The influence of pet owners’ empathy on perceptions of dog and cat distress vocalizations and caregiving behaviors.

Although vocal communication between humans and domestic animals is
common, there has been limited research on how humans perceive the
emotional content of animal vocalizations. This study investigated the
relationship between pet ownership and sensitivity to negative emotion
in dog and cat distress vocalizations (n = 237; 57% pet owners). Empathy
toward animals and empathy toward humans were explored as possible
mediators. The links between pet owners’ levels of sensitivity to animal
distress vocalizations, empathy toward animals, and pet attachment and
the care they provided to their pets were also examined. The findings
revealed that current pet owners perceived both dog and cat distress
vocalizations to be sadder than current non-pet owners. The link between
pet ownership and sensitivity to dog (but not cat) distress vocalizations was
fully mediated by empathy toward animals, but not mediated by empathy
toward humans. Sensitivity to negative emotion in distress vocalizations
was not a strong indicator of the level of care provided to dogs and cats. On
the other hand, higher levels of empathy toward animals and pet attachment
might be better indicators of humans providing more stimulating and
enriched lives for their pets.