggy counterparts. In their study Facebook broke it down to show 30 percent of cat people, as opposed to 24 percent of dog people, are single. Of course not all singles are elderly or ladies and the group makes up any age and either gender.

Judging by posts on Facebook, dog people – much like their furry friends – were found to be more popular when it comes to the number of online pals.

On the other hand, they reckon cat people get invited to more events and tend to have been more often liked for their opinions on TV shows, movies and books.

This may be because cat owners are more likely to live in the city and to prefer indoor activities such as television and reading. It seems cat lovers prefer science fiction, with movies like Dracula, Terminator 2 and Doctor Who in the "favourite titles" section of their timelines. Dog people on the other hand reportedly prefer romantic and more lighthearted fare, such as The Voice and The Notebook, or, you know, anything about dogs.

So readers, among you feline lovers and canine fans out there, what do you think of Facebook’s recent study? Are they right? Let us know in the comments below (no hissing or growling please).