Introduction:
Research into the human-animal bond has identified a complex relationship between pet ownership and health with both positive and negative effects. However, research into this bond has been limited by relatively small, heterogenous datasets. This study aims to define strata of cat and dog owners based on a large, multi-national dataset.
Methods:
Data was provided by the International Survey of Pet Owners and Veterinarians, encompassing information on 19,187 dog and cat owners across 10 countries. Strata of cat and dog owners were identified using a model-based clustering approach, with optimal number of clusters identified based on Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) noting each cluster should contain at least 10% of overall population. Clusters were compared and contrasted across proportion of question responses (χ2 test) and mean response (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis tests).
Results:
Two disparate clusters were identified in dog owners, while three were identified in cat owners. Clusters were associated with different pet ownership characteristics, with subgroups of pet owners (Cluster 2 in dog owners, Clusters 2 and 3 in cat owners) that reported a strong bond with their pet, higher likelihood to spend more money and utilize veterinary products, and a stronger impact on their health. Gender was found to differ between clusters, with female owners tending to report a stronger bond wither their pet.
Discussion:
Our data-driven approach identified heterogeneity not only between owners of different pet types, but also within owners of the same pet type. Broadly, there appears to be a subgroup of owners with stronger emotional connections with their pet (report the pet is like a child, a stronger bond) compared to owners with a more pragmatic view of their pet. However, results do suggest a high baseline level of care that all owners provide for their pets.