What differentiates people who like cats from their comparison set? These are the words of YouGovProfiles on their page about people who like cats. The sample size is 3573.
The images below tell us about the sort of person who owns a cat in the UK. The information is based YouGov polls. YouGov are a well-known company in the UK who often conduct polls on behalf of organisations such as newspapers to find out what people think about all manner of things. The most common of these polls concerns how people are voting at elections.
Of course, there are different levels in skill, concern and knowledge with respect to cat ownership. The poll refers to liking cats which is quite a general description and does not necessarily include cat owners but probably does.
I comment myself below the series of 12 images below which are self-explanatory. This is the profile of the cat lover (liker) in the UK…
Thoughts?
What do I think about this cat loving profile? It is reasonably good, I believe. It more or less chimes with my impression of what the cat lover in the UK is like in 2014. It is interesting that Yorkshire is a major cat loving area in the UK. That is in the north of England and happens to be close to where Ruth and Barbara live (two regular contributors to PoC). They live in county Durham.
The overall profile is perhaps of a middle-aged woman (the poll results are in a younger age bracket), who is rather conservative in her tastes but intelligent, thoughtful and concerned. You could say that the UK cat lover is, perhaps, somewhat old-school England in mentality but that is me guessing and extrapolating from these results. They might reflect the way England was about 50 years ago. They probably hanker after those times but these are my personal views and not based on any poll.
Here are some statistics from a study conducted a little while ago but still valid about pet ownership in the UK:
| Topic | Statistic | Comment – these are mine alone unless stated otherwise |
| Estimated number of cats in UK (2006) | 10,332,955 (Number of dogs: 10,522,186) | 1986: Estimated of about 6.2 million cats and 6.4 million dogs in the UK (Thrusfield) – inaccurate? 2007: Estimated 7.2 million cats and 7.3 million dogs (Pet Food Manufacturers Association – PFMA) – inaccurate? The current information contradicts anecdotal evidence. |
| Percentage of households owning cats in UK | 26% (31% owned dogs). People who had a garden were more likely to own a cat or dog. The number of cats and dogs is related to the number of people that live in that household1.This compares to US study by Patronek that found that 19.7 per cent of households owned cats (dogs (28.8 per cent)2. | Understandable that a garden encourages pet ownership |
| Households where someone was qualified to degree level | More likely to own a cat (1.36 times more likely to own a cat than other households). | Does this mean more intelligent people prefer cats? Certainly more independent people prefer cats and the two sets of data may do hand in hand. The authors say this: “it could be related to occupations requiring higher qualifications being associated with longer working hours and therefore less time available for care of a dog.“ |
| Women | More likely to own a cat | Because women are generally less likely to be pack animals |
| Household with at least one dog and children aged 11-15 | More likely to own a cat | |
| Percentage of households owning one cat | 58.3% (compared with 73.3% owning one dog) | |
| Percentage of households owning two cats | 29.3% | |
| Percentage of households owning three cats | 7.2% | |
| Percentage of households owning four cats | 2.1% | |
| Percentage of households owning five cats | 1.4% | |
| Percentage of households owning 6 – 12 cats | 1.6% | |
| Average number of cats per household | 1.66 | |
| Percentage of households owning one or more dogs and one or more cats | 7% |
Well we live in County Durham which is next to North Yorkshire and we are older than the profiled people so maybe why not much is right about us.
Yes to cats and animals and nature and charities, but no to swinging to the right politics, Bank, Daily Mirror (WHAT? Read anything other than the Northern Echo!) Woman’s weekly, TV shows, sports (hate them all) films, scrabble, video games, food etc etc lol
Very interesting though, but as you say Michael, the survey sample isn’t very big.
It’s time for revolution. Do you think the NSA reads this?
I don’t have the tendencies; but, I certainly fantasize about opening cages, releasing, and torching kill shelters.
The half empty cup, Michael?
LOL!
Michael: Maybe it’s because I’m older than the survey group averag.
Whilst I agreed with the Niche Interest section, the only person on the favourite movies, shows, artists personality list I actually like is Derren Brown. I never buy papers or magazines. Have never played scrabble or owned a Rover. Most sports bore me rigid, but I do enjoy watching a game of American Football.
This means some cat lovers are psychopathic 😉