Landmark Survey of 60,000 U.S. Households Quantifies the Largest Untapped Opportunity in Companion-Animal Medicine

New CATalyst Council data show cats deliver three consecutive years of visit growth while an estimated $34 billion in addressable annual revenue remains uncaptured. Cat owners say what would bring them in more often

CATalyst Council today released early findings from the CATalyst 2026 State of the Cat Report, the largest feline-focused household survey ever conducted in the United States. For veterinary practices serving that population, the survey delivers a clinically and economically significant finding: the feline patient opportunity is larger, more motivated, and more actionable than previously documented. Findings based on responses from more than 60,000 U.S. households fielded by Kynetec and Forward Group estimate the domestic cat population at approximately 76 million, representing 45 percent of all cats and dogs in American homes. The survey further shows that 90% of cat owners indicate they have a “very strong” emotional bond with their cat.

At the center of the findings is a care and profit gap that practices are uniquely positioned to close. Only an estimated one in three cats receives annual veterinary care from a traditional veterinary practice, compared to approximately seven in ten dogs.

The CATalyst Council’s companion analysis in the Feline Veterinary Market Insights Report, Volume V quantifies the full two-dimensional feline opportunity at approximately $663,000 per practice at current prices and standard practice: $497,000 attributable to closing the medicalization gap alone, and an additional $166,000 from closing the care intensity gap between feline and canine visits. While these figures represent the stock of unrealized potential and not a forecast of annual incremental growth, the opportunity is significant. In aggregate, the total addressable market reaches approximately $34 billion, of which only $12.7 billion is served today.

Cat owners who represent that gap are not disengaged. They only need veterinarians to provide the clinical reasons and the right conditions to act, including feline-specific pricing options.

“The veterinary profession has a growing understanding of how it underserves cats and their owners. From this survey we now know who these owners are, what they believe, what they misunderstand, and exactly what language would bring them in more often. The survey results create a practice development roadmap, beyond valuable market insight.”

Gina Fortunato, Executive Director, CATalyst Council

Three Years of Cumulative Feline Growth: Cat Visits +2% vs. Dog Visits -8%

While the broader companion-animal veterinary market has faced sustained headwinds, feline clinical visits have moved in the opposite direction. Feline visits grew two percent cumulatively from 2023 through 2025, while canine visits declined roughly eight percent over the same three-year period. Cats have become the visit growth driver in a market where overall volumes are contracting.

Kitten adoption rates remain 9 to 10 percent above historical baselines even as puppy adoptions have declined approximately 27 to 28 percent from the baseline, establishing a potential forward patient pipeline that structurally favors feline medicine. Practices have the opportunity to build the capacity to capture this opportunity, through feline-focused protocols, cat-friendly clinic design, and improved client communication. Forward-thinking practices can position themselves ahead of a potential demographic of an increasing feline patient base.

The $34 Billion Gap: Motivated Owners, Addressable Barriers

The survey asked pet owners who do not regularly bring their cat to the veterinarian, “what would change your behavior?” The responses, listed in order of importance, identify specific, practice-level levers with documented demand:

• Belief in outcomes: cat owners would seek more care if they believed visits would extend their cat’s life. This is the single highest-ranked motivator.
• Cost: a large number of cat owners indicated they would visit more often if costs were lower, pointing to the value of preventive care with regular examinations, wellness plans, tiered pricing, transparent fees and communication regarding the importance of early detection, as the most significant costs occur with reactive care.
• Prevention economics: understanding that exams help prevent expensive problems later is a large motivator to bring their cat into the veterinarian, a preventive care value proposition that practices are positioned to make directly.
• Convenience: weekend hours, house calls, and shorter wait times were identified as meaningful motivators, reflecting unmet demand for flexible access models.
• Visit stress: owners identified stress for both the cat and the owner as a barrier, with carrier strategies and lower-stress clinic environments cited as meaningful interventions.

These challenges shared by cat owners are practice-addressable barriers that, when removed, could convert an already-motivated owner into a more compliant client. Low-stress clinic design and environment, positive and personalized patient handling and interactions, and alternative care options such as telehealth and at-home diagnostics, represent what owners say they need. Practices that communicate the value proposition of preventive care in a way that pet owners can understand and as a way to extend their cat’s life, while providing concrete strategies to reduce the friction of the visit itself, are best positioned to capture the increasing feline care demand.

The Clinical Blind Spot: Why Owner Confidence Creates Practice Risk

The survey documents a knowledge gap with direct clinical implications. Most cat owners consider themselves well-informed about their cat’s health and believe they would recognize illness when it appears. Many are confident that any significant health issue would be obvious. Veterinary professionals know the opposite is true: cats have evolved to mask signs of pain and illness, often until a condition has advanced considerably.

This confidence gap is reinforced by persistent misconceptions that suppress preventive care utilization. A material share of owners continue to believe indoor cats do not require wellness visits, or that cats recover from illness without intervention. Preventive care, though viewed as important in principle, consistently ranks as a lower priority in practice. A fundamental misunderstanding of feline behavior during illness persists among cat owners, one the profession is uniquely equipped to correct.

When owners do have questions about their cat’s health, 87 percent turn to their veterinarian, with 48 percent indicating they do so frequently. The veterinary relationship is the primary trusted source for feline health information. One conclusion is that the face-to-face consultation is the critical communication channel for shifting owner behavior. Practices that build anticipatory guidance about subtle illness signs, preventive visit rationale, and the biological reality of feline pain masking into their client communications are directly addressing the beliefs that keep cats away.

“More than 2/3 of cat owners say they would seek more care if they believed it would extend their cat’s life. This describes a client waiting for a compelling case to invest in veterinary care. The profession has both the evidence and the platform to make it. This survey tells us the audience is ready.”

Kristin Wuhrman, Chair, CATalyst Council

About the CATalyst 2026 State of the Cat Report

CATalyst Council’s 2026 State of the Cat Report is the largest household survey of its kind, based on a survey of more than 60,000 U.S. households conducted by Kynetec and Forward Group. Household population estimates of cats and dogs, as well as other pets, are derived from ownership rates applied to 133 million U.S. households as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau. The findings reported here represent preliminary analysis released in advance of a further analysis of survey insights. The study covers household pet ownership across both dogs and cats, pet and owner demographics, cat owner attitudes and behaviors, veterinary utilization, owner knowledge and misconceptions, and the barriers and motivators to increased veterinary care.

About CATalyst Council

CATalyst Council’s mission is to advance feline health through feline-specific intelligence that drives evidence-based innovation and lifelong care.

The organization produces the CATalyst 2026 State of the Cat Report based upon a household survey of over 60,000 U.S. households, and the quarterly Feline Veterinary Market Insights Report, an intelligence series integrating seven independent data sources and distributed to its sponsor organizations across the veterinary industry. More information is available at catalystcouncil.org or follow CATalyst Council on LinkedIn.

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More than 2/3 of cat owners say they would seek more care if they believed it would extend their cat’s life.