Study shows that lockdown has made cats friendlier towards their owners

Cats are the independent women of the pet world. While some people may be graced with a smoochy kitty there are plenty of other owners who exist purely to fill their cat's bowls.

However, it seems that lockdown has had an effect on not only people but cats too as it has caused them to change their behaviour towards their owners.

Direct Line pet insurance conducted a survey across the UK about how peoples pets have been affected by the lockdown and found some very cool results.

Almost 90% of respondents had claimed that heir cat provided them with emotional support at least once since March.

One cat owner named Lottie described how her 15-year-old feline named Humphrey had been way more cuddly since spending more quality time together:

He has never been a cuddly cat and didn't enjoy a tickle like other cats I've had. He is a friendly boy, but he's very aloof and loved being out and about.

She continued:

But a few weeks into lockdown he started sitting on my lap when I'm watching TV which wouldn't have happened before. And now he likes coming up to bed with us. I always take the dogs out last thing and Humph now waits for me in the garden

Another 51% of respondents agreed that their cats had been going outside less owners had been forced to work from home.

Looks like cats have been pleasantly surprised to see more of their owners.

Also, despite having so much opportunity for attention pet owners reported that 95% of their dogs hadn't gotten any fatter. That's probably because we all used walking our dogs as an excuse to get outside!

However, one thing that dog owners have to be aware of is that their beloved pups may experience some major separation anxiety when their owners head back to work and they may need to be eased into the transition. Veterinarian Dr Kate Adams said:

Dogs are super social - if it was up to them, they would just have their owners around 24 hours a day. It's inevitable that it's going to be a massive adjustment. They can get up to everything from chewing electrical cords, or eating stuffing out of couches or their beds, or even just something small like falling off the couch and hurting their back.

But just because our canine friends will sorely miss us doesn't mean our now-affectionate cats will be the same. Dr Kate continued:

Honestly, cats will probably be very glad when we all go back to work. They'll probably be like, 'Okay, bye guys, I want this house back to myself now'.