Study reveals how cats and dogs really feel about owners working from home
As pet owners we would like to believe that our animals love spending time with us but what does science say?
When lockdown first hit many were divided.
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How did we really feel about staying home every single hour of every single day?
While many were alone, some of us were lucky enough to have a companion or two during this uncertain time.
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Our loving pets must have been completely caught off-guard when their owners went from spending only a few hours with them to spending all day together!
But alas it could not last forever. There would come a day where South Africans would once again leave their furbabies home alone.
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And just as we thought we had reached that day - we have returned to lockdown level four.
While we might be super excited to spend more time with our pets, will we ever know if they are truly as happy to have our constant company?
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A group of researchers at the James Cook University in Australia asked this exact question and set out to find out whether cats and dogs enjoyed having their owners spend more time at home.
While the cats and dogs could not actually communicate their true feelings, for obvious reasons, the researchers got in touch with 400 cat owners.
We got some responses that the cats were put out with their owners being home all the time and invading their space. About 50 percent of cat owners reported that their cats were behaving in ways that were interpreted as being 'put out' by their owners all the time.
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So far, not so good.
As it also turns out, while having the company of a doggy best friend during the lockdown could very positively affect one's mood, the opposite was likely to happen if you had a feline friend.
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People with dogs were reported to be less lonely thanks to their four-legged friend while cat owners experienced the reverse effect.
The extra love and attention that you were now likely to give your cat would not work in your favour or help them feel more loving towards you, and Dr Oliva explained why:
Our pets usually live in luxurious conditions, they have a warm bed, they have toys for entertainment, jackets for winter. But they do lack certain freedoms that we lost during the lockdown - freedom to come and go as they please, freedom to socialise, exercise is restricted to one hour a day.
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While the cats might not have been loving all the loving, 100% of dog owners have said that their pets have been loving the quality time.
At the end of the day, this research has just once again proven something we already knew: dogs are better than cats.
Just kidding! We're sure Stacey's cat Goku loves her more than ever before after their months of lockdown together.
Main image courtesy of iStock