I am interested in finding out how many cat owners there are in the
world, by country.  Ideally I would like a chart that lists the
country, the number of cats kept as pets and the number of cat owners.
 For example, in the US there are 85 million cats (kept as pets) and
35 million cat owners.  I am not interested in the overall cat
population, just those kept as pets in a household.

---

Request for Question Clarification by robertskelton-ga on 13 Aug 2003 15:51 PDT

Do you require every single country? Many countries, especially
third-world, are unlikely to have any such statistics.

---

Clarification of Question by panos14-ga on 14 Aug 2003 08:23 PDT

Hi,
I am looking for as many as possible, but at the minimum the UK,
Germany, Japan, France, Canada and Australia.
Thank you.

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 14 Aug 2003 10:05 PDT

Hi panos14,

I've been working on your question for about an hour now and have
found lots of good pet-cat population numbers for a wide variety of
countries, however in nearly every case the cat owners are listed in
terms of "percentage of households."

For example, "25% of Australian households own at least one cat."

Is that an acceptable way for me to present the ownership data to you?

-K~

---

Clarification of Question by panos14-ga on 14 Aug 2003 15:35 PDT

Hi K, 
It would be acceptable if you can include the number of households for
each country.  How is households defined?
Kind regards,
P

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 15 Aug 2003 15:12 PDT

Hi panos14,

Ok here's the story with your answer -- I got hit with that huge power
outage yesterday at the very moment that I was about to post your
answer. (Literally between the copy and the paste!). I have power back
now, but it's temporary - rolling blackouts for the next 2 days.

So, that means I'm really not going to be able to do any further
research on this.

What I have for you is 17 countries world-wide with either pet cat
populations or % households with cats or both. (9 have both).

To further research the number of households in each of those
countries, even if I could, would be well beyond the scope of this
question. I would recommend you ask that as a separate question once I
have provided you with the list of countries.

So, my question is, what would you like me to do? Post my answer or
no?

Just let me know. And remember, I could be without power when your
reply comes, so there may be some delay in getting back to you.

-K~

---

Clarification of Question by panos14-ga on 16 Aug 2003 08:22 PDT

Hi K,
Sorry to hear you were affected by the blackouts.

Please go ahead and post.  The information you have found will be
helpful for my research.

Thanks!

Hi panos14,

Ok, here's your data – everything I could find. I have created a chart
below which presents the data in a clean logical format.

As I mentioned in my Request for Clarification, all of the ownership
data comes in terms of "percentage of households."  This is because
actual "owners" can't really be counted. If a cat lives in a house
with 6 people, how many people are its owners?

A household is basically a group of individuals (usually related but
sometimes including staff or tenants) who reside in a single
dwelling-unit – generally a house or apartment.

Beneath the chart I have cited all of the sources I used to garner the
data. As you can see there are a lot of holes in the chart, but I'm
confident that it gives you a good overview of pet cat populations in
many areas of the world and the number of households that have cats.

I exhausted every option I could think of to fill in the blanks. Most
of this information is a result of market research for the pet
food/supplies industry.  Unfortunately, as with a lot of market
research, free information is not easy to come by. You'll find that
most of the data I have provided comes from large research reports
that only leak tidbits of information for free.  Also, in many cases
the number of cats and the % households came from two different
sources.

I have provided you links to sites to purchase the reports if you want
them.



====================================================
PET CAT POPULATIONS AND OWNERSHIP DATA
====================================================

               # CATS    %HOUSEHOLDS   NOTES
             m = million  w/ CATS  
=======================+============+===============

EUROPE      47 m                      
-----------------------+------------+--------------
AUSTRALIA    3 m           25% 
-----------------------+------------+---------------
JAPAN        7 - 8 m       10.7% 
-----------------------+------------+---------------
UK           7.5 – 9 m     25% 
-----------------------+------------+---------------
CANADA       4.5 m         38% 
-----------------------+------------+---------------
MEXICO       14 m
-----------------------+------------+---------------
SPAIN        3 m
-----------------------+------------+---------------
SWEDEN       1.3 m         21% 
-----------------------+------------+---------------
NEW ZEALAND  .9 – 1.5 m    47% 
-----------------------+------------+--------------
GERMANY      7 m           14% 
-----------------------+------------+--------------
BRAZIL       11 m                      2003 
             6.6 m                     1997 FAS
-----------------------+------------+--------------
AUSTRIA      1.5 M                      2000 FAS
             1.4 m        27%           2002 VOEK
-----------------------+------------+--------------
SWITZERLAND  1.2 m        35% 
-----------------------+------------+--------------
HUNGARY      1.9 m                              
-----------------------+------------+--------------
COSTA RICA                15%
-----------------------+------------+--------------
POLAND                    14%
-----------------------+------------+--------------
NETHERLANDS               21%
-----------------------+------------+--------------



================================
LARGE DATA SOURCES / REPORTS
================================


This is where the bulk of your data resides. Unfortunately, you would
have to purchase the relevant reports at around $1000 USD to get all
of the details. There is an individual report for every European
country and each report contains sections called:

Pet Population
Dog and Cat Owning Households: % Analysis 1998/2002

Which is exactly what you are looking for. 

