Cats vs. Dogs: Which Pet Is Better for Your Mental Health? New Study Has an Answer

Ask most pet owners about their dog or cat and you'll quickly discover they're not talking about “just a pet.” They're talking about family.

Our animals share our homes, our routines, our couches—and occasionally far more of the bed than seems reasonable. They can make us laugh, keep us company, and somehow seem to know when we've had a terrible day.

So it seems logical that spending time with a beloved pet would help ease stress. But according to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, the relationship between pets, mood, and stress may be a little more complicated than that.

Researchers found that interacting with both cats and dogs was linked to better moods. But when it came to actually reducing the emotional effects of stress in the moment, neither animal appeared to provide the kind of stress-buffering effect researchers expected.

In other words, your pet may make your day better without necessarily making the stressful parts disappear.

And there was one unexpected finding involving cats.

Researchers Followed Pet Owners Through Their Everyday Lives

Rather than simply asking people to remember how their pets made them feel days or weeks earlier, researchers wanted a closer look at what happened during ordinary daily life.

Participants received 10 notifications on their smartphones each day for five days. Whenever a notification appeared, they answered a few quick questions about how they were feeling, what they were doing, and whether they were spending time with their pet.

By the end of the study, researchers had collected nearly 8,000 real-time reports.

And here's the good news for pet lovers: people generally felt better when they were interacting with their animals.

During periods of greater pet interaction, owners reported feeling happier and experiencing fewer negative emotions. The benefit was seen among both dog and cat owners.

First author Dr. Sanne Peeters suggested that the relationship between people and the type of pet they choose could also help explain why dogs and cats produced such similar results.

“Dog owners were probably more likely to identify as 'dog people,' whereas cat owners were more likely to identify as 'cat people,'” Peeters said. “It's possible that this owner-pet 'match' partly explains why the findings were so similar for dogs and cats.”

But Can Your Pet Actually Make Stress Feel Less Stressful?

This is where the results became more interesting.

Researchers wanted to know whether actively interacting with a pet during a stressful moment offered more emotional relief than simply having the animal nearby.

Surprisingly, the answer was no—or at least not in the way you might expect.

Pet owners generally felt better while interacting with their animals, but those interactions did not appear to reduce the immediate emotional impact of stress.

“The positive effects of pet interaction on well-being appear to be genuine, but they don't seem to happen because pets help people handle stress better at the exact moment the stress occurs,” explained corresponding author Dr. Mayke Janssens, assistant professor of psychology at The Open University.

“Interacting more intensively with the companion animal did not provide additional emotional benefits beyond those that may arise from the animal simply being present.”

That doesn't mean pets aren't helping.

The answer may be simpler than we think. A dog curled up beside you or a cat snoozing nearby offers companionship, connection, and a familiar presence. Over time, those seemingly small moments may help people feel less alone.

“It could be that interacting with a pet provides a sense of companionship and that pets help people feel more connected and less alone, which in turn could contribute to improved emotional well-being,” Janssens said.

Then Things Got Interesting for Cat Owners

One result stood out.

When cat owners were under stress, interacting more with their cats didn't appear to reduce negative emotions. In fact, greater interaction was associated with stronger negative feelings.

Before cat lovers sharpen their claws, there's an important catch.

Researchers urged caution because the study included fewer cat owners than dog owners, and the finding did not appear consistently across every analysis.

So no, this does not mean your cat is secretly plotting against your mental health.

Although if your cat is reading this over your shoulder, it probably already knows what you're thinking.

Peeters offered one possible explanation.

“One speculative explanation is that because interactions with cats are often more passive and less demanding in nature, a higher level of interaction might be more emotionally evocative,” she said. “This might not match the need for support in stressful moments.”

Anyone who has lived with a cat knows that feline affection often comes with terms and conditions.

Your lap is the best seat in the house—until you move. Belly rubs seem like an invitation until they suddenly become an ambush. Breakfast is expected at sunrise, weekends included, and if dinner is five minutes late, management will hear about it.

Yet beneath all that carefully maintained feline independence, cats can form close bonds with their humans. Sometimes simply having one curled up nearby is comforting—even if the cat prefers to pretend it's doing you a favor.

Dogs Aren't Exactly Stress-Free Either

Dogs tend to be considerably less subtle about their feelings.

Come home after being gone for ten minutes and you may receive a welcome usually reserved for returning heroes.

Dogs can encourage us to walk more, get outdoors, meet neighbors, and occasionally have conversations with complete strangers simply because both of us happen to be holding a leash.

Of course, they have their own special talent for raising the stress level.

There's the delivery truck that must be announced to the entire neighborhood, the squirrel that suddenly turns an ordinary walk into an Olympic event, and the mysterious patch of grass that apparently requires a full 30-minute investigation.

Yet dogs also offer something many owners treasure: enthusiastic companionship and a remarkable willingness to be involved in nearly everything we're doing.

So, Which Pet Is Better for Your Mental Health?

Based on this study, there isn't a clear winner.

Both cats and dogs were associated with better emotional well-being, even though neither appeared to magically erase the emotional impact of stress as it was happening.

And perhaps that's the more useful takeaway.

The relationship you have with your pet may matter more than whether your companion barks or purrs.

As for me?

I'd call it a draw.

A home with at least one dog and one cat offers the best of both worlds—a loyal best friend who's always ready for the next adventure and a furry roommate who occasionally rewards you with affection after you've properly earned it.

How about you? Are you Team Dog, Team Cat, or do you think life is simply better with both?

Key Takeaways

• Spending time with both dogs and cats was linked to better moods.

• Neither species appeared to reduce the immediate emotional effects of stress.

• Researchers found an unexpected stress-related result among cat owners, but they cautioned against reading too much into it.

• Pets may support emotional well-being through companionship and connection rather than by directly buffering stress.

• When it comes to emotional benefits, the relationship between you and your pet may matter more than whether you own a cat or a dog.