Cat and dog ownership can provoke consumers into shopping more and spending more money

Retail therapy can come from pet companionship wellbeing. 

Retail therapy can come from human wellbeing gained through cat and/or dog companionship. - MikeB interpretation of the study

The finding as stated in the title to this article, comes from a Japanese study. The basic process, as I understand it, is that when you live with a pet, a companion animal, it enhances your life and so you feel better and when you feel better it can induce the desire to spend money in the form of retail therapy which makes you feel better as well. 

It seems to me that this is a triggering process. When you feel better because of your companion animal's presence, you seek more pleasure. And you achieve that by buying something in a shop.

pet ownership—subjective well-being—impulsive purchases.

In the words of the study authors led by Yahui Liu, "Pet ownership evokes consumers to shop more, buy more products, and spend more money" and "The pet ownership effect is induced by individuals’ enhanced subjective well-being associated with owning a pet, further increasing pet owners’ impulsive hedonic purchases."

They concluded that the emotional support provided through pet ownership - and we mean cats and dogs - "positively affects consumers' subjective well-being, thus leading to more increased purchases".

I think it's a kind of mild addiction. Addiction to feeling good. We all want to feel good and we cuddle our cat or play with our dog and we feel good. In feeling good you want to find other ways to feel good so you decide to go and buy something in a shop which gives you instant gratification. 

That's my interpretation reading the highlights to the study is published on the Science Direct website; specifically the Journal of Business Research. This is the link to the study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114838

The objective of the study was to "estimate the effect of pet ownership on consumers' purchases". And, as mentioned, they found "that pet ownership increases purchases". The effect is "induced by enhanced subjective well-being". This boosts "impulsive hedonic purchases".

They say they are the first to "empirically examine how pet ownership affects consumer purchases". I can agree with that because I've never read a study or a report which connects pet ownership with retail therapy as I would call it.

Retail therapy is very common in the world. The desire to spend money to possess a new item to give a short term increase in pleasure. It's very similar to pleasure eating. Another potential form of addiction.

The study summary says that their findings "offer valuable implications for retailers are incorporating pets into marketing". That's a good point. I believe what they're saying there is that you can include companion animals into advertising of products to enhance the advert.

I also believe that the presence of shops' cats encourages purchases. And that's a very good point. There are some people who say that cats in shops and public houses are bad for health reasons. They argue they transmit disease to people. That's rubbish I'm afraid. Recently I wrote about a pub in England where the administrators decided to get rid of two cats who liked to stay in the pub all the time.

These cats were popular with customers and enhanced the business. It is just silly senior management who get it consistently wrong. 😊😎

Think of Bodega cats in New York. They are famous and very good for business.

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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.

For a moment it's just you, your dog, a sunset and some peace

We all have a need, on occasion, to remove ourselves from the human world to find some peace. To stop the clamouring of human activity around us. To stop the demands upon us. To walk away from the complexities of human life. And you can temporarily achieve some calm and some distance from humans by sitting on the beach with your dog as we see in the video. They look out towards the sunset. It is just them and the nature, the healer.

The man is with nature. Nature in the form of his dog and the sunset represents the universe.

A lot of people like to take up sailing so that they can be alone in the almost unimaginable amount of space the oceans offer. It is the sense of space that people sometimes crave; I do. And often they have to live in urban environments where there is a lack of space; I do. Where sometimes things just close in on you.

I think people buy houses by the seaside so they can look out towards the sea where there are no people. It provides an inner peace through visual space without interference of humans.

And this dude on the beach with his dog is temporarily enjoying such a moment. He is sitting with a great friend, perhaps his best friend and that feeling is mutual. The dog looks up to their caregiver as the alpha leader. They trust their human caregiver implicitly. They expect their human to behave like a benevolent alpha leader who guides and who is concerned for their welfare.

For a human to breach that trust is a terrible thing. It happens to often. And the cat looks up to their caregiver as their surrogate mother. It is very similar but with a slight difference.

We hardly ever see a cat sitting with a man or a woman on a beach looking out towards the sunset. But don't believe that it is impossible. You will see some wonderfully leash trained cats on the Internet who have learnt to behave like dogs on a lead and who are not frightened when a lot is happening around them.

