Pet health statistics show how common dogs and cats are in U.S. households and highlight several recurring care concerns. In 2024, 45.5% of U.S. households owned a dog and 32.1% owned a cat, according to AVMA U.S. pet ownership statistics. Recent surveys also measured widespread concerns about pet weight, while Banfield data documented dental-related diagnoses and selected disease findings across different years.
Contents
- Pet ownership and veterinary spending
- How common are overweight pets?
- What owners say about weight management
- Body condition scoring and veterinary conversations
- Dental health in dogs and cats
- Regional and state dental diagnosis rates
- Selected disease and preventive-care findings
Pet ownership and veterinary spending
The AVMA’s 2024 U.S. pet ownership statistics provide the broadest population context in this set of figures. They counted 59.8 million U.S. households with dogs and 42.2 million households with cats. Those households represented 45.5% and 32.1% of U.S. households, respectively.
The same 2024 estimates counted 89.7 million dogs and 73.8 million cats in the United States. The average dog-owning household had 1.5 dogs, while the average cat-owning household had 1.8 cats. These are household-level averages, so they describe the average among dog-owning or cat-owning households rather than every U.S. household.
Veterinary spending also differed between the two groups. Average veterinary care spending per dog-owning household was $580 per year in 2024. The corresponding average for a cat-owning household was $433 per year. These figures are spending averages, not a forecast of what an individual pet will cost and not a guarantee of a particular level of care.
Other companion animals were represented in the AVMA’s 2024 household estimates as follows:
| Animal type | U.S. households | Share of U.S. households |
|---|---|---|
| Fish | 3.9 million | 2.9% |
| Reptiles | 2.3 million | 1.8% |
| Birds | 2.1 million | 1.6% |
| Small mammals | 1.3 million | 1.0% |
| Rabbits | 0.9 million | 0.7% |
| Horses | 0.7 million | 0.5% |
| Poultry | 0.7 million | 0.5% |
The table reports ownership by household, so the percentages should not be read as the percentage of animals represented by each category. Together, these numbers show that pet health planning concerns more than dogs and cats, even though dogs and cats account for the largest household ownership shares in the available 2024 figures. [AVMA U.S. pet ownership statistics]
How common are overweight pets?
The 2022 State of US Pet Obesity Report classified 59% of evaluated dogs as overweight or obese. Within that result, 37% of dogs were classified as overweight and 22% as obese. Among evaluated cats, 61% were classified as overweight or obese: 28% were overweight and 33% were obese.
These figures describe evaluated animals in the 2022 APOP prevalence survey. They are not a direct count of every dog or cat in the United States. They also use categories that should not be casually merged with owner perception, because a clinical or survey classification can differ from how an owner describes a pet’s body condition.
Owner efforts and outcomes were also measured in the 2022 report. Seventy-three percent of dog owners said they had tried to help their pet lose weight, compared with 58% of cat owners. Among dog owners, 34% reported success, 26% reported some success, and 23% reported no success. Among cat owners, 19% reported success, 34% reported some success, and 29% reported no success.
The report also measured beliefs about responsibility and exercise. Thirty-two percent of pet owners strongly agreed that owners are to blame for an overweight or obese pet, while 30% somewhat agreed. Twenty-three percent were neutral, 8% somewhat disagreed, and 7% disagreed. Separately, 68% agreed or somewhat agreed that pet obesity is caused by not enough exercise; 20% were neutral, and 12% somewhat disagreed or disagreed. [2022 State of US Pet Obesity Report]
What owners say about weight management
The APOP 2024 Pet Weight & Nutrition Opinion Survey provides a newer view of owner perceptions and actions. In 2024, 51% of dog owners categorized their pet’s body condition as ideal, compared with 55% of cat owners. In the same survey, 35% of dog owners categorized their pets as overweight or having obesity, compared with 33% of cat owners.
The survey also found a gap between owner recognition and professional assessment tools. Forty-five percent of dog owners were familiar with body condition scoring, as were 40% of cat owners. Only 27% of U.S. dog owners said their veterinarian had provided a body condition score, while 19% of U.S. cat owners said this had happened. Fifty-six percent of dog owners said their veterinarian had not provided a body condition score, compared with 55% of cat owners. Another 14% of dog owners and 17% of cat owners were unsure.
Weight-loss attempts remained common. Sixty-two percent of dog owners reported attempting to help a pet lose weight in 2024, compared with 53% of cat owners. Sixteen percent of dog owners reported trying a therapeutic weight-loss diet, while 25% of cat owners reported trying one. If proven safe, effective, and affordable, a prescription weight-loss drug would be considered by 34% of dog owners and 36% of cat owners.
