Dogs more popular than cats — but not among robot animals

Dogs win among living animals — cats among robot animals

Over 2,100 people responded to Folksam's survey on whether they prefer dogs or cats. More men than women preferred dogs (60 versus 55 percent), and the share preferring dogs increases with age: in the 56–79 age group, 63 percent answered dog, compared with 50 percent in the 14–35 age group.

A separate survey in Fredrik Westergaard's network on LinkedIn gave similar results, with the addition that one in four respondents answered "both equally".

The chart shows that dogs are more popular than cats

Cats dominate among digital therapy animals

When it comes to digital therapy and companion animals, the ratio is reversed: around 80 percent cats and 20 percent dogs in Sweden's nursing homes. One explanation is that the digital therapy cat Justocat was early on the Swedish market, and that Joy For All's cat came before their dog.

– When we rolled out therapy animals across Gotland in 2019, each unit received both a dog and a cat. The tests and survey responses showed that both provided great benefit, says Fredrik Westergaard.

A digital therapy animal is suitable not only for people with dementia but can also benefit cognitively healthy people — in one example, the robot dog Roffe at the Pjäsen nursing home in Gotland gave Gun significantly better sleep and less anxiety.

Source: Folksam's survey and Wera Welltech's rollout project on Gotland in 2019.

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