2024 was a big year for cat owners: After years of asking for more options, their growing numbers finally made the pet food industry listen. Trade shows highlighted more new products in the cat space, existing cat food and treat lines expanded, and analysis regarding cat owner shopping behaviors increased.
In the American Pet Products Association (APPA)’s 2025 U.S. Pet Owners Survey, the organization reported that 49 million households now have at least one cat — up from 46.5 million in the 2023–2024 survey. Even more significantly, the share of households with three or more cats has increased by 36% since 2018. In October 2024, Mars Inc. released the results of a global pet parent study that found cat ownership more common than dog ownership globally. Men are more likely to be cat owners (52% of male survey respondents owned a cat, compared to 48% of female respondents), and there are three top cat breeds in the running: Persian (16% of cat owners), British Shorthair (11%) and Siamese (9%).
