Humanization has become so foundational to the pet food and pet care markets that when I see surveys of pet owners in developed regions, I have to scratch my head if the results show the percentage of respondents who view their pets as family members less than 100%. I mean, who are these Scrooges who still consider dogs and cats as merely utilitarian?
That may come across as judgmental, I realize, and without any scientific basis. Well, now some science has arrived, even if it’s somewhat limited. It turns out that social factors play a much larger role in the depth of the human-companion animal bond than do other demographics such as income, education level or geographic location, according to a new study from researchers at Vilnius University in Lithuania.
Their pets are their children
A caveat: The study included only pet owners in Lithuania (the majority having dogs), which may not be representative of pet owners elsewhere. Still, it drew 571 respondents, and their characterizations of their relationships with their pets seem to ring true for pet owners in many other countries.
For example, 66.7% refer to their pets as their children. “Similar trends have been observed internationally,” reads the Vilnius University press release, attributing Associate Professor Evandželina Petukienė, one of the study’s authors and research supervisor. Other findings include:
- More than 90% of respondents agree that their dogs or cats are true family members and that they have strong emotional bonds with their pets.
- A majority said they don’t “spare money when it comes to pet food and choose the best available options.”
- 43% reported caring more about their pets’ health than their own.
- Women tend to humanize their pets more than do men. “Women form stronger emotional bonds with animals, are more likely to celebrate pets’ birthdays, give gifts and want items associated with their animals,” according to Petukienė.
- People living alone are also more likely to form strong emotional bonds with their pets.
- Respondents aged 19 to 25 are most likely to attribute human qualities to their pets, consider them family members, form strong emotional bonds and refer to them as children. “This may be related to the growing child-free trend among younger generations,” Petukienė said.
Developing pet regions catching up?
She also commented that some of the results were unexpected. Maybe that’s true for Lithuania, but in my mind, they don’t seem surprising at all. These are exactly the type of findings in surveys of pet owners in the U.S., Western Europe and other developed parts of the world that we’ve been seeing for some time now. As pet ownership grows in more developing regions, I suspect a deep level of humanization will also continue to emerge there.
Because especially at this time of year, anyone lucky enough to have a furry (or feathered or scaled) family member knows just how much joy and comfort they bring to life.
