Pets are family

It’s no secret, pets are making the shift from our backyards to our living rooms. And many pets are now considered part of the family. We wanted to see how our relationship with pets is reflected in our everyday lives, from how we act to what we call them.

Our pets are family

This fall, Trupanion surveyed 1,250 pet owners from the U.S. and Canada, and found that many pet owners refer to their pets with familial terms like “child,” “baby,” “kid,” and “family.” Others call their pet “friend” and “companion.”

These terms, traditionally used for our human family and friends, are becoming a bigger part of how we refer to our pets. Some of these terms of endearment get pretty creative. Other unique ways to refer to a pet were:

• Love of my life
• Light of my life
• Granddog
• Dogter
• Comrade

Younger pet owners call their pets “fur baby”

After digging into the data, we also found the way we refer to our pets also correlates with age. Young pet owners were more likely to call their pet a “fur baby” than older generations. Notably, pet owners who refer to their pets as “fur babies” were also more likely to allow their pet to sleep in their bed. Just another indicator that pets are becoming a bigger part of the family.

Family, friends, cats, and dogs

Aside from our relationships with pets themselves, we also care how our family and friends feel about our pets. Three-quarters of pet owners think it’s important that family members like their pets, and half of pet owners feel that way about their friends. It may come as no surprise, but dog owners felt more strongly about this than cat owners.

What do you call your pet? How would you describe your relationship with them?