A dog is a man’s best friend, the old saying goes. Well, during lockdown cats ran them a close second.

Research by the University of York has revealed that many owners reported their pet cats actually became more affectionate during lockdown.

“Our findings indicate that poorer mental health may increase attention paid to one’s companion animal,” said Dr Emily Shoesmith of the Department of Health Sciences.

That, in turn, seems to have led to Misty, Lola or Tilly (or whatever we happen to call out pet) responding in kind.

Oddly, while cats seem to have become more affectionate, the same doesn’t appear to be true of dogs, the researchers say.

The study, led jointly by the universities of York and Lincoln during last year’s lockdown, involved a survey of more than 5,000 pet owners in the UK.

It aimed to look at the association between changes in companion animal welfare and behaviour and the changes to the daily lives, behaviour and mental health of their owners.

“While it has long been recognised that pets can enrich the lives of humans, the welfare of a companion animal is strongly influenced by the behaviour of their owners, as well as their physical and social environment,” said Professor Daniel Mills of the University of Lincoln, co-author with Dr Shoesmith of the paper The Perceived Impact of The First UK COVID-19 Lockdown on Companion Animal Welfare and Behaviour’. 

“During lockdown changes experienced by our pets may have included having owners around for more of the day due to furlough or working from home, alterations to their daily routine and limited access to animal-related services, such as training classes or veterinary care.”

In the survey, 67.3 per cent of pet owners reported changes in their animal’s welfare and behaviour during the first lockdown phase.

Between 10–15 per cent of all owners reported that their animal appeared to be more energetic and playful, and 20–30 per cent indicated their animal seemed more relaxed, with at least three times as many owners reporting improvements rather than deteriorations in their animal’s physical condition.

Owners reported more positive changes for cats, however, than for dogs.

“Owner mental health status has a clear effect on companion animal welfare and behaviour, and is clearly something we need to consider when we seek to do what is best for the animals we care for,” Professor Mills added.

You can read the researchers’ full paper here