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Friday, 5 January 2024

Owners views on the cat-to-dog and pet-to-human relationship in the home


This is a summary of a survey of owners of cats and dogs living in the same home. They asked them how their cats and dogs got along and whether one species was more amiable to being friendly than the other. Over 1000 people were sent questionnaires. Here are some findings which may interest some readers:
  • The dogs were more sociable towards strangers and other dogs than cats were to strangers and other cats. Comment: unsurprising as dogs are inherently more social as they live in groups. Although cats have become quite sociable after 10,000 years of domestication.
  • 84.0% of dogs had a playful relationship with their owner.
  • 49.2% of cats had a playful relationship with their owner.
  • 42.8% of the dogs licked the cat. Cats licked the dog less often
  • 41.8% of cats ignored the dog while dogs ignored the cat less often.
  • In 68.5% of homes the cat and dog slept together
  • In 62.4% of the homes the cat and dog played together.
  • The majority of the cats and dogs were relaxed when the companion animal of the opposite species approached them. Although if there was an issue it was the cat who had problems with it. Whereas a friendly approach from the cat was welcomed by the dog, the cat was either indifferent or aggressive when the dog approached.
  • "Most cohabitants were peaceful." - reference to cats and dogs living together.
  • "Moreover, it is true that they speak different languages, but they seem to understand each other well and interpret each other's approaches in the right way."
  • Comment: the cat-to-dog relationship in the home, as expected, is generally good and peaceful with the dog being a little more predisposed to being friendly perhaps because they are also predisposed to being supportive within group living, descended as they are from the wolf, a pack animal.
Study: Cats and dogs: Best friends or deadly enemies? What the owners of cats and dogs living in the same household think about their relationship with people and other pets. Link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237822
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

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