Study: Pet Owners Take Better Care of Their Dogs Than Cats

Veterinarians from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark noticed a trend documented in previous studies: dog owners tend to spend more on veterinary services than cat owners. But in recent years, the difference has begun to decrease, and scientists decided to check whether this trend corresponds to the attitude of owners towards their animals.

To do this, they conducted a survey among 2,117 pet owners from Denmark, Austria and the UK. Among the respondents were 844 dog owners, 872 cat owners and 401 owners of both types of pets. Scientists assessed four indicators: attachment to a pet on the Lexington scale, availability of medical insurance for the animal, readiness pay for expensive but life-saving treatment, as well as the expectation of availability of different types of diagnostics and treatment for their animals in clinics. Response analysis results published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

It turned out that those surveyed are willing to take care of dogs more than cats. The difference was especially noticeable in Denmark, while in the UK, on ​​the contrary, the figures were almost equal. Some 34% of UK dog owners said they would pay dearly for life-saving medical treatment for their pets - compared with 28% of cat owners. This difference is not considered statistically significant. In Denmark, 41% of dog owners and only 26% of cat owners answered positively to this question about expensive treatment.

In addition, dog owners are, on average, more attached to their animal than cat owners. In Denmark and Austria, dog lovers also expect more accessible treatment and diagnostic methods for their pets than cat lovers. And only in the UK the rates for dog and cat owners were approximately equal.

The authors hypothesized why this could happen. They noted that Danish residents are not as accustomed to seeing cats as pets as Austrians and Britons. Denmark urbanized later than Great Britain and Austria, so residents of this country may still consider cats more of street animals and farm helpers than house pets. Other factors may have influenced the results, including the cost of veterinary services and average salaries. This difference also proves that such trends are specific to each country and are not universal for pet owners around the world.