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Helicopter parents - those who meddle too much in the lives of their children - can often be an annoyance for kids as they attempt to become independent adults.

But a study says that such methods can actually be advantageous when rearing pets, specifically cats and dogs.

The study found that neurotic parents took better care of their pets - with 'cat people' said to be more anxious, and dog people being described as more extroverted.

A study by the University of California, Berkely examined personality traits of pet owners. They found that cat people (stock image shown) were more creative and dog owners were more extroverted. But both were overbearing when it came to their pets - a trait that is usually an annoyance for children

The research was carried out by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.

They conducted a web-based survey of more than 1,000 pet owners nationwide to analyse the key personality traits and nurturing styles of people who identified as a 'cat person,' a 'dog person,' 'both' or 'neither.'

Surprisingly, those who expressed the greatest affection for their pets also rated among the most conscientious and neurotic.

This suggests that the qualities that make for overbearing parents might work better for our domesticated canine and feline companions, who tend to require lifelong parenting.

The results echo those of a 2010 study by University of Texas psychologist Dr Sam Gosling, a UC Berkeley graduate.

He showed dog owners to be more extroverted, but less open to new experiences, and cat owners to be more neurotic, but also more creative and adventurous.

'The fact that higher levels of neuroticism are associated with affection and anxious attachment suggests that people who score higher on that dimension may have high levels of affection and dependence on their pets, which may be a good thing for pets,' said Mikel Delgado, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley and co-author of the study.

Previous studies have focused on people's attachment to their pets.

But this is the first US study to incorporate the principles of human attachment theory - which assesses the bond between parents and children or between romantic partners - with pet owners' personality types, including whether they identify as a 'dog person' or 'cat person.'

It is also the first to find a positive correlation between neuroticism, anxious attachment and the care of and affection for pets, said California State University East Bay psychologist Dr Gretchen Reevy, co-author of the paper and a graduate of UC Berkeley.

The researchers conducted a web-based survey of more than 1,000 pet owners nationwide (stock image shown) to analyse the key personality traits and nurturing styles of people who identified as a 'cat person,' a 'dog person,' 'both' or 'neither' in order to make their findings

The researchers recruited male and female pet owners of all ages through the Craigslist classified advertising website, their personal Facebook pages and pet-related pages on the Reddit news and social networking site.

Nearly 40 per cent of those surveyed said they liked dogs and cats equally, while 38 per cent identified as dog people and 19 per cent as cat people. A mere three per cent favored neither.

People were also asked to answer questions on their own personality traits. 

Those who scored high on anxious attachment tended to need more reassurance from the objects of their affection, and in the survey those tended to be younger people who chose a cat as their favourite pet.

Both cat and dog lovers also appeared to require close attention with their pets, suggesting they spent a lot of time with them and were 'needy'.

The researchers plan to dig more deeply into the link between neuroticism and affection for and dependence on one's pet.

'We will investigate further whether greater affection for and greater anxious attachment to one's pet, and neuroticism, are associated with better care and understanding of the pet's needs,' Dr Reevy said.