By Livy Beaner // SWNS
The average pet owner has 72 “pet panics” over the course of a year, according to new research.
Between incidents that have already happened (18%), hypothetical situations that could happen and both of the above (54%), a survey of 2,000 American cat and dog owners revealed these panics happen about six times every month.
The most common pet panics were revealed to be throwing up unexpectedly (52%), falling off a chair or couch (48%) or slipping their leash outside (45%).
Other monthly situations include refusing to eat a meal (43%), not coming when their name is called (28%), not showing interest in playing with their toys (18%) or even escaping the house or yard (15%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Tractive, the survey delved into all of the panic-inducing moments that pet owners experience.
Results revealed that respondents worry about their pet’s well-being an average of three times per day, and they spend about five hours away from their four-legged friend on any given day.
And when their pet is home without them, pet parents are fretting about if their pet is getting into something they’re not supposed to (68%), if their pet is sad because they’re gone (47%), if they’re hungry (45%) and even if they’ve gotten out of the house or yard (21%).
Almost two in five (39%) admit they lose more than 11 hours of sleep each week worrying about their pet.
This may be because a little more than one in 10 (15%) are more concerned about their pet’s health issues than their own. Similarly, another 13% said they worry more about their pet’s well-being.
“Few things can bring as much joy or anxiety as owning a pet.” said Andrew Bleiman, Executive Vice President of Tractive. “GPS trackers help you find your pet fast when they run off and send you health alerts so you can catch potential issues early."
More than one-third (37%) of pet owners say that their pet has escaped from their home on at least one occasion.
Another 13% said they’ve had a false alarm regarding their pet escaping.
Of those respondents, most took action right away and started calling friends and neighbors (56%) or posting on social media (54%). Other pet parents put up flyers (45%), called local authorities or organizations (41%) and even accused other members of their household of letting their pet out (19%).
And while 38% simply panicked, a similar number (36%) admit they were unconcerned as a solo “paw”trol is a usual occurrence.
However, it took nearly an entire work day, or about seven hours, for the average respondent to locate their pet.
Many pet owners found their four-legged friend nearby, including hiding in their neighbor’s yard (54%), under their home or patio (45%) or visiting with their neighbors (29%).
Other pets took their adventure more seriously and wound up miles away from home (54%),
wandering down the street (43%) or even at a vet, police station or shelter (36%).
Regardless of previous experience, three in five (60%) believe that their pet is likely to enjoy an overnight, outdoor excursion by themselves.
“Anyone who has lost a pet can tell you those minutes, hours or days were among the most stressful moments of their life. It’s important to take a layered approach to preventing lost pets, including ID tags, microchips and GPS tracking devices,” said Bleiman. “It's encouraging to see people taking these steps proactively for their pet's safety. Half (55%) of survey respondents said their pet was found because they were microchipped and scanned when brought to a shelter or vet, and 48% used a tracking device.”
Survey methodology:
This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 cat and dog owners was commissioned by Tractive between Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, 2023. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).