EUROMONITOR'S PET PRODUCTS RESEARCH REPORTS
http://www.euromonitor.com/Petfoodandpetcareproducts

I have gleaned as much information as I could from the free data
available.

--------------------------------

AMERICAN PET PRODUCTS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (APPMA) SURVEY
http://www.appma.org/membership/survey.asp

--------------------------

TRENDS IN THE U.S. PET FOOD INDUSTRY:
THE POTENTIAL FOR ALASKA SEAFOOD PRODUCTS
http://www.dced.state.ak.us/cbd/seafood/pub/PetFoodIndustryReport.pdf


-------------------------

USDA FOREIGN AGRICULTURE SERVICE
http://www.fas.usda.gov/default.htm




===========================
COUNTRY DATA
==========================



====================
EUROPE
====================


According to a survey carried out by the European Pet Food
association, FEDIAF, there are currently 47 million cats in Europe,
and 41 million dogs. Around 55 million European households own a pet.

Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter
://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:oTAai7322TIJ:www.wattnet.com/enews/pet/ptnws052.doc+%22households+with+cats%22+spain&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

FEDIAF
http://www.fediaf.org/gentree.htm





=======================
AUSTRALIA
=========================

"..one in four Australian households own cats"
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/26/1053801329339.html




================
JAPAN
================

"…Cat and dog ownership declined from its 2000 peak by just over 2% to
a total of 17.4 million animals. This is expected to continue in 2002,
with the dog and cat population falling by a further 2.4% to less than
17 million animals."

http://www.euromonitor.com/Pet_Food_and_Pet_Care_Products_in_Japan
"According to the Japan Pet Food Association, as of 2001 there are
10.05 million registered dogs and 7.72 million cats in Japan."

PETS
http://www.jetro.go.jp/ec/e/market/mgb/3-30.pdf


" The Pet Food Manufactures' Association of Japan has recently
conducted a survey on the status of pet keeping in the country. …On
the national level, 16.7% of the households own dogs followed by 10.7%
owning cats.."

TREND OF MOTIVES AND CONCERN WITH SOCIAL MANNERS OF PET KEEPING
[JAPAN]
http://www.zenoaq.jp/html_e/aj2_0303.html




=============
UK
=============


"9 million cats in the UK, 8 million of which live in British
households"
http://www.powdermilltrust.co.uk/page3.html


"..October 2002: There are now 7.5 million cats in the UK … The
figures were revealed yesterday in a study by Mintel, the market
analysts…"
http://lifestyle.scotsman.com/families/pets_specific.cfm?articleid=6705


"..In 2001 there were an estimated 7.5 million cats in the UK. (Pet
Food Manufacturers’ Association Ltd)"
http://www.adventist.org.uk/lifedevelopment/lifestylemagazine.htm


"..According to RSPCA figures there are between 7.5 and 9 million cats
in the UK of which some 2 to 3 million are strays."
http://www.geocities.com/samson2002002/

"Five million people [in the UK] own cats"
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/1100ichomes/0400advice/content_objectid=12984864_method=full_siteid=50061_headline=-A-pet-friendly-garden-name_page.html


"1996: Britain's seven million cat owners"
http://131.104.232.9/fsnet/1996/4-1996/fs-04-25-96-01.txt





============
CANADA
==============

"According to Statistics Canada, there are approximately 3.5 million
dogs and 4.5 million cats in the country."

CANADA PRODUCT BRIEF -  PET FOOD INDUSTRY SECTOR REPORT 2000
http://www.fas.usda.gov/GainFiles/200011/55678719.pdf

------------------------

"Some 6.4 million households own 14.2 million cats in Canada."

