The aim of this population study was to identify personality traits among older (>65 years) male and female owners of cats and dogs and to com- pare their general health status in relation to their personality. Further, the aim was to exa- mine whether current cat and dog ownership could be predicted by the owners’ personality and health. Data were collected from the North- Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) in Norway. In- cluded were a total of 1897 cat or dog owners between the ages of 65 years and 101 years. The results showed that there were a higher propor- tion of introverted male cat owners than extra- verted ones. Moreover, a majority of women with cats reported that their health was not good. Furthermore, female cat owners who displayed higher scores on neurotic traits experienced sig- nificantly poorer health compared to those female cat owners that experienced good health. The same was true for female cat owners who con- sidered themselves to be introverted. Neither per- sonality nor health could predict pet-ownership, but it was more likely for older individuals (80 - 101 years) to own a cat than a dog. This study has shown that human personality is associated with cat and dog ownership, but there are other fac- tors connected with pet ownership as well.