Millennials love their pets more than their siblings and mothers: Study

A survey by a customer review and consumer news platform in the US has found that millennials love their pets more than their siblings.

Researchers at the platform called Consumer Affairs spoke to 1,000 pet owners between the age of 27 and 42. Out of all the people surveyed for the study, 57 percent said that they loved their pets more than they loved their siblings. Meanwhile, half of them claimed that their pets were dearer to them than their mothers, according to a report in The Mirror.

"The vast majority (81 percent) of millennials admitted to loving their pets more than at least one family member — and this doesn't mean a weird uncle or an estranged cousin," said the study.

Fifty-eight percent of the surveyed individuals said that they would rather have a pet than human children. "This was especially true for cat owners, among whom the percentage jumped to 63 per cent."

For 30 percent of the individuals, romantic partners came second to a pet. "Previous studies have shown that millennials are less likely to own homes and have children than the generations before them," it read.

The researchers also asked the participants if they will be able to afford life-saving treatment for their pets if the need arises, most of them were confident that they will be able to do so.

"If push came to shove and millennials truly couldn't afford a life-saving treatment for their animal, they reported a willingness to take on a part-time second job (49 percent) or sell possessions such as TVs (43 percent), laptops (41 percent) or jewellery (29 percent)," it noted.

One of the most popular money-raising method amongst millennials was to start a GoFundMe page. As many as 46 percent of respondents said that they would create an online fundraiser to help their pets, but they will certainly do everything in their capacity to save them.

A 2018 study had found that millennials see their pets as "practice" for babies. The study by business solutions agency Gale had noted that 44% of millennials saw their pets as "starter children." Several other studies in the past have also shown that millennials are less likely to own homes and have children as opposed to the generations before them.

Millennials make up the biggest share of pet owners in the U.S, according to the American Pet Products Association's (APPA). It added that millennials spend more money on their pets than any other age group.