AVMA Releases New Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook
Most people consider their pets to be family members or companions, not property, and spending on veterinary care has increased. Yet, veterinary visits per pet have declined, and cats are not receiving the same care as dogs.
These trends are apparent from data in the newly released 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, available from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The book draws on a 2006 survey of almost 50,000 pet owners and on data from previous editions of the book, which the AVMA has produced approximately every five years for more than 25 years.
The statistics reveal that almost all pet owners feel a strong human-animal bond. About 49.7 percent of survey respondents consider pets to be family, and 48.2 percent consider pets to be companions. The remaining 2.1 percent consider pets to be property.
For cat and dog owners, the survey found that the human-animal bond has a close association with mean number of veterinary visits and total spending on veterinary care. Households that consider dogs to be family averaged three veterinary visits in 2006, for example, in comparison with 2.2 visits for households that consider dogs to be pets or companions and 1.1 visits for households that consider dogs to be property.
The overall increase in spending on veterinary care may be good news for the veterinary profession, as the costs of veterinary education and modern medicine continue to climb. Much of the rise in spending may come from pet owners choosing to pay for major services rather than the changes in the price of routine procedures. Dog-owning households that spent $1,000 or more in a year, for example, jumped from 2.2 percent in 1996 to 8.4 percent in 2006.
Veterinary spending per cat has hardly changed in the past decade, though, even as people continue to own more cats than dogs. Also, on average, both dogs and cats are visiting veterinarians less frequently. Dogs averaged 1.5 visits in 2006, down from 1.9 visits in 2001. Cats averaged 0.7 visits in 2006, down from one visit on average in 2001. Only 63.7 percent of cat-owning households had at least one veterinary visit in 2006.
Veterinary visits and spending are highest for dogs in dog-only households—followed by dogs in households with a cat or cats, cats in cat-only households, and cats in households with a dog or dogs.
The U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook is available for $189 ($174 in a downloadable PDF) for AVMA members and $279 ($264 in downloadable PDF) for non-members. Call (800) 248-2862 or visit their Web site.
Fast Facts:
- Oregon's pet population (approx.):
- 842,912 dogs
- 950,944 cats
- 130,704 birds
- 84,024 horses
- The number of U.S. households owning pets grew to 68.7 million in 2006 from 61.1 million in 2001, an increase of 12.4%.
- Pet owners represent about 59.5% of all U.S. households. Households with children represent about 35% of all U.S. households, according to the United States Census Bureau.
- There are 43 million dog owning households compared with 37.5 million cat owning households, and 81.7 million cats compared to 72 million dogs.
- Pet owners spent about $24.5 billion on veterinary care in 2006. In inflation-adjusted dollars, pet owners spent about $21.6 billion in 2001.
- The intensity of the human-animal bond plays a central role in a pet owner’s decision to seek veterinary care.
- Like they do with their own human health care, pet owners are demanding more high-tech care for diseases that were once difficult to treat – things like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
- This increased level of care, along with the commitment on the part of pet owners to their pets, means longer – and healthier – lives for our pets.
Source: The American Veterinary Medical Association