If you had to choose who to quarantine with between your partner or your pet, which would you pick? According to a new survey, female pet parents are more likely to pick their pets over their significant others.
With adoptions soaring the past several months and Americans spending more time at home with their four-legged companions, pet parents say the pandemic has shed new light on how much their pets mean to them – so much that they are impacting major decisions – according to a recent survey by Freshpet, the first-to-market-leader in fresh pet food.
The newly released Freshpet Pets, People, Pandemic Poll: Navigating Pet Parenthood in the New Normal, found:
- Move Aside Men. Over two in five female pet parents (44 percent) would choose to quarantine with their cat/dog if there was a second wave of COVID-19 lockdown and they had to choose one companion to stay home with,while nearly half of male pet parents (47 percent) would choose their significant other.
- Pets Prompt Life Decisions. 1 out of 10 American pet parents (13 percent) have made a career change—found a job with more flexible hours, switched to remote working, found a new job, etc.—as a result of having a pet during the lockdown. About 2 out of 5 American pet parents (42 percent) are more mindful of their spending habitsas a result of having a pet during the lockdown.
- Online Shopping Just Doesn’t Cut It Anymore. More than four in five American pet parents (83 percent) say that spending time with their cat and/or dog during lockdown improved their mood more than online shopping or spending time with a significant other.
- The More the Merrier. As pet parents look to leave their pets home alone, nearly 40% of American pet parents want to get a new pet to keep their current pet(s) company when they go back to work away from home.
The newly released Freshpet Pets, People, Pandemic Poll: Navigating Pet Parenthood in the New Normal, found:
- Over half of American pet parents (55 percent) say they will feel guilty for leaving their pets home when they go back to work away from home.
- Nearly two in five American pet parents (38 percent) want to get a new pet to keep their current pet(s) company when they go back to work away from home.
- More than four in five American pet parents (83 percent) say that spending time with their cat and/or dog during lockdown improved their mood more than online shopping or spending time with a significant other.
“We’re part of their pack, so when someone is missing, pets feel like the pack is not as strong and safe as it can be,” said Dr. Gerardo Perez-Camargo, DVM, VP of Research and Development at Freshpet. “We need to realize when we return to the office, pets don’t know how long we’ll be away for — or even if we’ll come back.”
According to Perez-Camargo, signs of separation anxiety include dogs licking their lips or paws repeatedly, and cats having accidents outside their litter boxes or demonstrating destructive behavior. But there are steps pet parents can take to help put their animals at ease, he said:
- Leave a radio on with music or voices, particularly if you use it when you’re at home with your pet.
- Let your pet have safe access to windows so they can watch wildlife activity, like at bird feeders or in flower beds.
- Pets find comfort in the scent of their pet parents, so consider leaving the t-shirt you slept in on your pet’s bed when you leave.
The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll, on behalf of Freshpet, from July 16-20, 2020. The survey polled 1,378 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are pet parents (own a cat(s) and/or dog(s)). This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
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