From The Simpsons to The Office, ‘crazy cat ladies’ have been staple features of TV shows and movies for years.
Now, a study has confirmed that this stereotype really does ring true.
Scientists from the University of Lucerne have found that women tend to feel more attached to their pets than men do.
The team surveyed more than 2,000 adults about their relationships with animals.
The results revealed that women feel more attached to their pets – and receive more socio–emotional support from them.
‘The relationship people have with their animals is much more nuanced than a simple yes–or–no question of pet ownership,’ the researchers explained.
‘Two people may both own a dog, but their relationships with that dog can be very different.
‘Our findings suggest that understanding these differences may be more informative than simply comparing pet owners with non–pet owners.’
Scientists from the University of Lucerne have found that women tend to feel more attached to their pets than men do (stock image)
From The Simpsons to The Office, ‘crazy cat ladies’ have been staple features of TV shows and movies for years
Many pet owners will tell you that owning an animal has been good for their health.
However, until now there has been little research to back this up.
To get to the bottom of it, the researchers surveyed 2,328 adults about their demographic characteristics and their relationships with their animls.
The results revealed several significant links.
Women, people who spend more time with their pet, and those interacting with dogs tended to feel more attached to the animal, and more emotionally supported by it.
However, the researchers found no evidence that owning a pet actually boosts an owner’s health.
The results showed that pet owners tended to report being less healthy and smoking cigarettes more often than non-owners.
And those who felt more supported by an animal actually reported lower psychological wellbeing and more loneliness.
‘Rather than asking whether someone owns a pet, future research should consider how people interact with their animals and what role the animal plays in their lives,’ the researchers said.
‘What appeared to matter in some cases was not pet ownership itself, but whether people experienced their animal as a source of socio-emotional support and how much time they spent together.
‘The inconsistent findings reported in previous studies may partly reflect the fact that pet ownership is often treated as a simple yes-or-no variable.
‘Our results suggest that pet ownership is a multidimensional construct that includes characteristics of the owner, the animal, and their relationship.’
The news comes shortly after research revealed that cats can’t understand human voices, and think laughter, sobs and screams sound identical.
Lead author Dr Serenella d’Ingeo, of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, says: ‘Rather than immediately distinguishing between happiness, fear, anger or sadness, they responded with a generalised increase in alertness, which may represent an adaptive strategy preparing them to react rapidly to a potentially relevant social situation.
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR CAT? THE 13 SECRET SIGNALS FELINES GIVE THEIR OWNERS
Cats are often branded aloof and solitary creatures who spend their days plotting their human owner’s demise, but such characterisations could not be further from the truth.
In fact, our feline friends constantly communicate their feelings of affection to us, whether it be through their whiskers, tail, face or body language.
In her eye-opening new book Kitty Language: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Your Cat, author Lili Chin – with the help of animal behaviourists – explains how to interpret your pet’s movements.
Below are some of the most common behaviours and what they could signal.
Our feline friends constantly communicate their feelings of affection to us, whether it be through their whiskers, tail, face or body language
