Pets and a Pandemic: An Exploratory Mixed Method Analysis of How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Dogs, Cats, and Owners

ORCID

Bolstad: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2297-2778

MSU Affiliation

College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Psychology; College of Veterinary Medicine; Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine

Creation Date

2026-06-30

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted dogs, cats, and interactions between these pets and their owners. Participants included 102 dog and/or cat owners residing primarily in the United States. Participants completed an online questionnaire between late April to late May 2020. Analyses included t-tests comparing retrospective estimates of pre-pandemic functioning and functioning during the pandemic, and qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze participants’ responses to three open-ended questions. Quantitative analyses found that pets and owners spent significantly more time together, with increases in physical contact between owners and pets, exercise with dogs, and engagement in dog-related activities. No significant changes were found regarding owners’ percentage of pet care responsibility, attachment to their pets, pleasantness derived from pet-related activities, or upset feelings toward their pets when comparing pre-pandemic and during pandemic scores. Five themes arose from the thematic analysis: Social/Attachment (i.e., changes to owner-pet, pet-pet, and owner-owner relationships), Physical (i.e., increases in owners’ physical contact and proximity with pets, physical benefits to pets and owners), Psychological (i.e., changes in owners’ and pets’ behavior and emotionality), Safety/Well-Being (i.e., health concerns regarding owners and pets), and Responsibilities/Routines (i.e., changes in owners’ and pets’ daily routines, changes in owners’ responsibilities and productivity). These findings provide valuable insight into how dogs, cats, owners, and interactions between these pets and owners were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as considerations for animal welfare in the wake of the pandemic. Additionally, the study generated many hypotheses pertaining to how and why these changes occurred, providing a foundation for additional research in this area.

Publication Date

12-1-2021

Publication Title

Human-Animal Interactions

Publisher

CAB International

First Page

65

Last Page

78

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

© CAB International 2021, published under the former journal title of Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2021.0012