Cat owners are more studious than dog owners

It's tempting to make judgments about people based on their companion animals. Be it right or wrong, the appearance of an overly pampered Persian or excessively coddled Corgi in your veterinary clinic might raise eyebrows about the pet owner. However, according to recent research, you may be able to assess something about a person's relative intelligence simply based on to the type of animal they bring in.

A new Bristol University study has made a deduction sure to incite arguments as inflammatory as Coke vs. Pepsi or Red Sox vs. Yankees. The British institution, polling more than 2,500 homes, found evidence that cat owners are more scholarly than dog owners. The data shows that a significantly higher percentage of "cat households" had at least one family member with a college degree.

Lead researcher Dr. Jane Murray was at a loss to explain the disparity, adding that other factors studied-such as average household income-had no bearing on the results. She proposed that those degreed pet owners may have lifestyles involving longer work hours and more commuting, therefore being less conducive to dog possession.