What makes a better pet, a dog or cat? The debate is as old as time.
When it comes to domestic pets it seems Australians are quite particular about their preferred breed of dog but will pretty much love any type of cat.
Pet insurance provider Budget Direct has released data revealing that the top five most popular dogs in Australia in 2023 are all pedigree breeds, whilst four of the most popular cat varieties are of mixed parentage.
Cavoodles, Border Collies, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and Maltese Crosses are our five most popular dogs and are all pedigree breeds, whilst the Domestic Short Hair cat, Domestic Medium Hair cat, the Tabby and the Domestic Long Hair cat are amongst the top 5 most popular cats with the Ragdoll being the only pedigree cat breed to make the list.
Budget Direct’s Chief Growth Officer, Jonathan Kerr, said that despite mostly not being pedigree, cats are proving to be the healthiest.
“Data from over 14,000 entries into our BudPet quiz has ranked cats healthier and having better diets,” he said.
The data collated the enquiry responses to rank each pet on a range of areas.
When it came to diet almost 19% of the 3,683 cats received a perfect score with the right amount of wet and dry food and combination of preferred food type including quality bought food and home cooked meals. Dogs were slightly behind the cats with 16% of 10,474 dogs obtaining a perfect score.
When it came to their health cats again outscored the dogs with just under 45 per cent of cats obtaining a perfect score beating the dogs of which 43.7 per cent recorded a perfect score.
Mr Kerr said the health score reflected a number of things including the animal’s heritage, vaccinations, grooming and veterinary checkups.
“One area where neither pet scored as well as we hoped was in their physical habits including how often they were walked, how much social time they had with other cats or dogs and how much time they spent inside and outside the house,” he said.
When it came to habits only 2.6 per cent of cats obtained a perfect score and just 0.3 per cent of dogs.
“What the data is telling us is that you can’t expect an animal to be healthier because it is a pedigree. All animals need the right balance of quality diet, medical maintenance and physical exercise.”
And as for what makes the best pet – dog or cat? The debate continues.
Find out more
For more information, you can visit: Cats vs Dogs: What makes a better pet?
Disclaimer: Budget Direct Insurance is arranged by Auto & General Services, ABN 61 003 617 909, AFSL 241411. Registered Office: 13/9 Sherwood Road, Toowong 4066 on behalf of the insurer, Auto & General Insurance Company Limited ABN 42 111 586 353.
This is general information only, and does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation and needs and you should consider whether it is appropriate for you, having regard to these factors before acting on it. Read the Product Disclosure Statement, Target Market Determination, Financial Services Guide, Key Fact Sheets available at budgetdirect.com.au, and consider if the product is right for you before deciding to purchase or continue to hold the product.
While Budget Direct has endeavoured to ensure the information we’ve relied on is accurate and current, we do not guarantee it. Budget Direct accepts no liability for this information.
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