Millions of Brits are unwittingly playing a real-life game of The Traitors… by sharing their home with a pet cat or dog.
As the nation recovers from Friday’s nail-biting finale of the hit BBC series, new research from Burns Pet Nutrition brings the deadly game of double-cross much closer to home.
The study will come as comforting reading to owners of the UK’s 12 million domestic dogs but may give the 10.6 cat owners considerable cause for concern.
Researchers quizzed 2,000 pet owners on the characteristics of their four-legged friends – traits that would be closely associated with those of a Faithful of Traitor in the show.
In each of the seven ‘Faithful’ categories, dogs were found to be more likely to display these positive behaviours – overwhelmingly so on whether they are ‘always faithful’.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of dog owners said Fido was ‘always Faithful’ compared to fewer than half (48%) of cat owners who could say the same about their pet.
Another indicator was whether an owner believed their pet could metaphorically ‘stab them in the back’. A third (32%) of dog owners agreed with this statement compared to just over a quarter (27%) of cat owners.
Owners were also asked whether their pet preferred going out in the day or at night, when the dastardly Traitors gather to plot and execute an innocent Faithful.
In contrast, a third (31%) of cat owners admitted their pet is ‘much cleverer than they look’, compared to a quarter (26%) of dog owners.
And, a third (32%) of cat owners agreed their furry friend can ‘turn on the charm when they want something’, a trait only a quarter (25%) of dog owners said about their pet.
Burns spokesperson Laura Crotch-Harvey said: “Cats are independent creatures and just as loyal as dogs – they just play by their own rules.
“I am confident the nation of cat owners can sleep soundly at night, knowing their four-legged friend is more than likely fast asleep rather than plotting their downfall”.
| TRAITOR or FAITHFUL | ||
| FAITHFUL TRAITS | DOGS | CATS |
| They are always faithful | 61% | 48% |
| They trust me | 65% | 61% |
| I know they would be there for me if I were sad or in a crisis | 33% | 30% |
| They would never stab me in the back (metaphorically) | 32% | 27% |
| They have a team-player attitude | 7% | 6% |
| They love being part of a big group | 11% | 7% |
| They like going out in the day | 28% | 16% |
| TRAITOR TRAITS | DOGS | CATS |
| They have tried to sabotage my work | 3% | 8% |
| They turn on the charm when they want something | 25% | 32% |
| They like being alone or part of a close-knit group | 8% | 10% |
| They like going out at night | 9% | 12% |
| They are much cleverer than they look | 26% | 31% |
| They are a law unto themselves | 14% | 21% |
| Their state of mind is often hard to read | 7% | 11% |
| FAITHFUL | TRAITOR | |
