Buzz
If you were to tally all the cats worldwide, you'd end up with... a whole lot of them. However, estimating an exact figure is quite challenging. Noah Seelam/Getty ImagesWhile dogs are often considered man's best friend, it's hard to ignore the fact that cat photos and videos on Facebook have millions of people going "Awwwwww." (And who ever heard of a crazy dog lady?) So, does this mean cats have surpassed dogs in popularity? Just how many cats are there around the globe, anyway?
To answer the first question: Yes, cats are indeed more popular as pets than dogs. In the U.S., a higher percentage of households own dogs—36.5% versus 30.4% for cats—but there are actually more cats as pets, with nearly 75 million cats compared to about 70 million dogs. Globally, cats are also the more popular pet compared to dogs.
As for the second question, how many cats are there in the world? Estimates range from 220 million to over 600 million. Getting an accurate number is nearly impossible, as counting feral cats—those free-roaming felines found in virtually every neighborhood, behind grocery stores, or near restaurant trash bins—presents a huge challenge. One estimate from 2007 placed the number of feral cats at around 158 million. It's like trying to herd cats.
"Feral cats, in particular, manage to survive and even thrive in various parts of the world," says Louise Holton, president of Alley Cat Rescue, via email. "Domesticated housecats, however, suffer when left to fend for themselves. They lack the skills to find food or shelter, which is a cruel fate for any domesticated animal. Those who survive may join an existing colony or form a new one, where they learn to hunt and scavenge."
Hunting and scavenging are innate behaviors in most cats. In fact, cats didn't settle indoors until the 1940s, when kitty litter was invented. Many cat experts argue that cats are still most comfortable outdoors, and some undesirable behaviors (such as urinating outside the litter box) are attributed to the stress of living indoors. (Or maybe they're just too busy being CEOs?)
Whether indoors or outdoors, cats—too elusive to be precisely counted—are definitely giving dogs a run for their money in terms of popularity as pets.
