Scientists from the University of Lucerne have found that women tend to feel more attached to their pets than men do. The results revealed that women feel more attached to their pets – and receive more socio–emotional support from them. 'The relationship people have with their animals is much more nuanced than a simple yes–or–no question of pet ownership,' the researchers explained. 'Our findings suggest that understanding these differences may be more informative than simply comparing pet owners with non–pet owners.' 'The inconsistent findings reported in previous studies may partly reflect the fact that pet ownership is often treated as a simple yes-or-no variable.