This statistic presents the estimated number of cats owned by households in Europe in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The cat population in Europe was measured at approximately 129.11 million in 2023.

According to a national pet owners survey, there was a total of approximately 95.6 million cats living in households in the United States in 2017. In the same year, some 68 percent of all U.S. households owned at least one pet.

Increasing pet expenditure

Whilst the number of households owning cats, and pets in general, has remained relatively consistent over the last few years, pet industry expenditure has steadily grown. Consumers are expected to spend a record breaking 75.38 billion U.S. dollars on their pets in 2019. The majority of pet market revenue comes from food sales, followed by veterinary care costs.

Shopping location preferences

When it comes to shopping locations, most consumers still purchase their pet products in physical retail stores. However, the number of consumers buying pet products online is on the rise. Dry cat food was the number one pet product bought online by cat owners in the United States in 2018.

Vermont was the leading state in terms of cat ownership, with some 45 percent of households owning a pet cat in 2024. In comparison, around 32 percent of households in Wisconsin were cat owners that year. Cat ownership in the U.S. There are almost 47 million households in the U.S. that own a cat. Cats are the second most popular type of pets, only surpassed by dogs, which are owned by about 65 million households. The average accident and illness insurance premium for a cat in the U.S. amounts to approximately 387 U.S. dollars annually. The costs of insurance largely depend on the type of cat. The largest cat insurance claims paid in Canada and in the U.S. are made for a sphynx. A total claim amount of approximately 40,000 U.S. dollars is paid annually to treat various conditions for this breed. In comparison, a total claim amount of slightly under 15,000 U.S. dollars is paid for domestic short hairs at the age of four. American pet food companies The global pet food market has shown a growing trajectory for over a decade. The market reached sales of approximately 124 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The U.S. company Freshpet is the fourth fastest-growing pet food company worldwide, with an annual growth rate of about 40 percent. The U.S. companies General Mills and Tuffy’s Pet Foods are also among the top ten fastest-growing pet food companies worldwide, with annual growth rates of approximately 33 and 25 percent, respectively. The German company Bewital petfood GmbH & Co. KG ranks in first place, with an annual growth rate of almost 100 percent. The leading pet food company in the U.S. is Mars Petcare Inc., with 19.5 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Nestlé Purina PetCare follows closely in second place with just under 19.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.

In 2022, there were an estimated 14.9 million pet cats owned by households in France.  That same year, the share of French households owning a cat was estimated at around 32 percent. France ranked among the two European countries where it was most common to have a cat: only Germany had a higher cat population. The number of cats in other countries, like in the United Kingdom or in Italy, was somewhat lower than that of Germany and France.

Pet cats in France

In 2022, the cat products segment accounted for 46 percent of the total sales revenue on the pet products market in France. The majority of French people cat-related expenses is dedicated to food.

Pet market in France On the pet products market, dry products made up the majority of the sales volume. For cats and dogs, a majority of sales are done in hyper and supermarkets, followed by garden centers.

With over 470 million dogs kept as pets worldwide, dogs came out on top as the leading type of pet in 2018. Within the same year, there were roughly 370 million pet cats in the world.

Pets in the European Union

While dogs were globally speaking the most common type of pet, cats were more common in the European Union in 2018. Roughly 75 million people within this region had a pet cat in 2018, compared to the 65 million pet dogs. That year, Germany had about nine and a half million pet dogs, making it the country with the highest number within the European Union. Other top dog-loving countries included the United Kingdom, Poland, and France.

Other pets in Germany

Besides cats and dogs, Germans had many other household pets in 2018. About five and a half million small pets, such as hamsters and rabbits, were kept by Germans that year. Additionally, about two million households in Germany owned an aquarium and roughly one and a half million households owned a garden pond.

This statistic presents the estimated number of cats owned by households in Ireland in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The cat population in Ireland was measured at approximately 373,000 in 2023.

In urban China, the cat and dog population exceeded 128 million in 2024, increasing from about 101 million in 2020. In that year, approximately 52.58 million dogs and 71.53 million cats were kept as pets in China's urban households.

This statistic presents the estimated number of cats owned by households in Estonia in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The cat population in Estonia was measured at approximately 300,400 in 2023.

Cats are a popular choice in Europe when it comes to pet ownership, although we don’t see them outside as often as their canine friends. As shown in this statistic, Germany and France are the two countries leading the list of cat owners in the EU, with the former’s narrow win. While Germany also ranks as the top EU country with the highest number of pet dogs, cats still win in European households.

