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Americans: Dogs are liked more and more popular than cats

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Our latest national poll on animals and pets finds that six in ten voters (61%) say they own a pet. Almost half (46%) say they spend between 1-5 hours per week taking care of their pets, while 25% spend between 6-10 hours, 7% 11-20 hours, 6% more than 20 hours and 16% less than one hour. One in five say they prefer to spend time with their pets over most human beings. Rural Americans are more likely to prefer the company of animals to humans, with a 33% saying they would rather spend time with their pet than other humans, compared to just 12% of suburban and 19% of urban respondents. Similarly, 30% of respondents who identify as introverts prefer the companionship of a furry friend, compared to 14% of extroverts.

Almost a third (31%) say their pets sleep in the bed with them. About a quarter of pet owners (24%) say that “everyone should love their pet”, while 69% do not think that. Women are slightly more likely to own a pet (64%) than men (58%). Women who own pets are also put more time into caring for them, with 16% of women spending more than 10 hours caring for their pets compared to just 9% for men.

When asked whether they prefer cats or dogs, dogs win big with 52% while just 21% choose cats. 44% of voters say they own dogs, and 21% of dog owners say their dogs bark and jump on people every time they enter the house (79% say their dogs don’t do that.). 31% of voters own cats, and fully 77% of those cat owners say their cats are friendly to visitors compared to 23% who aren’t friendly.

Dogs seem to engender more warm feelings than cats. 81% of voters say they either “like” or “love” dogs. Just 3% are afraid of dogs, 2% are allergic, 10% are indifferent, and 4% think “they should all live in the woods.” Cats get more mixed reviews – a total 58% voters either “like” or “love” them, 11% are allergic to them, 5% are afraid of them, 19% are indifferent and 8% say “they should all live in the woods.” The “crazy cat person” stereotype doesn’t seem to be widely held, though, as just 23% of voters agree with the statement “Cat owners are weirder than dog owners.” And just 11% of voters agree that cats make better pets than dogs because “they make you work for their affection and don’t sell out like dogs do.”

More here. Take that, cat owners!
 
Only the elite can really appreciate cats :3 I leave dogs to the ordinary people.

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Natetan

Member
- When asked which would make a better President based on their personalities, 37% of voters choose a dog, 19% a cat and 45% aren’t sure.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
I have a dog, but I'd probably own a cat if so many people in my family were not allergic to them. It is not that I don't like dogs, but cats are just easier.
 
Interesting that about 5x as many people are allergic to cats over dogs. I guess that doesn't help.

I like dogs, but I've never had one. Significantly more upkeep than a cat, but the trade-off I suppose is that you can interact with them in more ways. I wouldn't mind getting one some day, but it's not something I would do without someone to share the responsibility with.
 
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