These results are opinion-survey measurements from 2024, not treatment recommendations. A therapeutic diet or prescription medication requires veterinary guidance, and the survey percentages do not establish that any particular approach works for an individual animal. [APOP 2024 Pet Weight & Nutrition Opinion Survey]
Body condition scoring and veterinary conversations
The same 2024 APOP survey found that 96% of U.S. pet owners reported their pet had been examined by a veterinarian within the past two years. Eighty-six percent believed their veterinary healthcare team was comfortable discussing pet obesity, and 86% believed their veterinarian would feel comfortable telling them their pet had obesity.
Veterinary professionals reported somewhat different levels of certainty about these conversations. Sixty percent of surveyed veterinary professionals said they always feel comfortable discussing obesity with pet owners. Thirty-eight percent said it depends, and 1% said they never feel comfortable discussing obesity with pet owners.
The body condition scoring figures help put those perceptions in context. Familiarity was reported by 45% of dog owners and 40% of cat owners, but a smaller share said a veterinarian had actually provided a score: 27% for dogs and 19% for cats. The survey therefore captures several distinct measures—owner familiarity, reported veterinary action, and comfort discussing obesity—and they should not be treated as interchangeable.
Dental health in dogs and cats
Banfield’s State of Pet Dental Health 2024 reported that 73% of dogs seen at Banfield in 2023 were diagnosed with dental-related issues. The corresponding figure for cats seen at Banfield in 2023 was 64%. These are diagnosis rates among Banfield patients, not prevalence estimates for all dogs and cats.
The report also associated advanced periodontal disease with other diagnoses. Cats with advanced periodontal disease were 1.5 times more likely to develop chronic kidney disease. Dogs with advanced periodontal disease were 2.3 times more likely to develop chronic kidney disease and 6.3 times more likely to develop endocarditis. These are reported associations and should not be read as proof that periodontal disease alone caused each outcome.
Breed size was another reported difference: extra-small dog breeds were up to five times more likely to be diagnosed with periodontal disease than giant dog breeds. The wording “up to” matters because it describes the largest reported difference in the comparison rather than a universal multiplier for every pair of breeds.
Older Banfield data provides historical context but should be kept separate from the 2023 findings. The State of Pet Health 2016 Report said dental disease affected 76% of dogs and 68% of cats in 2015. It also reported that dental disease in dogs had increased 8% since Banfield’s initial report five years earlier, while dental disease in cats had increased 9.6%. Tooth resorption affected nearly one out of 100 cats in 2015, and tooth resorption in cats rose 1,587% over 10 years. These historical figures were reported for their stated periods and were not independently verified here. [Banfield State of Pet Dental Health 2024] [Banfield State of Pet Health 2016 Report]
Regional and state dental diagnosis rates
Banfield’s 2024 dental-health report gave regional oral-health diagnosis rates for dogs seen in 2023. The Midwest was 76.7%, the Southwest 73.9%, the West 73.8%, the Southeast 73.2%, and the Northeast 64.7%.
Selected state-level figures show why a national or regional rate does not describe every location. For dogs, the reported rates were 85.4% in Iowa, 85.4% in Idaho, 84.1% in Minnesota, 61% in Massachusetts, 58.8% in New York, and 49.5% in Connecticut. For cats, the rates were 85.2% in Iowa, 78% in Idaho, 77.7% in Minnesota, 46% in New York, 44.5% in Massachusetts, and 32% in Connecticut.
| Location | Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 85.4% | 85.2% |
| Idaho | 85.4% | 78% |
| Minnesota | 84.1% | 77.7% |
| New York | 58.8% | 46% |
| Massachusetts | 61% | 44.5% |
| Connecticut | 49.5% | 32% |
The regional and state figures are diagnosis rates among animals seen at Banfield in 2023. They may reflect the patients and practices represented in that system, so they should not be presented as population-wide estimates for every pet in a state. [Banfield State of Pet Dental Health 2024]
Selected disease and preventive-care findings
Banfield’s State of Pet Health 2016 Report analyzed more than 8 million pet visits a year. In 2015, Banfield cared for nearly 2.5 million dogs and 500,000 cats. Among dogs tested in 2015, 56 positive heartworm cases were detected per 10,000 tests performed. The report said heartworm prevalence in dogs had decreased 33.1% since 2011, while use of heartworm preventives by dogs seen at Banfield had increased 12% over the prior two years.
The State of Pet Health 2014 Report supplied additional historical measurements. FIV prevalence in cats increased 48%, from about 23 cases per 10,000 in 2009 to 33 cases per 10,000 in 2013. Approximately one of every 300 cats seen in 2013 was infected with FIV, and intact cats older than one year were 3.5 times as likely to be infected with FIV as same-aged spayed or neutered cats.
In the same 2013 Banfield report, parvovirus infection was detected in 34 out of every 10,000 dogs seen. Upper respiratory infection affected 9% of cats seen at Banfield in 2013. These findings are tied to the stated Banfield populations and years. They are useful as historical surveillance figures, but they should not be substituted for current national disease estimates. [Banfield State of Pet Health 2016 Report] [Banfield State of Pet Health 2014 Report]