Family Member, Best Friend, Child or 'Just' a Pet, Owners' Relationship Perceptions and Consequences for Their Cats.

ABSTRACT: Describing the relationship with one's cat in human terms might reflect an underlying anthropomorphic view of the relationship which might be associated with an owner's behavior towards their cat and the cat's living environment. Owners self-categorized the relationship with their cat as either a 'member of the family', 'as a child', 'best friend', or 'a pet animal'. The extent to which owner- and cat-related factors influence these four relationship descriptions are examined in survey data of approximately 1800 cat owners. Differences in outdoor access, care during absence of the owner, and access to the bedroom are examined between the four relationship perceptions. The owner's age and household composition, ideas about their cat's equality, support, and dependency, and whether their cat

SUBMITTER: Bouma EMC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8750854 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature