Cat ownership is widespread in the United States, but estimates vary by survey and source. AVMA counted 42.2 million cat-owning households in 2024, while APPA estimated 49 million. Across the available 2024 and 2025 measurements, the data also shows more multi-cat homes, rising use of calming products, and broader participation in products and activities once associated mainly with dogs.
Contents
- How many U.S. households own cats?
- How many cats live in those homes?
- Who owns cats?
- How cat ownership is changing
- What cat owners buy and use
- Gifts, parties, and everyday care
How many U.S. households own cats?
The AVMA’s U.S. pet ownership statistics reported that 32.1% of U.S. households owned cats in 2024. The same source counted 42.2 million U.S. households with cats. These figures provide one measurement of household penetration and household count for the 2024 period.
APPA reported a higher 2024 estimate in its 2025 State of the Industry Report: 37% of U.S. households owned a cat, equal to 49 million cat-owning households. APPA also said cat ownership was up 23% from 2023. The difference between the AVMA and APPA totals is important: the sources used different research programs and estimates, so the figures should be compared as separate reported measurements rather than combined.
APPA repeated the 49-million-household and 37% estimate in its Pets Add Life Holiday Gift Guide 2025, and again described that figure as a 23% increase from 2023. The repeated estimate gives readers a consistent APPA benchmark for 2024, while the AVMA figures provide a separate benchmark for the same year.
APPA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report put cat ownership at 39% of U.S. households in 2025. It estimated 53 million U.S. cat-owning households and said cat ownership increased 5% year over year. APPA also reported that Gen X cat ownership increased 8% year over year in 2025.
| Measurement | Reported figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. households owning cats | 32.1% | AVMA, 2024 |
| U.S. cat-owning households | 42.2 million | AVMA, 2024 |
| U.S. households owning cats | 37% | APPA, 2024 |
| U.S. cat-owning households | 49 million | APPA, 2024 |
| U.S. households owning cats | 39% | APPA, 2025 |
| U.S. cat-owning households | 53 million | APPA, 2025 |
These numbers describe estimates, not a single definitive census. They also cover different measurement years and sources. For practical reading, the broad pattern is clear within the supplied reports: cat ownership represented roughly one-third to two-fifths of U.S. households, and APPA’s estimate increased from 49 million households in 2024 to 53 million in 2025.
How many cats live in those homes?
The AVMA’s 2024 U.S. pet ownership statistics counted 73.8 million cats in U.S. households. AVMA also reported an average of 1.8 cats per cat-owning household. Together, these figures describe both the estimated cat population in homes and the typical number of cats among households that own them.
APPA’s six-year comparison adds detail about household size. In the Pets Add Life Holiday Gift Guide 2025, APPA said single-cat households fell 9% over the prior six years. Households with two cats increased 8% from 2018, while households with three or more cats increased 38% from 2018.
Those APPA changes are percentage changes in household categories, not a claim that the number of cats rose by the same percentages. They do show a shift toward multi-cat households in the reported comparison. The increase was especially large for homes with three or more cats, while single-cat households moved in the opposite direction.
The AVMA average of 1.8 cats per cat-owning household supplies a useful snapshot for 2024, but it should not be treated as an average for all U.S. households. It applies only to households that owned cats in that measurement.
Who owns cats?
APPA’s 2025 State of the Industry Report included several measurements about younger pet owners. Gen Z made up 20% of cat owners in 2024, and APPA said that share was up 25% from 2023. APPA also reported 18.8 million Gen Z pet-owning households in 2024 and said Gen Z accounted for 20% of all pet-owning households.
The report measured differences within age groups as well. Men represented 38% of Gen Z cat owners in 2024. Among Millennial cat owners, men represented 46%. These are shares within the named owner groups; they are not percentages of all U.S. cat owners.
APPA also reported that 70% of Gen Z pet owners had two or more pets. That measure covers Gen Z pet owners and all pets, rather than cat-only households. It therefore provides context about multi-pet ownership, but it should not be converted into a count of Gen Z households with multiple cats.
