Pet owners around the world are divided over which cats they want to keep, according to a new study.
The BBC’s James Macdonald reports.
More:More:This study was conducted by the International Association of Cat Owners and Caregivers (IACCO), which is based in Paris.
“We surveyed 1,000 owners of pets in the US, Germany, France, Italy and Spain to gain an understanding of how cats feel about their owners, and how these feelings vary depending on the breed,” said IACCO’s CEO, Joël Bourgeois.
“Many of the owners were keen to keep their cats as pets, but were hesitant about keeping them for long periods.
Many owners expressed frustration at the amount of time and effort it took to get a new cat home.”IACCo found that owners of cats who had been in the UK for six months or less reported that the majority of cats were happy with their cats and felt good about their pets.”
Owners of cat breeds that are less social, and less outgoing, also reported a good level of happiness with their pets, although owners of cat species with higher social anxiety, or more outgoing, were less likely to be happy,” said Ms Bourgeois, adding that “some” of the breeds that were less sociable, or less outgoing were also found to be happier.
The authors also found that many owners of pet cats felt that cats should have a safe environment to spend time with and play with.
However, owners of other breeds were not as happy with keeping their cats for long.
“The majority of owners of dogs and cats reported that their cats would not be happy if they were allowed to spend more time with them, whereas owners of the most sociable breeds were more likely to report that their cat would not feel safe or secure with other dogs,” Ms Broussard said.
“These findings suggest that the happiness of a cat is not determined by the type of owner or breed, but by the amount and quality of care that they provide to their pet.”
The study also found some owners were worried about their cats’ well-being.
“A large majority of the pet owners we surveyed reported that they are not confident that their pet cat would be well-adjusted and happy if left in a home with a large family of other pets,” Ms Mould said.
More to come.