It might be the most polarizing question of our time: Are you a dog person or a cat person?
The debate continues with new findings from Dartmouth College researchers: Cat owners donate more money to charity than dog owners.
In a recent study published in the journal “Anthrozoös,” researchers studied data from 788 million transactions made by 63 million donors, totaling nearly $70 billion, between 2013 and 2022.
The researchers examined donation amounts between $20 and $100,000, noting their frequency, as well as demographics like age, gender, income, political affiliation, and education.
And, yes, pet ownership status.
After processing the data through a machine learning model, researchers found the following: Cat owners donate slightly more than dog owners, and also donate more often and more diversely.
“Of the variables studied … pet ownership was the fourth most important factor, after income, education, and gender,” the study’s abstract explained.
In the dataset, researchers found that cat owners donated a total of $780 at a frequency of 15 donations between 2013 and 2022. Dog owners, on the other hand, donated a total of $700 across 13 donations.
People with both dogs and cats donated a total of $630 across 14 donations in the same time period.
However, people without pets donated the most.
Still, the study speaks to some personality differences among canine and feline fanatics.
“My research shows how pet ownership reflects complex personality differences, even when it comes to philanthropy,” the study’s author, Herbert Chang, said in a statement.
Chang is an assistant professor of quantitative social science at Dartmouth.
“They’re not huge divergences, but they are meaningful and reflect everyday intuitions toward dog and cat owners.”
Prior research indicates that dog owners are often associated with personality traits like sociability and being community-oriented, while “cat people” are seen as introverted and more open-minded.
Prior research has also suggested that openness is often correlated with higher levels of giving.
“If some cat owners are in fact more open and more neurotic than dog owners, these personality traits may have been a contributing factor to explain the recent study’s results, including why cat people gave more and did so more often,” a press release explained.
Chang also added that the differences in donation behavior could be useful for marketers in their efforts to reach people for charitable campaigns.
“This study offers insight into how pet ownership can serve as a complex indicator for personality,” Chang’s abstract concluded, “and engages with the larger literature around social ties, tie strength, and social information in philanthropy.”
And maybe it will also give cat people bragging rights — at least for now.
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