Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Dogs Edge Cats–Dad Trails Both

Dogs edge cats by a nose in the human intimacy sweepstakes — 94% of dog owners say they feel “close” to their pet compared with 84% of cat owners. Not only are dog owners slightly more likely to think of their pet as family, so too are they more inclined to describe their relationship with their pet as “close” rather than “distant.” Some 94% of dog owners say this, compared with 84% of cat owners. Needless to say, this finding won’t shut down the never-ending, (mostly) friendly competition between dog people and cat people. To the contrary, when paired with another set of responses from the same survey, it just might open an entirely new can of worms. It turns out when you ask adults about their parents, 87% say they feel close to mom and 74% say they feel close to dad. So for anyone keeping score, the family intimacy standings look like this: dog 94%; mom 87%; cat 84%; dad 74%. Read More