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This Animal Makes A Way Better Pet Than Dogs And Cats, According To Science

by Robert Anthony
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Have you ever just sat around and pondered what the best pet to own might be? Well, believe it or not, there's a full list and guess what? Cats and dogs aren't included!

As bizarre as it may seem to learn that awesome animals like dogs and cats aren't on the list, I can't help wonder which animals are. According to Metro, a group of researchers looking to narrow down what the best domesticated pets are created a list of the top 25 best pets to own.

A recent blog post published by Frontiers regarding the study reads,

Responding to the growing trend in keeping exotic animals as pets a team, led by Dr. Paul Koene, has developed a methodology to assess the suitability of mammals to be kept domestically in a new study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

About 90 species were ranked based on a few traits including their behavior in captivity, maintenance needed to keep them healthy and how dangerous they are to humans. As a result, the best pet you could own, according to science, is... *drumroll, please* ... a sika deer, also known as the Japanese deer!

And this entire time you thought your dog was the best pet of all time. Well, maybe, but technically speaking, not according to science!

As for the rest of the animals on the list, here's a closer look at the top 15.

  • Sika deer
  • Agile wallaby
  • Tammar wallaby
  • Llama
  • Asian palm civet
  • Himalayan striped squirrel
  • Common yellow-toothed cavy
  • Golden spiny mouse
  • Common wallaroo Arabian spiny mouse
  • Swamp wallaby
  • Bactrian camel
  • Brazilian Guinea pig
  • Chacoan mara
  • Red-necked wallaby
  • African pygmy mouse

Next time you're looking to introduce a new furry buddy to your family, you might want to give one of these pets a chance. But don't worry, your cats and dogs are STILL awesome.

Dr. Paul Koene, who led the research team, revealed,

Dogs and cats are a special kind of pets, because of their way of housing (free roaming), of variation in breeds, the vast amount of literature and of the delicacy of the subject and so were not analyzed, and wallabies will certainly not replace them.

Check out the full top 25 list here.

Citations: Science says this is the best pet you can have (Metro UK)