A third of Americans (35%) have many pets, making up the majority of Americans (62%) who own pets. Additionally, a new Pew Research Center survey found that almost all American pet owners (97%) consider their animals to be members of the family.
A little more than half of pet owners (51%) believe that their animals are just as much a part of their family as a human member. The following groups are more likely to express this:
Women: Compared to 43% of men who own pets, 57% of female pet owners feel their animals are just as much a part of their family as a human member.
People with lower family earnings: Compared to 46% of those with intermediate incomes and 43% of those with higher incomes, 64% of pet owners in this category feel that their animals are just as much a part of their family as a human family member.
Urban residents: 61 percent of pet owners believe their animals are just as much a part of their family as a human relative, compared to 50 percent of rural residents and 47 percent of suburban residents.
Age, colour, or ethnicity have little effect on the percentage of pet owners who consider their animals to be as much a part of the family as a human family member.
How pet owners feel about their animals is also influenced by their family situation. The majority of pet owners believe their animals to be as much a part of their family as a human being, along with those who are single and do not have any children under the age of 18.
What about cat owners as opposed to dog owners? Although the difference is small, people who only own dogs (53%) are more likely than people who only own cats (48%) to view their pets in the same light as a member of their immediate family.
Who are the most likely owners of pets?
While the majority of Americans own dogs, various demographic groupings stand out as being more inclined to do so:
people who are White and Hispanic: 68% of White people and 66% of Hispanic adults own pets. Comparatively speaking, only 37% of Asian and 34% of Black adults own pets.
Americans who live in rural settings are far more likely to own a pet (71% of adults) than those who live in suburban and urban areas. Additionally, Americans who live in rural areas are more likely to own many pets than those who live in suburban or metropolitan areas (32% versus 26% respectively).
To a lesser extent, women and people in middle-income families are also more likely than others to own pets. People younger than 65 are the age group most likely to have pets.
Dog versus cat ownership
Dog ownership is more common than cat ownership in the United States.
1. 49% of all pet owners report having dogs. just 24% have both dogs and cats, compared to 2.23% who have cats.
2. 4% of households don't have any pets.
The majority of people who only have one pet say it is a dog (69%). 34% of people who have many pets indicate that all of them are dogs.
1. 20% said they only have cats as pets.
2. 42% claim to have both cats and dogs.
How Americans think pets are treated
We asked Americans how they think pets are treated compared with people in the U.S.
According to 26% of Americans, there is either too much or not enough emphasis placed on pets' welfare. The majority (48%) believe that the importance placed on the welfare of pets is about appropriate.
Pet owners are twice as likely as non-pet owners to feel that the well-being of pets is not given enough priority. About twice as many non-pet owners as pet owners believe there is too much emphasis.51% of pet owners who consider their animal to be an equal member of their family to a human believe that the well-being of animals is not given enough attention. Only 13% of people who claim that their pet is an important member of their family but not as much as a human member also say the same.
In response, 32% of those who claim their pets are a part of their family, albeit not as much as a human family member, claim there is an excessive focus on the welfare of pets. Only 6% of people who consider their pets to be human family members agree with this.
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