The meme based on that “crazy cat lady” may have some basis in truth, with a new study from Facebook, Inc. finding that cat people are more sad and lonely compared to people who own dogs.

According to the study of 160,000 users, Facebook found that on average people who own dogs have 26 more friends than people who own cats.

The data breaks down into homophily, with cat people tending to be friends with other cat people. And while dog people were more likely to be friends with other dog people, cat people are 2.2 times more likely to befriend other cat people versus a random sample of Facebook users; dog owners, by comparison, were only 1.8 times more likely to befriend other dog owners.

Definitely supporting the stereotype, the study found that cat owners are more likely to be single than dog owners; around 30 percent of cat owners were found to be single versus 24 percent of dog owners based on their Facebook relationship status, but it should be noted that male cat owners were found to be as likely to be single as female cat owners.

Cat owners were also found to not go outside as much as dog owners  (not surprising given how difficult it is to walk a cat), and liked more indoor activities including what Facebook described as “disproportionately” books, TV, and movies, fond of fantasy, sci-fi and anime.

Perhaps justifying the preference for the outdoors, dog people were found to be more prevalent in regional and rural areas versus cat people, who were more concentrated in cities.

Sad cat owners

By the data, Facebook found that the concept of cat owners being sad is true, with cat owners disproportionately likely to say they’re feeling tired, but also happy and loved while dog people are more likely to express excitement or pride.

While the sample size was more than high enough to ascertain decent takeaways for the United States as a whole, Facebook does warn that other factors could have influenced the results other than a preference for cats or dogs; you may not necessarily be a sad, lonely person just because you own a cat, even if you’re more likely to be versus a dog owner.

Photo by Mr Thinktank