Perhaps that should be the goal of millions of people today who keep their cats inside full-time. This training allows the owner to provide their cat with outdoor stimulation safely. That is one of the duties of a caregiver and it is expected of them by their domestic cat companion!

When a robotic cat can give joy and companionship as well as the real thing

This is a story about a woman who found joy in a robotic cat after the loss of her cat companion. And I think it points to some situations when robotic cats can perform a function which is superior to the real thing. The truth is that people can become attached to robotic pets that are sufficiently lifelike particularly if the person involved perhaps has intellectual disabilities or perhaps a head injury or they might be autistic or simply elderly with dementia of some kind.

RELATED: Reason why robotic cats and dogs are so successful with the right person.

Linda Williams with her robotic cat which pleases her. Image: WIS 10.

Tri-Development Centre of Aiken County runs a program with a mission to provide, promote and coordinate community services in that county for individuals with "autism, head and spinal cord injuries and intellectual disabilities". South Carolina Department of Ageing runs a program to help people who are socially isolated. 

RELATED: Heartwarming story on how lifelike robotic cats help elderly patients.

Linda Williams has been provided with a robotic cat by the organisers of the Tri-Development Center. 

Linda said:

"She makes me feel good. I’m going to hold you up so they can see you."

The lead residential service provider in this program, Precious Green, said that she was happy that Linda Williams is happy with her robotic cat. Obviously, it is much easier for the organisers to take care of a robotic cat. 

There's none of the usual issues such as dealing with cat litter and feeding a cat. There is no possibility of cat scratching or biting. There is an instant connection between person and robotic cat which can be quite different to the real thing because it takes time for them to get used to strangers sometimes.

And under these circumstances it can work beautifully as Linda Williams loves her cat companion. There is, I feel, a place for these sorts of devices which provide companionship. 

It's a device on which a person can off load their need to love somebody or even something. It's a recipient of love and if the device makes the right sounds and is reasonably accurate in terms of appearance then it works. It should not be laughed at as some sort of ridiculous concept.

Ginger tabby helps guy recover from drug addiction

He said, on Reddit.com, that Pete, his ginger tabby cat companion, has "been the best emotional support kitty that I could ever have."

Ginger tabby, Pete, helps guy recover from drug addiction. Photo: Reddit.com

He said that he is an addict in long-term recovery and his beautiful, laid-back, ginger boy is helping him on that long road. It's a great story for both of them. I've always thought that ginger tabbies are perhaps the best for this role. They tend to be a bit alpha-male, and in control. They are also laid-back. That, of course, is if you believe that a cat's coat type can be linked to their character and I think it can.

You know what they say about tortoiseshell cats having catitude! What I think the opposite cat character applies to ginger tabbies. Some people refer to them as red tabbies and others as yellow cats. I think technically the better description is red but then a lot of other people call them marmalade cats! You pays your money and you takes your choice.

I'm just very pleased for this guy because he's using his cat in a way that a domestic cat should be used. Just being there they can be so helpful emotionally. It brings to mind a recent study about domestic cats and dogs which has been used by some people who dislike cats to denigrate them. One journalist on the Gizmodo website said that cats are disloyal.

I don't think we should get into a discussion about disloyalty or loyalty of domestic cats. They play a role of companionship. That is their major purpose and through their companionship they help people to recover like this guy from drug addiction or they make people happier and keep them company when otherwise they would be lonely and melancholy.

P.S. Pete is a good name for a ginger tabby - cocky and confident.

90 per cent of animals interred at an ancient Egyptian pet cemetery were cats

A recent archaeological dig in Egypt confirms what we probably already knew, namely that the favoured companion animal by far in ancient Egypt was the domestic cat. The archaeologists have dug up the remains of pets at what is considered to be the world's first pet cemetery. And they say that the vast majority of the skeletons, more than 90%, were cats although there are also dogs, baboons and 2 species of macaque monkey.

Remains of cat at world's first pet cemetry in Egypt. Photo as per photograph.

In all they exposed 585 animals. They were laid out carefully in individual graves which indicates to the archaeologist that this was a pet cemetery at a remote seaport on the western coast of the red Sea, Berenike.

Some of the animals were wearing collars and some showed evidence of illness indicating that they were companion animals. As the animals had not been mummified and there was no sign of a sacrifice at this 2000 year old site, this further supported the view that this was a cemetery.

