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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 (2024)
Notes
AVMA shows different figures: 9.7% shelter, 20.1% breeder - methodology differences
American Pet Products Association. (2024). APPA National Pet Owners Survey. As cited in Cat Cognition. https://catcognition.com/statistics/acquisition/#us-cats-from-shelter-2024
24%
24% of cats are found roaming/as strays, compared to only 6% of dogs
Humane Society (2024)
21%
Behavioral issues account for 21% of cat surrenders specifically, with housing/moving at 18% and too many animals at 22.6%
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)
25.5%
25.5% of cats are acquired from friends or family
American Pet Products Association (2024)
