Best Pets, Cats or Dogs?

Posted on February 22, 2010 | Category: Pet Trivia

Man’s best friend has always been his dog… until now.

It appears that more and more of us are choosing a cat as the family pet.

Statistics show an upsurge in the number of cats living in UK households.

According to recent research carried out by the Cats Protection League some 7.5 million Britons share their house with cats, compared with 6.1 million with dogs.

The UK’s largest cat charity has 252 volunteer-run branches and 29 adoption centres. Its survey shows the number of cat-owning households in 1979 to have been only 4.9 million. It also reveals that almost 40 percent of people named cats as their favourite pet compared with only seven percent preferring dogs.

The most recent figures released by the society show that black and white cats are the most likely to be homeless, closely followed by tabbies.

Meanwhile, Dogs’ Trust report that more than 100,000 stray and abandoned dogs were picked up in UK streets during 2008 (latest statistics available). The figure represented an 11 percent increase on the previous year and the highest recorded increase since their records began in 1997.

All of this begs the question, why are we abandoning our cats and dogs in such a heartless way?

The current financial crisis may well have something to do with it, claim those in the know.

Families, interviewed anonymously for this page, have confessed that when it comes to cutting costs, sadly, the family pet has to be the first to go.

But at least, those we spoke to said they had handed their pets over to rescue centres and not just dumped them on the streets – or worse, on a motorway – to fend for themselves.

Add in the fundamental fact that there will always be heartless owners who throw fast-growing, hungry pets out of their homes for the simple reason that they have become bored with their company. The puppy and kitten that was so cuddly when young, has suddenly lost its attraction. The novelty has worn off, particularly in the case of pets bought as companions for small children.

Rescue centres are doing a wonderful job rehoming so many.

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