If you suspected your feline friend was giving you the cold shoulder during the pandemic, you are not alone.

Key points:

  • An Australian study surveyed 400 people living alone during lockdowns
  • Some cat owners felt their cats were less than thrilled with having humans about the house
  • The study dog owners were less lonely overall

A new study by James Cook University has found about half of cat owners reported feeling their cats were “put out” by their increased presence during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.

The study surveyed nearly 400 people living alone during lockdown and looked into how pet ownership interacted with reported levels of mindfulness, depression and anxiety.

It found simply having a dog was enough to improve an owners mood, but that cats did not necessarily mirror their owners’ affection.

A study has found some cat owners felt their pets were “put out” by their owners invading their space during lockdown. (

ABC Far North: Jemima Burt

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Lockdown a taste of pets’ daily life

The study was led by psychology lecturer Doctor Jessica Oliva, who said lockdown was one of the first times pet owners had the chance to experience what a day in the life of their pets is like.

“Our pets usually live in luxurious conditions, they have a warm bed, they have toys for entertainment, jackets for winter.

She said dog owners surveyed reported feeling a reduced level of loneliness.

“A dog was an excuse to go outside and exercise and provided that routine, and also that doing so afforded an opportunity to socialise with other people doing the same thing.

“We don’t see it in cat owners.”

Space invaders

Dr Oliva said almost all dog owners reported that their pets were happy with more owner time, but that experience was not echoed by cat owners.

“About 50 per cent of cat owners reported that their cats were behaving in ways that were interpreted as being ‘put out’ by their owners all the time.

“Whereas almost 100 per cent of dog owners reported that their dogs were just loving the fact that they were home all the time.”

But Dr Oliva warned that travel would not always be restricted and people could in future spend less time working from home, so they needed to be sure they could care for a pet for the entirety of its life.

“While it’s great that lots of cats and dogs have been rehomed from shelters since the beginning of the pandemic, this should still be a really well thought out decision reflecting a commitment to care for and enrich the life of the animal for the duration of its lifetime.”

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