Even though the debate will probably never end, there have been two significant findings this week in the case of cats vs. dogs. A Manhattanville College study showed that dog owners are happier than cat owners, said The Daily Mail, and a BBC2 documentary called "Cats and Dogs" showed that dogs really do love their owners more than cats do. Looks like famous saying is true, dogs have owners and cats have staff.
For the BBC2 study, neuroscientist Paul Zak took saliva samples from cats and dogs before and after a 10-minute play session with their owner to test for the presence of oxytocin after playing, reported The Telegraph. Oxytocin is the love and bonding hormone, released in new moms and babies to help them connect.
"We have pretty good evidence that dogs actually love their humans," said Zak, according to The Telegraph. "A couple of small-scale studies have shown that when owners interact with their dogs, the human and their dog appear to release oxytocin. It's one of the chemical measures of love in mammals. Humans produce the hormone in our brains when we care about someone. For example, when we see our spouse or child the levels in our bloodstream typically rise by 40-60 percent. I was really surprised to discover that dogs produced such high levels of oxytocin... the dog level of 57.2 percent is a very powerful response. It shows these dogs really care about their owners. It was also a nice surprise to discover that cats produce any at all. At least some of the time, cats seem to bond with their owners."
It looks like dogs love their owners five times as much as cats!
The Manhattanville study revealed that owning any pet increases satisfaction with your life but that dog owners are generally happier than cat owners, showing more extroverted and conscientious tendencies. Two-hundred sixty-three participants filled out an online survey about their personality, their pet ownership and their general well-being. Katherine Jacobs Bao headed the study.
"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," said Bao, according to The Daily Mail.
Study or no study, when it comes down to it, what really matters is how you and your pet click. If you're considering getting a pet, head to your local animal shelter and hang out with both cats and dogs. Read about the care and keeping of both animals, and see what works best for you!
