Percentage of pet owners who cancel plans to stay home with their pet

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

ALMOST HALF OF PET PARENTS HAVE CANCELED PLANS JUST TO STAY HOME WITH THEIR PET. 

THAT’S ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY OF 2,000 CAT AND DOG OWNERS, WHICH FOUND THAT NOT ONLY HAVE 48 PERCENT BAILED ON PLANS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, THEY’VE DONE IT AN AVERAGE OF FIVE TIMES IN THEIR PET’S LIFE.     

CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH ON BEHALF OF DOG AND CAT FOOD BRAND NUTRISH, THE SURVEY REVEALED THAT ANOTHER 30% EVEN ADMIT THEY’VE CALLED OUT OF WORK JUST TO STAY HOME WITH THEIR PET — FOR AN AVERAGE OF FOUR TIMES SINCE THEY’VE BROUGHT THEM HOME. 

THE DATA SHOWED PET PARENTS CHAT WITH THEIR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS AN AVERAGE OF 11 TIMES PER DAY, AS WELL AS AVERAGE 10 CUDDLE SESSIONS AND 10 SCRATCHES OR MASSAGES.

THEY ALSO PLAY GAMES WITH THEIR PET SEVEN TIMES PER DAY, CALL THEM NICKNAMES 10 TIMES AND EVEN SING TO THEM ABOUT FIVE TIMES ON AVERAGE.

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 cat and dog owners; the survey was commissioned by Nutrish and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between August 24 and August 30, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.