People are more likely to take care of dogs than cats: Study

"Are you a dog person or a cat person?" is a question that's asked too too often. Though it is asked (more or less) in a humourous vein, many conclusions are secretly drawn from what you respond. A lot sometimes depends on whether you like a dog, a loyal, friendly companion, or a cat which has a general air of being the most important being on the planet. Any pet is fine as both animals bring joy to the household they live in.

But a new study has thrown up an interesting observation. It says that people are more likely to care for dogs than cats.

Now before you protest, read on about the research.

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The team of international researchers made the study and compiled survey results of 2117 people across Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom. 844 of these were dog owners, 872 owned a cat while 401 others owned both, dogs and cats.

The pet owners were asked questions on their pet health insurance and how willing they were to pay for their pet's life-saving treatments. Their emotional attachment with their pets was also measured through what's called Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale.

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The result of the study suggests that people across these locations were likely to value their dogs more than their cats. It was found that this gap was largest among pet owners in Denmark. It was a bit less for those from Austria and was even less for people in the UK.

"While people care more about their dogs than their cats in all countries, the degree of difference varied dramatically between countries," says bioethicist Peter Sandoe from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

"It doesn't therefore seem to be a universal phenomenon that people care much less about their cats than their dogs."

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Sandoe was quoted by ScienceAlert.

"The British are often portrayed as a nation of cat lovers, which is certainly confirmed by our study," he said. "The Danes have a long way to go but they may eventually get there."

And why are people likely to care for their dogs more? Researchers think that this happens because dogs give and take more affection and attention from owners while cats are relatively aloof and solitary.

The study, reported by ScienceAlert, has been published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

So has this research changed your answer about what 'sort' of person you are?

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