Solitude, but not alone? The quiet companionship of pets

Written by Becky Yarwood

Photo by Thuy-vy Nguyen

More than half the adults in the UK and US have a pet. Why is that?  Around 90% of cat and dog owners feel that a pet improves their lives. There are many benefits to having a pet, including better physical health, fitness, and mental wellbeing. Yet, there are other ways to improve wellness that don’t involve the cost, time, and stress of caring for an animal. So, what is it about pets that we love so much? There must be something more, considering we are willing to get up an extra hour early to walk them in the freezing cold or spend hours cleaning their litter box each month. 

Photo credit: Creative Commons photo from Google Search

Companionship is often the main reason people choose to have pets. Most pet owners consider their pets to family members. We have a strong and affectionate bond with our pets, and when treated with love they return it in kind.  They provide a sense of consistency—we know what to expect from them – whereas relationships with people might require more negotiations and compromises. This predictability makes pets feel safe and reliable. 

Pets can change the way we experience solitude, though much of what we know comes from anecdotal accounts from interviews with people who live alone. Research on the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness is mixed. Some studies show a negative link, suggesting that pets can reduce feelings of loneliness by providing affection and companionship. Other evidence indicates that lonely individuals—particularly among older populations and during the pandemic—are more likely to have a pet in the first place, which might explain the positive association between pet ownership and loneliness. It is possible that this association is influenced by other factors, such as the way pets encourage outdoor activities (e.g., going on walks) and facilitate social interactions with neighbors, other pet owners, and people in general. 

So, if you are someone with a pet companion, you can likely relate to the joy and benefits a pet brings to your life. Pets offer non-judgmental companionship and physical affection, free from the pressures of communication or the complexities that often accompany human relationships. More importantly, the joy of having a pet is that they can foster new social connections, encouraging casual conversations and interactions with those around us, even strangers. In many ways, pets enrich our lives, offering comfort in solitude while opening doors to new social experiences.