UK Pet Food has unveiled its new Pet Population Report for 2024, which reveals a noteworthy gender difference in pet adoption demographics with more men opting to adopt adult cats.

Findings also highlight the huge value that pets bring to our lives.

Over the past four years, 27% of men have chosen to take on an adult cat as a pet, compared to 18% of women. This translates to 1.5 million new male households benefiting from the addition of an adult cat, compared to around one million female households.

For the first time since the pandemic puppy and kitten boom, UK Pet Food data notes an appreciation for mature pets across all demographics, with a total of around 2.5m households acquiring adult cats and adult dogs have been welcomed into 2.1m households.

Key highlights from the report include:

• 17.2m households (60%) house one of the UK’s 36m (non-aquatic) pets in 2024
• There are 13.5m dogs and 12.5m cats in the UK in 2024 – an increase of 1.5m each
• 38% welcomed a new pet into 10.9m homes over the last four years
• Kittens and puppies welcomed into 2.6m and 3.7m households respectively over recent years
• Fish are also swimming up the charts in 21% of UK homes.

The report confirms that emotional benefits appear to be a strong draw for pet ownership with around one quarter of owners admitting that they enjoy time with their pet more than with their family members.

Over a third (39%) confirm that their pet benefits their family’s mental health, around one half of owners over 45 would be lonely without their pet and one fifth would like to see pets available on prescription.

Michael Bellingham, chief executive of UK Pet Food, said: “This year’s findings prove again the huge popularity of pets in the UK. As the owner of an older cat, I was particularly interested to see that more men are adopting older cats!

“There could be all sorts of reasons for the increasing popularity of our furry and aquatic companions, but this year’s research highlights the profound therapeutic impact of pets. Pets play a significant role in our homes; they help combat loneliness and they can have a positive effect on our mental health.

“We were pleasantly surprised to see that one fifth of those questioned are calling for pets to be available on prescription. We couldn’t agree more.”

UK POPULATION OF PETS
Based on extensive research across 8,956 households, the UK’s pet population: 

• 60% of UK households (17.2m) households – 36m non-aquatic pets
• 5 million dogs (36% households)
• 5 million cats (29%)
• 5 million indoor birds (3%)
• 3 million domestic fowl (1.6%)
• 1 million rabbits (1.6%)
• 700,000 tortoises and turtles (1.6%)
• 700,000 horses & ponies (1.5%)
• 700,000 guinea pigs (1.2%)
• 600,000 hamsters (1.5%)
• 600,000 snakes (1.3%)

 This year’s Pet Population data is featured as part of the comprehensive ‘Pet Data Report’, offering insights into UK population data, regional trends, market data, pet nutrition research and more. For further details, click HERE.