Must Love Dogs: UK Pet Owners Prefer Canines Over Cats

Britons love their doggies more than their moggies, according to new research on pet ownership.

There are more homes with dogs than cats, said a study from the University of Bristol and Cats Protection.

Between 2006 and 2011, the year of the last census, the number of cat-owning households in the UK has dropped by more than one per cent.

Researchers carried out a survey of more than 10,000 homes to find out if they miaowed or woofed.

While three out of ten households in the UK have at least one dog, 23 per cent own cats and seven per cent have both animals.

Lead author Dr Jane Murray told Mail Online: “This study provides evidence for a small but significant decrease in the proportion of UK households that owned cats.

“Although cats and dogs are popular pets in the UK, statistics published by the UK’s largest cat and dog rehoming organisations suggest that more needs to be done to increase the number of households willing to adopt cats/dogs and/or decrease the number entering these organisations.”

There are an estimated 10.1 million cats in the UK, the study said, compared to 11.5 million dogs.

Despite the never-ending battle between cats and dogs, the UK’s most popular pet is, in fact, the fish, with about 45 million swimming in ponds and tanks in people’s homes.

(Picture: Rex)