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Dog People vs. Cat People: The Surprising Differences

Hunch.com crossed responses to lifestyle surveys by so-called dog and cat people. Take a look at the conclusions and tell us, does anything sound familiar?

from Reader's Digest | December 2011 / January 2012
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(l): © Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Thinkstock (r): © Pixland/Thinkstock
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Hunch.com recently polled more than 200,000 pet owners to find out if they were dog people or cat people. The site then crossed those responses with lifestyle surveys and arrived at the following conclusions. Anything sound familiar?

Dog people: 15% more likely to be extroverts
Cat people: 11% more likely to be introverts

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Dog people: 36% more likely to use a pop song as a ringtone
Cat people: 14% more likely to cling to friends at a party

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© iStockphoto/Thinkstock
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Dog people: 67% more likely to call animal control if they happen upon stray kittens
Cat people: 21% more likely to try to rescue stray kittens

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Dog people: 11% more likely to say they'd support cloning, but only for animals or pets
Cat people: 17% more likely to have completed a graduate degree

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Dog people: 18% more likely to consider Paul McCartney their favorite Beatle
Cat people: 25% more likely to consider George Harrison their favorite Beatle

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Dog people: 9% more likely to think of zoos as happy place
Cat people: 10% more likely to send messages on Twitter

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Dog people: 30% more likely to enjoy slapstick humor and impressions
Cat people: 21% more likely to enjoy ironic humor and puns

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Both dog and cat people:
- Talk to animals of all kinds
- Are equally likely to have a four-year degree
- Dislike animal-print clothing

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Your Comments

  • Jessix

    So true.  Next we need someone think up an MMPI-type questionaire to go a bit deeper into the differences between dog and cat people …

  • Kerryoh

    Both dog and cat people are more likely to remember the name of the pet rather than the name of the individual that owns the pet.

  • Speakeasylady

    KerryOH just put my mind at ease.  I, too, always remember the pet’s name and forget the human’s!!!  How embarrassing, but true….

  • elvis_girl

    I’m sure someone has said this but what if you are BOTH a CAT AND A DOG person? I guess you are a combo then! I have always had at least one dog or a cat and usually at the same time. Once we had 3 dogs and one cat, now we have one dog and 2 cats. And I will DEFINITELY save a kitten, puppy, cat or dog if they need a home, if they come to my house! We might not be able to keep them but we will find them a home and not take them to the pound. Also, I enjoy both kinds of humor and married a comedian that does both kinds of comedy!

  • DDDALA

    I ‘m lucky that the shelter in my area is a no-kill shelter and the people there are great and spend all kinds of time with the animals. I’ve gotten three cats there.  Also would like to agree that animal print clothing sucks.

  • Hopsue_303

    I guess that I am on the fence, I’m a dog and a cat person.  Dogs are higher maintence than cats but who can resist a cold wet nose or a warm fuzzy purring furball.  I love ‘em both.

  • Anonymous

    I can think of one reason dog people are much more likely to call the pound for stray kittens.  Because the home they would bring them into has a dog in it.  I have housed stray kittens to the shock and dismay of my adult cats but dogs are different.  (No offense meant to the dog.  The reason we have cats is that was the stray we found when my oldest child was three and it’s been cats ever since.)

  • p.schendel

    Consider this which are more likely to be readers ?

  • Eshines

    So true

  • Eshines

    So true

  • Doris

    This poll was too general and disconnected, such as dog people like zoos and cat people twitter???? Poll again on same subject, such as dog people like zoos 9% more than cat people like zoos! Polls like this don’t really point out that much difference between the two.  Taking another poll in another region of the country may give you opposite answers. Polls need to be cross sectioned across the entire country of USA! I don’t feel this poll accurately distinguished dog lovers from cat lovers, not really. I did, however, agree with the last finding where both were equal.

  • Mary

    On the favorite Beatle: You can include John Lennon in the league of cat people, and, in turn, a big fan of George Harrison too.

  • Mary

    On the favorite Beatle: You can include John Lennon in the league of cat people, and, in turn, a big fan of George Harrison too.

  • Pissed off guy

    Who the hell put this together. Some of the categories don’t have anything to do with one another. Must have been an intern.

  • Jtounrer

    I know for a cat person. If you do not like cats like they do that up set them a lot

  • Jtounrer

    I know for a cat person. If you do not like cats like they do that up set them a lot

  • Anonymous

    I like cats and dogs.

  • Anonymous

    I like cats and dogs.

  • Anonymous

    I like cats and dogs.

  • Animal lover

    These studies always leave out the animal lovers that love both cats and dogs equally. Let me present my 1st observation. We prefer Lennon as our Beatle. 

  • Southern_gal

    I love all animals but my faves are cats, then dogs, and horses. I even cried (just a little) when my daughter’s hamster died and it was mean! LOL

  • DzRed

    We have 6 cats and 5 dogs.  2 kids.  All were strays, except for the 2 Yorkies that were given to us.  All spayed/neutered, except for the kids….LOL  1 cat and 3 dogs stay inside, while the others are outside, in our fenced backyard, with shelter, and plenty of room to roam.

  • elvis_girl

    “We have 6 cats and 5 dogs.  2 kids.  All were strays, except for the 2 Yorkies that were given to us.”
    I had to chuckle when I first read that!  I imagined your kids being strays for just a second. :-)

     We have 2 cats, 1 dog (all adopted) and 3 kids (not adopted.). Both cats stay inside but our youngest tries to bolt out the door any chance she gets, good thing the dog is usually around to keep that from happening since she hates him! We have the fenced in backyard as well but our dog lives indoors. He goes out to potty and run around then he comes back in.

  • GirlFromMars

    And the name of their pet rather than the name of their child.

  • YarYar

    Cats are more like humans than dogs are and much more intelligent.

  • Rambunctiousexplorer

    Pretty stupid if you look at it as a study!