This is a question that is often the start of a heated discussion!  A few studies conducted recently have helped to shed some light on this topic.

Anthrozoology is the study of how animals and people relate to one another and a ground-breaking study was conducted in this area. They had people matching photographs of owners and their dogs. Over 65% were able to correctly match the photographs. They then surmised that owners subconsciously select dogs that they look like.

Gosling-Potter conducted an “Internet Personality Project” at Texas University involving 4,565 people and they found the following:

Dog People                         Social + Outgoing

                                                More Extroverted           

                                                Conscientious

                                                Prefer Planning V Spontaneity

                                                Traditional beliefs

Cat People                          12% less Outgoing                          

                                                11% more open and creative     

                                                Arty and Emotional

                                                Curious

                                                Unconventional beliefs

A study at Bristol University found that 47% of cat owners were university educated v’s only 38% of dog owners. 30% of cat owners live alone and are twice as likely to live in a unit and be single.

Another study of 6,149 people showed that if you owned both a cat and a dog - you were more like a dog owner.               

This is all just a bit of fun – but remember that someone funded these studies!