Anthropology Commons^™

New Research Suggests Cat And Dog ‘Moms’ And ‘Dads’ Really Are Parenting Their Pets: Here’S The Evolutionary Explanation Why, Shelly Volsche

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Have you noticed more cats riding in strollers lately? Or bumper stickers that read, “I love my granddogs”? You’re not imagining it. More people are investing serious time, money and attention in their pets.

It looks an awful lot like parenting, but of pets, not people.

Can this kind of caregiving toward animals really be considered parenting? Or is something else going on here?

Americans Adopted Fewer Pets From Shelters In 2020 As The Supply Of Rescue Animals Fell, Shelly Volsche

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Demand for new pets certainly seemed to spike when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States in early 2020 and forced many Americans to spend more time isolated.

But adoptions from animal shelters and rescues actually fell 17% to approximately 1.6 million in 2020 from over 1.9 million in 2019, according to Shelter Animal Counts, a nonprofit that tracks data regarding animals that spend time in shelters.

How did Americans end up welcoming fewer rescued animals into their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic? The short answer is that there weren’t enough furry friends to go around.

We Studied What Happens When Guys Add Their Cats To Their Dating App Profiles, Lori Kogan, Shelly Volsche

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

If you’ve used a dating app, you’ll know the importance of choosing good profile pics.

These photos don’t just relay attractiveness; a recent study suggested that 43% of people think they can get a sense of someone’s personality by their picture. You might guess that someone who has included a photo of themselves hiking is an outdoorsy type of person.

But as scientists who study human-animal interactions, we wanted to know what this meant for pet owners – in particular, male cat owners.

If you’re a guy who owns a cat, what kind of effect does it have on suitors …

Not The Cat’S Meow?: The Impact Of Posing With Cats On Female Perceptions Of Male Dateability, Lori Kogan, Shelly Volsche

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The aim of this study was to investigate whether men were considered more attractive when posing for a photo alone or holding a cat. Prior research suggests that women view pet owners as more attractive and dateable than non-pet owners; however, this effect was strongest with dog owners. We hypothesized that men posing with cats would be more attractive than those posing alone. Using an online survey, women viewed images of a man posing alone or with a cat and rated the men on the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Big Five Inventory. Women viewed men as less …