Romanians like having animals in their homes, according to a recent study of iSense Solutions. Almost half of the urban Romanians with access to the Internet own pets, according to an online survey.

When it comes to what pets they prefer, dogs and cats rank first. Some 65% of the respondents who said they had pets own dogs and 51% have cats. Almost 20% of those who answered had both dogs and cats while 30% only had dogs and 20% only had cats.

“Moreover, we also notice that the Romanians’ preference for these two categories of animals is overwhelming, as only 9% of pet owners have neither dogs nor cats," said Oana Ilie, research manager iSense Solutions.

The dog is the favorite pet of large families, according to the study, 79% of the pet owners with large families of at least four members owning such a pet.

However, about 11% of the pet owners prefer birds such as parakeets or parrots (11%), 10% own fish, and 4% have rabbits at home.

When it comes to buying food and accessories for their pets, most of the Romanians prefer hypermarkets/supermarkets (63%) and the pet shops in the neighborhood (46%), followed by large specialize stores such as Animax, Maxi Pet, Zoomania (25%), and the market (23%).

The Romanian pet owners also look after their animals’ health and take their pets to the vet six times a year, on average.

Within the study, the pet was defined as “an animal raised for pleasure, without getting other benefits from it”. iSense Solution conducted the study on a sample of more than 1,000 people aged over 18, from urban areas.

Dog owners in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca can take their pets on public transportantion

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com