New data points to growing opportunities in feline veterinary care

When it comes to keeping up to date with veterinary care, cat owners are almost as resilient as the pets themselves.

According to the first volume of the CATalyst Council’s first 2025 CATalyst Feline Market Insights Report, while overall visits to veterinary practices in the U.S. declined, feline clinical visits grew year-over-year in 2023 and 2024, a departure from historical norms. 

The insights reports, expected to be released quarterly, are available exclusively to CATalyst Council sponsors. The council will release high-level conclusions from the reports throughout the year via press releases and LinkedIn.

According to the council's press release, the council’s Market Insights initiative uses aggregated data from U.S. veterinary practices and pet owners, and across multiple sources, to equip the profession and animal health industry with a deep understanding of the feline veterinary market’s trajectory.

“We’re seeing strong evidence that feline veterinary care is resilient in the face of inflation and other pressures on pet-owning households,” said Kristin Wuhrman, CATalyst Council vice chair, in a press release. “Driven in part by growing cat ownership, cats present a clear opportunity to prioritize investment in a more modern, data-informed feline care ecosystem.”

Key findings from the report include:

• Cats represent a growing percentage of the pet population in U.S. households.
• Leading pet industry companies are prioritizing investment in mergers and acquisitions, product pipelines, and retail strategies to reflect these trends.
• The return-to-office movement and denser urban living of today’s world favor cat ownership.

The report’s analysis also reveals new opportunities to address unmet needs in feline care, particularly around caregiver engagement, preventive care, and practice-level service models, according to the press release.

AVMA data shows that the U.S. cat population has remained relatively stable from 1996 to 2024, despite some year-to-year fluctuations. It increased from 61 million owned cats in 2020 to 73.8 million in 2024.

In terms of household spending on veterinary care, data from the 2024 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, indicates that in 2023, the average amount spent per household on veterinary care was greater for dogs ($620) than for cats ($407). Then in 2024, the average amount for dogs decreased by 7% to $580, while spending on cats rose by 6% to $433. 

“Cats are quite different than dogs. Their psychological and medical care needs are distinct, and their market trajectories are increasingly divergent,” said Dr. Anne Ward, CATalyst Council chair. “This report gives the industry the market data needed to act decisively and strategically drive growth, supporting a healthier future for millions of cats and the caregivers who love them.”