EU loves cats

Compared with the cat population in Germany and France, countries such as Latvia, Ireland and Estonia had a low number of household felines. Yet across Europe in general, the number of cats has gone up significantly since 2010. In 2022, the EU alone was home to a large population of cats, making them the most preferred pets.

Cat food in pet care industry

The population of household cats in the European Union also corresponds to the volume of the pet care industry in this region. Between 2010 and 2022, pet food industry achieved steady growth.

The UK cat population was estimated at 12.5 million in 2024, marking a decrease of around one million from the year. 2024 reached the highest recorded figure since the survey began. It is important to note that the survey changed from face-to-face to online in 2021, making it difficult to compare years. Across the UK the share of households owning at least one cat is going strong, if a little behind those who choose the company of canines.  Cats make people happy   Dogs may reign supreme in the nation, but cats are still a popular choice for pets in the UK, and for the sweetest reasons too. It is safe to say that UK cat owners have strong emotional ties with their furry friends, with majority of people viewing cats not just as pets but as reliable sources for love, affection, and happiness.    EU loves cats more than UK   When compared with the rest of the EU, the United Kingdom fares relatively behind in pet ownership. In 2019, the share of UK households with at least one pet cat placed the country in the lower ranks. In contrast, Central European countries such as Romania, Latvia, and Hungary had the highest share of households with cats.

The estimated number of cats owned by households in Sweden increased in selected years from 2010 to 2023. The cat population in Sweden was measured at approximately 1.72 million in 2023, an increase form the previous year.

An estimated 65.1 million households in the United States owned at least one dog according to a 2023/24 pet owners survey, making them the most widely owned type of pet across the U.S. at this time. Cats and freshwater fish ranked in second and third places, with around 46.5 million and 11.1 million households owning such pets, respectively.

Freshwater vs. salt water fish

Freshwater fish spend most or all their lives in fresh water. Fresh water’s main difference to salt water is the level of salinity. Freshwater fish have a range of physiological adaptations to enable them to live in such conditions. As the statistic makes clear, Americans keep a large number of freshwater aquatic species at home as pets.

American pet owners

In 2023, around 66 percent of all households in the United States owned a pet. This is a decrease from 2020, but still around a 10 percent increase from 1988. It is no surprise that as more and more households own pets, pet industry expenditure has also witnessed steady growth. Expenditure reached over 136 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, almost a sixfold increase from 1998. The majority of pet product sales are still made in brick-and-mortar stores , despite the rise and evolution of e-commerce in the United States.

This statistic presents the estimated number of cats owned by households in Latvia in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The cat population in Latvia was measured at approximately 407,000 in 2023.

In 2023, Romania ranked highest for cat ownership among countries in the European Union, with 48 percent of households in Romania owning at least one cat. Poland followed in second with about 41 percent of cat-owning households. That year, the overall pet cat population on the continent was estimated at around 129 million. Pet food production in Europe The pet food industry in Europe gained pace in recent years and presently holds a prominent position on the global level. In 2022, Europe was the largest pet food producing region in the world, with a production volume of approximately 11.78 million metric tons, compared to 11.2 million metric tons produced in North America. That year, Europe’s pet food production volume was, however, one of the slowest-growing in the world. The Latin American region was the fastest-growing. European pet food companies Europe’s growing pet food industry also means there are many players in the pet food market competing for profits. In 2021, United Pet Food Producers, a Belgian pet food manufacturer, garnered the highest revenues of approximately 800 million U.S. dollars. Other leading pet food companies in Europe included Agrilomen SA fromSpain and Deuerer from Germany, with annual revenues totaling 753 million and 750 million U.S. dollars, respectively.

In 2022, it was estimated that there were around 2.54 million pet cats in South Korea, slightly increased from the previous year. The same year, the number of pet dogs in the country also increased compared to the previous year and amounted to around 5.45 million.

The cat ownership ratio among people aged 50 to 59 years in Japan amounted to around 11.2 percent as revealed in a survey conducted in October 2023. Cats along with dogs represent the most common pets in Japan, with the overall cat ownership ratio remaining steady at close to ten percent in recent years.

In 2023, cats remained the most popular pets among urban Chinese residents. Almost 70 million cats were kept as pets in urban households in China in that year, compared with 51.75 million dogs.

This statistic presents the estimated number of cats owned by households in Austria in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The cat population in Austria was measured at approximately 1.99 million in 2023.

The cat population in Italy, according to the pet registry, was measured at approximately 1.3 million in 2024. The regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna had the largest cat populations, with around 466,000 and 168,000 respectively.

As of 2022, nearly every fourth household in Finland owned at least one pet dog or one cat. Compared to the year 2020, household's dog ownership in Finland remained unchanged while cat ownership slightly decreased.