Cat owners are more likely to have a degree than those who have dogs, according to research.

Those with degrees were found to prefer cats - possibly due to longer working hours leaving less time to look after a dog, according to researchers at the University of Bristol.

Figures by the researchers also revealed domestic populations of both pets have increased by eight million in two decades.

They found there are some 10.5 million dogs and 10.3 cats owned in Britain.

This compares to some 6.2 million cat owners and 6.4 million dog owners in Britain 21 years ago, according to estimates published in a scientific peer-reviewed journal published in 1989.

The research was based on three sources - A telephone survey of nearly 3,000 households in 2007, the latest census of 2001, and the most recent figures on numbers and sizes of households, from 2006.

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