DOG DIGEST - 2002
http://www.dog-digest.com/html/oct2002.html

--------------------

"5-6 million cats.."
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/pages/nww2001/projects/project30_e.htm




=================
SWEDEN
=================

1999: "…21 per cent of households own cats (as opposed to the 15.5 per
cent which own dogs)"

DOGSWORLD - NEWS
http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:gYUzCKCgySsJ:www.dogsworldwide.com/news/sept3-99.htm+%22households+own+cats%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

------------

There are around 800,000 dogs and 1.3 million cats in Sweden, which
has a population of roughly nine million people.

Pet Food and Pet Care Products in Sweden  [report can be purchased]
http://www.euromonitor.com/Pet_Food_and_Pet_Care_Products_in_Sweden




========================
NEW ZEALAND
=======================

"Approximately 47% of New Zealand households own cats…"
http://www.forest-bird.org.nz/dawnchorus/cats/responsiblecatownership.pdf


"…There are in New Zealand between 900,000 and 1.5 million cats.
Nobody knows exactly how many.."

SPCA – AUCKLAND NZ
http://www.spca.org.nz/av/av2001_summer_cats_under_attack.htm




=================
GERMANY
===================

According to the statistics, there are approximately 4.7 million dogs
and 7 million cats in Germany.

BAYER – PRESS RELEASE
http://bayer-animal-health.de/ah/Portal/cpool_prtl.nsf/DocsWeb/AboutUsPressReleasesTenProducts?OpenDocument

-------------

According to market research data, on the average14% of households in
Germany own cats.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF TOXOPLASMA INFECTION
http://www.svepm.org.uk/Posters2001/Broll.pdf




====================
BRAZIL
======================

2003

"…Brazil has 27 million dogs and 11 million cats. They consume about
95
percent of Brazil’s pet food and supplies.

GLOBAL NEWS LINE
http://www.ita.doc.gov/exportamerica/GlobalNewsLine/gnl_0203.pdf

---------
1997:

only a quarter of the country's 22-million dog and cat population (70
percent are dogs) eat manufactured pet foods.

BRAZIL'S PET OWNERS OPT FOR U.S. PET FOOD 
http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/agexporter/1997/petowners.html




============
AUSTRIA  
=============

In Austria there are around 1,5 million cats and a half million dogs.

USDA FAS – Austria Exporter Guide 2000
http://www.fas.usda.gov/GainFiles/200010/35678337.pdf


---------------

"Austria has a population of 7.8 million people. The pet population is
as follows: 524,000 dogs in 16 % of the households, 1.396 million cats
in 27 % of households"


Austrian Small Animal Veterinary Association VOEK - 2002
http://www.voek.at/profile_e.htm




===================
SWITZERLAND
====================

Pets achieved a high household penetration during the late 1990s –
nearly 15% of households own a dog and 35% own a cat – and incremental
growth has therefore slowed down.

Pet Food and Pet Care Products in Switzerland
http://www.euromonitor.com/Pet_Food_and_Pet_Care_Products_in_Switzerland


"The number of dogs and cats in Switzerland is relatively high
(approximately 500,000 dogs and 1.2 million cats)."

PREVALENCE OF ECHINOCOCCUS MULTILOCULARIS IN ANIMALS
://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:KL7YEksrJTIJ:www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414430_5+%22cats+in+switzerland%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8




======================
HUNGARY
=======================

With 1.8 million dogs and 1.9 million cats, the average number of pets
per household is above the European average.

BUSINESS HUNGARY
http://www.amcham.hu/BusinessHungary/16-07/articles/16-06_06.asp




===========
COSTA RICA
=============

A nationwide survey that included personal interviews in 1,021
households studied the incidence, species, and numbers of nonhuman
animals kept in Costa Rican households. A total of 71% of households
keep animals. The proportion of households keeping dogs (53%) is 3.6
higher than the proportion of households keeping cats (15%).

Wild Animals and Other Pets Kept in Costa Rican Households: Incidence,
Species and Numbers
http://www.psyeta.org/sa/abst9-2.shtml




===========
POLAND
==========

CLARITAS - COUNTRY STATISTICS - POLAND
http://www.claritas-europe.com/europe/country_overview/poland/Country_statistics_pl




================
NETHERLANDS
================

CLARITAS - COUNTRY STATISTICS - NETHERLAND
http://www.claritas-europe.com/europe/country_overview/netherlands/Countrystats_nl?view=Standard


So, that's everything I found!  Please let me know if anything I've
said isn't clear or if any of the links don't work and I'll be happy
to clarify my answer.

Thank you for your question,

-K~


SEARCH STRATEGY

Combined country names with terms:

"million cats"
"million cats in"
"million cat owners"
"million people own cats"
"households with cats"
"households owning cats"
"million households own cats"
"cat owners in"