We all love our pets, and the commitment we make to take care of them means we often need to put them first – and sometimes, ahead of our own love lives.
Indeed, our furry friends can influence our romantic relationships – and cats do so more than you might think. Have you ever had to cut a date short because your cat is at home with separation anxiety, or put a relationship on hold because of disagreements over your furry friend? What about a potential partner being allergic to cats – would that be a dealbreaker?
In a survey of 1,000 US-based cat parents, pet tech company Whisker found that just over one-third of us (34%) would even ghost a potential romantic partner if they were allergic to cats.
If you think you’re allergic to cats, be they yours or your partner’s, you should know that, often, allergies can be managed, so your burgeoning relationship might not be completely doomed!
What if your partner wasn’t allergic to your cat, but simply didn’t like them? Well, a whopping 62% of pet parents would end their relationship if that were the case, while 35% have felt embarrassed to bring a date over because of their litter box.
Almost half (44%) of respondents admitted that their cat has ‘third-wheeled’ on a date night – though if your date is a fellow cat person they surely wouldn’t mind – while 38% have actually canceled a date to stay home with their pets.
And, if you’ve caught yourself looking through your camera roll for your feline on a first date, you’re not alone. In fact, the average cat parent has over 600 photos of their cat on their phone right now.
It’s not surprising that so many of us consider our cats’ happiness so important – even at the expense of date night! Despite the reputation cats sometimes have for being aloof, there are all sorts of ways cats show affection, and they really can be the best company.
Do cats know we love them? It’s a difficult question to answer, given that cats express their feelings in a different way to humans, but it seems as though they do. Adult cats don’t meow at other adult cats, but kittens meow to their mothers, and adult cats meow to us, suggesting that there’s an almost parent-child dynamic with plenty of love and affection.
Meanwhile, Whisker is encouraging people to break up with their litter box and upgrade to its Litter-Robot with the ‘Dump Your Box’ promotion offering $80 off bundles. Check out our guide to the best automatic cat litter boxes – and see what we thought when we compared the Litter-Robot 3 vs Litter-Robot 4.
Still looking for love as a pet parent? Here are 32 ways to include your pet on a date and here’s our guide to the best automated cat toys to keep your cat occupied while you’re out
