Suspicious that your partner might be cheating? Forget checking their emails, tracing their footsteps or stalking their social media feed – but do be wary if they own a cat.
That’s because kitty owners are officially the most adulterous pet owners in the country, according to a new study.
And if your marriage has hit a ruff patch, you better hope you’re married to a dog lover.
Extra-marital dating site IllicitEncounters.com surveyed 1,000 of its members and found that over a quarter (26%) have a cat but less than 10% own a dog – making pooch owners the most faithful partners and least likely to stray.
The survey also found bunny fans aren’t much more loyal because 17% of rabbit owners were on the lookout for an affair.
You might want to be wary if your significant other owns reptiles like lizards and snakes, which was the third most popular pet for adulterers.
On the flip side, dog owners are officially the most faithful partners – with just 7% of all respondents owning a pet pooch.
IllicitEncounters.com spokesman Christian Grant said: “There has already been a plethora of scientific studies that claim that owning a dog, or dogs, makes you happier and healthier, and now you can add loyalty to that list.
“It’s an interesting, if not unexpected result. Man’s best friend is the UK’s most popular pet, and has been for a very long time, but not among this particular community it seems.
“A dog’s qualities are usually reflected in their owner, and loyalty, unconditional love, friendship and a sense of protectiveness are qualities that everyone associates with canines, regardless of their size, breed or gender.
“By the same token, a cat’s loyalty is a little more unclear. Often lazy, they’ve been known to drift to whomever is offering them more food, so it’s of little surprise to see that lack of loyalty reflected in our study.”
He continued: “The jury has always been out on whether cats genuinely love their human companions, or whether their loyalty lies with whoever can best satisfy their stomachs.
“Simply put, cats will follow whoever can best satisfy their needs, no matter how long they’ve been with a particular human.
“It’s also no surprise to see rabbits, who have a pretty notorious reputation for their powers of reproduction and reptiles such as snakes – not exactly known for their loyalty – closely follow cats.
“We’re not so foolish to say that every dog owner is the perfect human being – we can’t justify that sort of generalization. In fact, we’ve a couple of members who breed greyhounds for a living, while many work closely with dogs, be that as a vet, volunteer worker, dog walker or otherwise.”