Berenike was a busy Roman port at the time and founded in 275 BC. They also uncovered remnants of goods from India and other luxury items from across the Empire including fabrics, spices and ceramics.

The scientists, Marta Osypinska and her husband Piotr, who are called 'archaeozoologists', first discovered the cemetery in 2011 when they were excavating a Roman trash dump on the edge of this ancient town.

Apparently some experienced archaeologists said that they were wasting their time in digging up the pets but it has proved enlightening they say.

The research is published in the journal World Archaeology. The site existed as a pet cemetery for about a hundred years from the mid-first century to the mid-second century.

Comment: There was a time when the experts thought that the first domestic cats in the world were pets of the ancient Egyptians. However, it is now believed that the first North African wildcats were domesticated around 10,000 years ago which, as I understand it, is before the Egyptians adopted them as pets as long ago as 3700 BC. 10,000 years ago is about 8000 BC.

It is believed that the domestic cat went through a golden era of adoration as pets of the ancient Egyptians because they created gods in their likeness. I think this is a misconception because many kittens were deliberately killed as sacrifices to the gods. It is believed that these kittens were bred for the purpose of sacrifice.

As is always the case there are those who abuse animals even in countries where a particular animal appears to have been worshipped. My clear impression is that there was far more abuse of animals in general and cats in particular in Ancient Egypt than people care to reflect on. Not a cat loving society if you dig deep.

However, the fact that 90% of the skeletons at the cemetery were cats clearly indicate that they dominated the pet marketplace and were far more popular than dogs at that time.

Fish Pets Cat Health Care Tips

If you are one of many thousands of people who has typed the above words into a Google search, I presume that you are looking for tips about general pet healthcare while focusing on fish and cats.  I don't know much about fish but I do know a lot about cats.

I also know that the most important aspect of pet healthcare and looking after a companion animal is the preparation that a person does before making the adoption.

The preparation is about ensuring that the person has sufficient knowledge about the companion animal they wish to adopt and, as importantly, sufficient funding to care for the companion animal throughout the life of the animal.  Abandonments should be ruled out.  Abandoning a companion animal to a shelter for example is obviously very bad for the health and welfare of that animal on a number of levels. Giving up on a pet through abandonment or relinquishment can end up with the death of that pet which is the worst kind of animal welfare.

I don't think enough people research what looking after cat entails before making the adoption.  The casual adoption of a domestic cat is the one which most often leads to a casual abandonment.  The committed and careful adopter is far more likely to look after their pet throughout the life of the pet.

If you want to find out about cats who can go to the main website.  It is full of pages about cat welfare.  Please consider things carefully.  There is a page on cat health facts which is written in a simplified style targeted at children but adults can read it to and I think it explains the point that I wish to make.

One of the greatest issues is the cost of looking after a pet.  It may surprise people to read that it can cost around $15,000 (USD) over the lifetime of a cat to look after her properly.  Do you have the projected funds to support that expense?

People who do not work out the cost before adopting are often the people most likely to resist taking their cat to a veterinarian.  This is counter to good cat welfare.  It is the exact opposite.  It causes a lot of suffering in a cat at least potentially.  A lot of cat owners spend a lot of time searching the Internet for answers about cat health.  Looking for a free service when to be honest the only way to ensure a cat is healthy is through good observation backed up by some cat health knowledge together with a willingness to take your cat to the veterinarian promptly when required.

What about fish?  Those who know, say that the most important thing to do before setting up your aquarium is to make sure that you are prepared.  Once again this is about ensuring that you have at least some sound, basic knowledge about caring for fish in an aquarium before embarking on the project.  It means making sure that you have all the equipment and the tools you need to set up the tank.  There are many websites which can assist a person.

One interesting aspect of this search term is that fish and cats are in the same term.  It may be inappropriate to keep both fish and cats as pets because for the obvious reason that fish are prey to a cat or a least potentially they are prey.

Even if the cat cannot get at the finish you are not sure whether the fish are going to feel anxious about the presence of a cat.  That may sound absurd to some people but scientists are gradually learning that fish have a higher intelligence than once thought.  They have decent memories for example.  How do you know they don't have emotions?  They may become stressed and anxious.  I would certainly research that subject.  Stress in any animal can seriously affect health.