Evolving pet owner economics: What data reveal for veterinary teams

The population of pet dogs in the United States has grown since 1996, from an estimated 52.9 million dogs to 87.3 million in 2025.

The owned cat population varied between 1996 and 2025, but recent years show some population growth. In 2025, there were 76.3 million cats and in 2024 there were 73.8 million compared with 59.8 million in 1996.

In terms of pet acquisitions, the gap has narrowed between dogs and cats. Among owners who reported acquiring a pet in the past two years, 54.5% in 2025 indicated acquiring a dog, a decrease from 57.3% in 2023. In contrast, the proportion who indicated acquiring a cat increased from 43.5% in 2023 to 47.6% in 2025. Acquisitions of other animals kept as pets, such as horses, fish, and pocket pets, decreased from 11.7% to 9.8% during the same timeframe.

The newly released data came from the 2025 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, which is now available online. The findings are largely based on responses to the AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Surveys conducted in 2023, 2024, and 2025 and include pet owner behaviors during the previous calendar year.

Maisey Kent, assistant director of statistical and data analysis in the AVMA Veterinary Economics Division, highlighted several key findings from the report during the presentation "Understanding the Modern Pet Owner: Data Driven Strategies for Veterinary Success" at the 2025 AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum, held October 8-9 in Denver.

Pet ownership and veterinary visits

The report also includes 2025 demographic information about dog and cat owners, such as:

• Dog owners had an average of 1.6 dogs this year, which has remained consistent since 1987. Meanwhile, the average number of cats per cat-owning household decreased from 2.2 in 1987 to 1.8.
• About two-thirds of dog (65.6%) and cat owners (60.4%) owned their homes.
• 86% of pet-owning households included two or more human adults.
• 54% had children 17 years old or younger.
• 41% of pet owners had just one pet.

When pet owners were asked if they had a regular veterinarian or veterinary practice, 83.4% said they did, yet only 69.4% indicated they had actually visited a veterinary practice in the past calendar year (2024).

"There's roughly a 10% gap between these, but I don't see this as a complete negative. I see it more of an opportunity for practices to reflect and think … what’s working and what’s not working in terms of bringing in folks and their pets back into the practice," Kent said.

Further, the data show that among dog and cat owners who visited a veterinary practice in the previous calendar year, around a quarter of dog owners only went once (25.5%), nearly half visited twice (47.7%), and another quarter or so went three or more times (26.8%). Meanwhile, 40.9% of cat owning pet owners visited a veterinary practice once in the previous calendar year, 43.3% visited two times and 15.8% visited three times or more, as reported in 2025.

"You already have that relationship that they're coming in once, and the potential for them to come in more times for the care that they need is there," she said.

Consistently for the past three years, dog and cat owners have overwhelmingly—81.6% and 76.4% respectively—cited a routine checkup or preventive care as a reason for their last veterinary visit. Coming in distant second was a medical concern, indicated by 19.2% of dog owners and 19.7% of cat owners in 2025.

Spending behavior and practice implications

On the other hand, 16.1% of dog owners and 28.0% of cat owners said they did not spend any money in the past year on veterinary care. Notably, 35.1% of dog owners and 38.6% of cat owners in those groups said the main reason was because their pet did not get sick or injured.

The second most-cited reason in 2025 for not visiting the veterinarian for dog owners was that their dog did not need vaccines, at 19.4%, and for cat owners that the cost of veterinary was too high, at 16.4%.

"Many clients have been overdue for care simply because the experience doesn’t feel compelling or easy or valuable to them," Kent said. "It's our job to kind of bridge that gap here and make it very compelling for them."

Kent recommended several places to start, including social media campaigns or enhancing the practice’s website, forward booking, or an online pharmacy with home delivery and autoshipping options. Or owners could look at their hours of operation, product availability, or cost of service.

"You don’t have to tackle all of them at once," she said.

In 2025, owners reported spending a total of around $1,700 on their pets annually, which is about $200 more than they reported in the previous two years.

Veterinary care accounted for 32.4% of pet owners’ total household pet-related expenditures as reported in 2025. Specifically, dog owners spent an average of $598, cat owners spent $529, and other pet owners spent $552 in 2025.

The average reported cost of the last veterinary visit was $200 as reported in 2025, $147 in 2024, and $190 in 2023. In 2025, the reported cost for dog owners was slightly more ($220) than cat owners ($202) and other pet owners ($177).

"There are many opportunities practices can jump on by turning the barriers into opportunities," Kent said. "We can create transparency by breaking down and itemizing immunization, exam, and procedure costs beforehand, creating clear value perception by displaying the value of your veterinary services in a visible and memorable way."