Do Pets Really Lower Stress? It Depends on More Than Just Having One
Pet owners often hear that having a dog or cat is good for their mental health. And for many people, that’s absolutely true. But a new observational study published in PLOS One suggests the relationship between pet ownership and stress is more complicated than a simple “pets make us feel better.” Whether you own a dog or a cat, and how that ownership plays out in your day-to-day life, may matter just as much as the pet itself.
Researchers studied nearly 3,700 pet owners — 1,923 dog owners and 1,804 cat owners — and found that dog and cat ownership differed only marginally in their overall association with perceived stress, with dog ownership associated with slightly lower stress levels. Equally important, all of the pet-related factors they could measure together explained only 26% of the overall association between ownership type and perceived stress. That means roughly three quarters of the overall association was not accounted for by the measured mediator-related paths, and additional paths still need study.
Why Researchers Looked at This Question
For years, studies have suggested that pet ownership is good for human health. But those studies often treated “owning a pet” as one simple thing. The reality is much messier. Owning a dog is not the same experience as owning a cat. Dogs typically need walks, training, and more hands-on attention. Cats tend to be more self-sufficient. The costs, the lifestyle demands, and the emotional dynamics are all different.
This study took a closer look by using a method called comparative mediation analysis — a statistical tool that helps researchers figure out which specific factors might help explain why two groups differ. Think of it like peeling back the layers of an onion: instead of just seeing that dog owners and cat owners have different stress levels, the researchers tried to identify what’s in between that might be driving those differences.
How the Study Was Conducted
The research team analyzed initial, cross-sectional, self-reported survey responses from single-species U.S. pet owners, drawn from cohorts spanning phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2024):
- 1,923 dog owners
- 1,804 cat owners
Participants answered questions about their stress levels and a range of pet-related experiences. Researchers examined factors like emotional closeness, behavior challenges (including problem-behavior categories such as aggression and fear/anxiety), perceived costs and burden of ownership, and human–animal interaction patterns captured by species-specific relationship scales.
These factors were treated as mediators — meaning possible “middle-men” that could help explain why dog and cat owners might feel differently about stress.
Because this was an observational study — meaning researchers observed and recorded what already existed rather than running a controlled experiment — the findings describe associations, not causes. They can tell us what tends to go together, but not that pets cause more or less stress in a direct way.
What the Study Found
The Pet Factors That Were Measured Explained Only Part of the Story
The most striking finding: all of the pet-related factors the researchers could measure combined to explain only 26% of the overall association between ownership type and perceived stress. That means roughly 74% of that overall association was not accounted for by the measured mediator-related paths, and additional pathways need further study.
The Most Influential Mediators Differed by Species
The study reported that human–animal interaction was the most influential mediator for dog ownership and showed a strong inverse association with perceived stress. For cat ownership, emotional closeness was the most influential mediator.
Attachment and Behavior Challenges Both Play a Role
The study found that factors like emotional closeness and behavior challenges were associated with perceived stress. Importantly, emotional closeness showed a positive association with perceived stress in both dog and cat owners. That pattern may reflect how deeply invested caregiving relationships can also carry emotional strain, especially when other stressors are present.
Perceived costs/burden and human–animal interaction linked to the pet were also identified as factors that may shape the stress picture — though the study underscores that none of these alone tells the full story.
What This Means for How You Think About Your Pet and Stress
The big takeaway here isn’t that pets are bad for your health. It’s that the idea of “owning a pet lowers stress” is an oversimplification. The quality of the relationship, the day-to-day realities of care, and your broader life situation all appear to matter.
If you’re finding that pet ownership is adding to your stress rather than reducing it, that’s a valid experience — and this research suggests you’re not alone. Behavior challenges in particular were flagged as something associated with owner stress.
A close bond with a pet can still be meaningful and supportive in daily life, but this study suggests that emotional closeness alone does not automatically map to lower stress, and in this dataset emotional closeness was positively associated with perceived stress in both groups.
If Behavior Problems Are Adding to Your Stress, Talk to Your Vet
Since the study links behavior challenges to owner stress, it’s worth noting: if your dog or cat has ongoing behavior issues — aggression, anxiety, destructive behavior, or anything else that’s difficult to manage — your veterinarian is a good first stop. They can help rule out medical causes and refer you to a veterinary behaviorist or certified trainer for additional support.
Limitations to Keep in Mind
This study was large, but it has real boundaries. It used initial, cross-sectional, self-reported responses from single-species U.S. dog or cat owners across 2020–2024, so the findings may not generalize to all populations or time periods. Because it was observational and cross-sectional, it can’t prove that any one factor causes more or less stress — only that certain things tend to appear together. The dog and cat relationship scales also included partly different species-specific items, which complicates direct cross-species comparison. The 26% figure indicates that measured mediator-related paths explained only part of the overall association, and additional pathways still need study.
The Bottom Line
Owning a dog or a cat is linked to stress, but the relationship isn’t simple. Overall differences in stress association between dog and cat ownership were marginal, yet the pathways differed: human–animal interaction stood out most for dog owners, while emotional closeness stood out most for cat owners. The factors researchers could measure — including emotional closeness, behavior challenges, perceived costs and burden, and human–animal interaction — accounted for only about a quarter of the overall association.
If pet ownership feels like a net positive in your life, that experience matters. If it doesn’t feel that way right now, this study supports discussing behavior or care challenges with your veterinarian while recognizing that more research is needed to clarify which pathways are linked to owner stress.
This article summarizes peer-reviewed research for educational purposes. Always consult with your veterinarian for personalized advice about your pet’s health and behavior.
