Pet owners love their dogs more than their cats, study says

Pet owners love their dogs more than their cats, a study has found. But it depends on where you live.

Although previous studies have already suggested this finding, scientists from the University of Copenhagen wanted to dive more deeply into whether cultural factors altered the results. Their findings are published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

“We and others have found that people are willing to spend much less on their cats than on their dogs,” professor Peter Sandøe of the University of Copenhagen, the study’s first author, said in a press release detailing the findings. “We wanted to find out whether cats could eventually end up having the same high status as dogs do today.”

In the survey across Denmark, Austria and the United Kingdom, 844 dog owners, 872 cat owners and 401 people who owned both dogs and cats were asked questions about their pets.

Overall, the participants had higher attachment scores for dogs than for cats. Owners were more likely to insure their dogs, expect more treatment options for their dogs and paid to get this treatment.

However, the results differed dramatically across countries. For example, the United Kingdom’s results were in favor of dogs, although only slightly. Australia and Denmark had a very clear preference for the canines.

“While people care more about their dogs than their cats in all countries, the degree of difference varied dramatically between countries,” Sandøe said.

He continued: “It doesn’t therefore seem to be a universal phenomenon that people care much less about their cats than their dogs. We suggest instead that the difference is likely to depend on cultural factors, including whether the animals spend a lot of time with their owners in the home.”

The difference between countries may be due to cultural differences and attitudes toward pets, the study suggested.

This may be the result of the country’s history with rural animals and how often they interacted with people. These factors may have influenced societal attitudes toward pets in modern times.

A greater emotional attachment to dogs was highest in Denmark. The Danes were also less likely to buy insurance for their cats, compared with their dogs.

“There seems to be no natural limit to how much people will end up caring about their cats compared to their dogs,” Sandøe said. “The British are often portrayed as a nation of cat lovers, which is certainly confirmed by our study. The Danes have a long way to go, but they may eventually get there.”

Pet owners tend to put themselves into one of two categories: Are you a cat person or a dog person? The preference tends to come from the animal’s personality traits.

However, cats are certainly more aloof than their canine counterparts. Dogs are known for being more attached to their owners, while cats can seem more independent. This could also influence an owner’s attitudes toward the pet, according to the study.

“Our study only looks at three countries located in Central and Western Europe,” professor Clare Palmer of Texas A&M University, a co-author of the paper, said in the press release.

“It raises intriguing questions regarding what comparative studies of other countries might find,” she went on. “Perhaps there are countries where the level of care for and attachment to cats is, in fact, higher than dogs?”

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