Pet Population & Ownership Trends in the US, 9th edition

Current consumer confidence trends point to more positive prospects for cat population than for dog population growth. The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment was reported at 56 in January 2026, down by nearly half from its historical benchmark. This reverts to the ultra-low consumer confidence levels back in the territory of pandemic-era lows (which saw attrition in the pet population, despite mixed signals at the time), and far below indexes in the 90s for the years 2015 through 2019. From this consumer confidence perspective, puppy adoption patterns show a rough relationship to consumer sentiment trends, a relationship that does not hold for kitten adoption.

With detailed investigation of diverging dog vs. cat population patterns and of pet population growth factors, Pet Population & Ownership Trends in the US, 9th edition, provides up-to-date, wide-ranging, and data-rich analysis. Report coverage includes the national population and macroeconomic context, pet ownership rates, pet population characteristics, pet owner demographics, and pet population projections for 2025 vs. 2029. An extensive set of tables and figures lay out pet ownership rates and pet owner demographics across several metrics, based on Packaged Facts' proprietary National Surveys of Pet Owners and on historically trended MRI-Simmons National Consumer Survey data.