2024 Dog and Cat Report: These changes have taken place between Americans and their pets
From pet keeping to pet diet, to pet living, some new trends are emerging.
In today's article, we will continue to analyze the new trends in Americans' pet keeping, pet food selection and pet living in the report.
ELLSPET learned that this report provides more than 200 pages of comprehensive analysis and visual materials including shopping trends, emotions, demographics and behaviors of American pet owners.
01
Increase in multi-dog households, health benefits drive pet keeping
Number of pet households
Since 2010, the proportion of American households with pets has been relatively stable, while the total number of households with pets has increased with the increase in the US population.
Especially during the epidemic, the number of pets owned in the United States once hit a record high. However, since 2020, pet ownership has declined slightly. According to the latest data from APPA:
In 2010, there were 73 million households with pets in the United States, and this number will grow to 82 million by 2024, but it is a decrease from previous years.
Data map: APPA, the number of American households with pets in 2024
Percentage of households with dogs and cats
Although the rate of cat ownership in American households lags behind that of dog ownership, the number of households with cats may grow faster.
◾ Dog-owning households: 39% in 2010, increasing to 44% in 2024;
◾ Cat-owning households: 33% in 2010, falling to 30% in 2024;
◾ By 2030, the number of households with cats will climb to 35%.
The APPA report pointed out that among the pet households surveyed, the average time of dog ownership is 15 years, most of them only have one dog, and the number of households with multiple dogs is increasing.
◾ 70% of households own one dog;
◾ 23% of households own two dogs;
◾ 8% of households own three or more dogs, while this proportion was only 5% in 2018.
Information about cats in the report shows that the average time of cat ownership is 14 years. Although there are more households with dogs than with cats, the number of households with multiple cats is higher than that with multiple dogs.
◾ Households with three or more cats: 16%;
◾ Households with three or more dogs: 8%.
Number of households with dogs and cats
According to the 2024 APPA survey of American pet owners, the number of American households with various types of pets has declined to varying degrees compared with previous years, but has continued to grow compared with 2010.
◾ Number of households with dogs: the fastest growth, from 46 million households in 2010 to 58 million households in 2024;
◾ Number of households with cats: from 39 million households in 2010 to 40 million households in 2024.
Data map: APPA, the number of American households with pets (by pet type)
In addition, APPA analysts emphasized that the number of households with pets will not increase significantly.
◾ By 2030, the number of households with pets may only increase by 1 million;
◾ Among them, the number of households with dogs will drop to 57 million, and the number of households with cats will rise to 45 million.
Driving factors for keeping pets
Pet owners believe that keeping pets can improve their health and happiness in life. The respondents’ feedback is as follows:
① Good for health: 96%
② Bring happiness and emotional support: 76%
③ Relieve stress: 64%
④ Reduce anxiety or depression: 57%
⑤ Improve mental acuity: 35%
⑥ Get more exercise/exercise: 34%
Ways to obtain information
Taking pet dogs as an example, veterinarians are still the main source of information for dog owners, followed by the Internet and social media.
① Veterinarians: 51%
② Internet and social media: 43%
③ Friends or past experience: 25%
Main adoption channels
The main adoption channels for dogs and cats include shelters and rescue stations. Most people adopt pets through these two channels. Among them, the proportion of dog adoption channels is as follows
① Shelters: 51%
② Rescue organizations: 42%
③ Adopting from breeders, friends or relatives: 29%
02
Demand for fresh, semi-moist and raw food categories is growing
Food types
When it comes to pet food, most dog and cat owners feed their pets dry food, but this proportion is declining, while fresh, semi-moist and raw food varieties are on the rise, but the overall proportion is still small.
Feeding dry food: 63% of dogs and 67% of cats, down from 74% and 69% in 2018.
More and more people tend to buy foods with additional attributes, such as human grade, containing superfood ingredients or environmentally friendly packaging is becoming a growing trend. In the past year:
More than half of dog and cat owners have purchased pet food with additional attributes.
Exotic proteins (proteins with special properties, functions or sources) are becoming more and more common in dog and cat foods.
◾ Dog owners prefer: pet diets containing venison;
◾ Cat owners like to buy: pet food containing rabbit and venison;
◾ Other options: ingredients such as wild boar, quail, pheasant, ostrich and insects.
Dog snacks
Snacks are still an important purchase category for pet owners, and almost all dog owners surveyed said they would buy snacks for their dogs. In the past year:
◾ Meat snacks are the most popular: 47% of dog owners have bought them;
◾ Oral care snacks: 43%;
◾ Premium snacks: 14%;
◾ Freeze-dried snacks: 10%, compared to only 6% in 2018.
Cat snacks
For cat owners, wet snack sales are on the rise. In the past year:
◾ 25% of cat owners bought wet snacks, while the proportion was 18% in 2022;
◾ Air-dried and freeze-dried cat snacks are also becoming more popular with cat owners.
03
Demand for household products such as dog beds and cat beds has increased
As "man's best friend", most dog and cat owners allow their pets to sleep in their own beds, and there is also a trend that more people will prepare exclusive "beds" for them.
Among dog owners, the respondents surveyed reported:
① Allowing dogs to sleep in their beds at night: 46%
② Providing standard dog beds: 20%
③ Sleeping on sofas or chairs: 17%
④ Sleeping directly on the ground: 16%
⑤ Preparing special dog beds: 14%