About 64 percent of pet-owning households own more than one pet, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s new 2007 “U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook,” which is published every five years. There are 43 million dog-owning households compared with 37.5 million cat-owning households, but 81.7 million cats compared to 72 million dogs in the United States.
Pet owners also spent a total of $24.5 billion on veterinary care in 2006, according to the sourcebook. The average veterinary expenditure per household for all pets was $366 in 2006.
The sourcebook also includes statistics on veterinary medical expenditures, pet owner demographics, pet owner profiles, pet ownership, and pet population.
About 48,000 U.S. households were surveyed for the study.