The great debate over pets continues..
According to a new study from Manhattanville College in New York, it seems dog owners are happier people than cat owners. The study found that dog owners are more conscientious, less neurotic and more agreeable than those that own cats.
The research was performed by Katherine Jacobs Bao, who had 263 participants between the ages of 19 and 68 take an online questionnaire about pet ownerships and personality. “Personality likely influences our choices to adopt a pet and which pet we choose, but our personality is not fixed, so it could also be influenced by our relationships with others, including our pets,” Bao told CNET.
Of course, this study tested only a small pool of pet owners, however, this isn’t the first one to find that cat owners are more needy and/or neurotic. According to the Daily Mail, a study by University of California also found cat owners to be more anxious. On the plus side, that study found they are also more adventurous than those that own dogs. Perhaps because owning a cat allows you to be more free with your time, as they are very self-reliant.
The most important thing we can take from Bao’s study is not just the whole dog versus cat idea, but rather, that Bao found that pet owners in general are overall more satisfied with life than non-pet owners… but we knew that already didn’t we?
Head over to Open Science Framework to read more.