The age-old debate of which makes a better pet, a dog or a cat, continues to spark discussions across Australia.
However, recent data released by Budget Direct show that Australians seem to have a preference for pedigree dog breeds, while showing love for mixed parentage cats.
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Findings unveiled the top five most popular dog breeds in Australia, all of which were pedigrees.
These included Cavoodles, Border Collies, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Maltese Crosses.
On the other hand, four of the most popular cat varieties were of mixed parentage, with only the Ragdoll being the sole pedigree cat breed to make the list.
Domestic Short Hair cats, Domestic Medium Hair cats, Tabby cats, and Domestic Long Hair cats rounded out the top five feline favourites.
Jonathan Kerr, Chief Growth Officer at Budget Direct, said despite the majority of cats not being pedigrees, they were proved to be “the healthiest”.
“Data from over 14,000 entries into our BudPet quiz has ranked cats healthier and having better diets,” Kerr said.
Nearly 19 per cent of the surveyed cats received a perfect score for their diet, while dogs were slightly behind at 16 per cent.
Kerr mentioned that the health score would be affected by various factors, such as the animal’s heritage, vaccinations, grooming, and veterinary checkups.
However, both pets scored lower than expected in their physical habits, including exercise and socialisation.
“One area where neither pet scored as well as we hoped was in their physical habits,” Kerr added.
“What the data is telling us is that you can’t expect an animal to be healthier just because it is a pedigree. All animals need the right balance of quality diet, medical maintenance, and physical exercise.”
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