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Behavioral issues account for 21% of cat surrenders specifically, with housing/moving at 18% and too many animals at 22.6%
Source: PMC / Animals Journal (2024)
Notes
Cat-specific data; 28% behavioral is combined dogs+cats. Dogs are 35% behavioral, cats 21%. Source is peer-reviewed PMC article.
PMC / Animals Journal. (2024). Investigating the Reasons behind Companion Animal Relinquishment. As cited in Cat Cognition. https://catcognition.com/statistics/acquisition/#us-cat-surrender-reasons-behavioral-2024
37%
Of behavioral surrenders, social conflict is most common at 37%, followed by aggression at 26%, and inappropriate elimination (soiling) at 23%
PMC / Animals Journal (2024)
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.
Best Friends Animal Society (2024)
24%
24% of cats are adopted from animal shelters (APPA 2024); breeder purchases vary by source (3% APPA vs 20.1% AVMA)
American Pet Products Association (2024)
24%
24% of cats are found roaming/as strays, compared to only 6% of dogs
Humane Society (2024)
