🇺🇸24%
24% of cats are adopted from animal shelters (APPA 2024); breeder purchases vary by source (3% APPA vs 20.1% AVMA)
Source: American Pet Products Association 2024Recent
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Where people get cats: shelters, breeders, strays, and more
🇺🇸24%
24% of cats are adopted from animal shelters (APPA 2024); breeder purchases vary by source (3% APPA vs 20.1% AVMA)
Where people get their cats has shifted significantly in recent years. Shelter adoption has become the most common source, followed by taking in strays and acquiring cats from friends or family. Breeder purchases represent a small but growing segment. Understanding acquisition patterns helps shelters, breeders, and rescue organizations reach potential adopters and improve placement outcomes.
46% of cat owners acquired their most recent cat from a shelter or rescue
Taking in stray cats accounts for 31% of acquisitions, higher than for dogs
Online platforms are increasingly used for pet adoption, with 27% using websites or apps
Kitten deworming should begin at 3-4 weeks of age and repeat every 2 weeks until 3 months old
Early treatment targets larvae acquired transmammarily before they mature and cause significant damage
Supporting data points for this category
24%
24% of cats are found roaming/as strays, compared to only 6% of dogs→
25.5%
25.5% of cats are acquired from friends or family→
21%
Behavioral issues account for 21% of cat surrenders specifically, with housing/moving at 18% and too many animals at 22.6%→
37%
Of behavioral surrenders, social conflict is most common at 37%, followed by aggression at 26%, and inappropriate elimination (soiling) at 23%→
16%
16% of cats are surrendered because owners have too many animals (Best Friends 2024 data). Behavioral issues (21%) is the highest cat-specific surrender reason.→
29%
29% of UK cats are purchased rather than adopted or rehomed→
61%
61% of purchased UK cats are found online, up from 58% in 2021→
24%
24% of UK cats found online are found on Facebook, up from 16% in 2021→
Complete dataset with sources and citations
Common questions about acquisition statistics