The 2025 report found that 71% of Gen Z cat owners used calming products in 2024. Among Millennial cat owners, the corresponding share was 66%. Those figures indicate substantial use of calming products in both groups, with the reported Gen Z share five percentage points higher.
How cat ownership is changing
Several APPA measurements point to growth between the supplied periods. APPA reported that cat ownership increased 23% from 2023 to 2024 in its 2025 State of the Industry Report and in its Pets Add Life Holiday Gift Guide 2025. For the following period, APPA reported a 5% year-over-year increase in 2025.
The household penetration estimate also moved from 37% in 2024 to 39% in 2025 in APPA’s reports. The household estimate moved from 49 million to 53 million over the same reported years. These are APPA estimates, and the 2025 report should not be used to revise the separate AVMA 2024 measurement.
Household structure changed over a longer comparison as well. APPA reported a 9% decline in single-cat households over the prior six years, an 8% increase in two-cat households from 2018, and a 38% increase in households with three or more cats from 2018. The comparison suggests that the composition of cat-owning households shifted toward homes with more cats during the stated period.
Care preferences also changed. APPA reported calming-product use among cat owners at 52% in 2024, up from 19% in 2022. The same source reported that 17% of cat owners said a veterinarian considered their pet obese in 2024, compared with 15% in 2022. In addition, 13% reported a prescribed weight-loss diet in 2024, up from 12% in 2022.
What cat owners buy and use
The AVMA reported average veterinary care spending of $433 per cat-owning household per year in 2024. APPA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report said products remained the top expense for cat owners in 2025 and that share of wallet among cat owners was unchanged year over year. The spending figures and expense ranking describe different aspects of owner costs, so they are not interchangeable.
APPA’s 2024 Dog and Cat Owner Insight Report measured several kinds of product use among cat owners in 2024:
- 32% gave their cats vitamins or supplements, up from 20% in 2018.
- 28% gave prebiotic or probiotic supplements, up from 21% in 2022.
- 46% used training aids, up from 34% in 2018.
- 31% owned leashes, up from 21% in 2018.
- 23% owned harnesses, up from 13% in 2018.
- 52% used some type of calming product, up from 19% in 2022.
The supplement figures distinguish broad vitamins or supplements from the narrower prebiotic or probiotic category. The leash and harness figures measure ownership, while training aids and calming products measure use. Keeping those terms separate matters when interpreting the statistics.
APPA also reported that 71% of Gen Z cat owners and 66% of Millennial cat owners used calming products in 2024. Those age-group measurements are higher than the 52% share reported for cat owners overall in the 2024 insight report, although the reports describe different cuts of the data.
Gifts, parties, and everyday care
APPA reported that 41% of cat owners planned to purchase Christmas gifts for their pets in 2024. The Pets Add Life Holiday Gift Guide 2025 said cat owners spent an average of $30.70 per Christmas gift in 2024. The first figure measures planned purchasing, while the second measures average spending per gift.
Birthday and party activity also appeared in APPA’s 2024 Dog and Cat Owner Insight Report. Thirty-two percent of cat owners purchased birthday gifts for their pets in 2024, up from 24% in 2022. Twenty percent hosted a holiday or birthday party for their pets in 2024, up from 16% in 2022.
The same report recorded health-related care decisions. Seventeen percent of cat owners said a veterinarian considered their pet obese in 2024, compared with 15% in 2022. Thirteen percent reported a prescribed weight-loss diet in 2024, compared with 12% in 2022. These are owner-reported measures about veterinary assessment and prescriptions, not an independent clinical prevalence estimate.
Taken together, the reported figures show cat ownership at a large household scale, with APPA’s estimates rising from 2024 to 2025 and AVMA providing a separate 2024 benchmark. The data also describes a growing role for multi-cat households, supplements, calming products, training aids, leashes, harnesses, gifts, and pet celebrations in life with cats.