Forget dogs being man’s best friend… ‘Having a cat is better than having a girlfriend sometimes,’ George Owen, who lives in Muswell Hill, apparently told The Times, concluding that his cat is a ‘good companion but isn’t much hassle’. The number of pet cats in Britain has risen by 500,000 in the past year to reach eight million, with men and young people accounting for the growth, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA).

Another guy described cats’ affection as ‘real’ while dogs’ affection is ‘false’ when speaking to the BBC. The Times feature also mentioned that ‘dating experts have advised men to pose with pets for their online profiles’. It certainly doesn’t paint the best picture of men.

The news follows research from Oregon State University, which concluded that cats choose human interaction over food. The researchers took 50 cats from shelters and people’s homes and deprived them of food, human contact, scent and toys for a few hours. They then introduced them to stimuli within these four categories to see what they chose. Most cats chose human socialisation over any of the other categories.

So, it seems that men like cats because they’re easy and genuine companions. I’ve also very recently adopted a cat. So far, she’s been very well behaved yet she pays me plenty of attention…

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