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The 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey is out, and guess what? There are 142 million freshwater fish in America. Compare that to the number two most-owned pet on the list, cats, at 88.3 million, and you begin to see how fish are just swimming by the competition. Coming in at 74.8 million, dogs, of course, but what’s interesting is that more American families own dogs than cats. The reason why there are more cats? Because most cat owners own two, while most dog owners only own one.
Birds notch in at 16 million, horses at 13.8 million, reptiles at 13.4 million, and saltwater fish at 9.6 million. There’s also a category called ‘Other small animals,’ which, I assume includes things likes gerbils and hamsters. Americans own 24.3 million others. Growing up, my neighbor owned a ferret, which I’ve always regarded as a strange other. What kind of unusual others do you own? Your neighbors? Family? Friends? Cohorts? Let’s hear about the strangest others out there.
More facts from the survey:
Dogs
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households own at least one dog
Most owners (63 percent) own one dog
Twenty-five percent of owners own two dogs
Twelve percent of owners own three or more dogs
Ten percent of owned dogs were adopted from an animal shelter
Cats
Nearly 34 percent of U.S. households (or 38.4 million) own at least one cat
Fifty-six percent of owners own more than one cat
On average, owners have two cats (2.3)
More female cats are owned than male cats (73 percent vs. 63 percent respectively)
Eighteen percent of owned cats were adopted from an animal shelter
Comments (36)
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When I was growing up we had horses. LOTS of them. And so when my mom read in the paper about a miniature horse named Bubba that had ‘a medical history’ she got the trailer and went for it. When she got it home, Bubba was FILTHY. He was supposed to be all black, but he looked brown and yellow, you couldn’t see his eyes through his fur, and he was missing an ENTIRE leg. He was a little bastard, too… an escapre artist.
posted by Kate on 2-16-2009 at 7:02 am
At one point in time, I owned 10 ferrets…I have 5 now.
posted by KJ on 2-16-2009 at 7:40 am
… not to be rude, but there’s a blatant fifth-grade apostrophe error in the sentence “American’s own 24.3 million others.”
Don’t you have an intern to find that sort of thing? Do you want one?
posted by Michelle on 2-16-2009 at 7:40 am
I have a co-worker who has a pet squirrel. Like, lives-inside-her-home pet squirrel. And it’s definitely a ground squirrel, not a sugar glider or anything. It’s quite cute.
posted by Stacy on 2-16-2009 at 8:40 am
Aside from the normal pets I’ve also had ferrets, a skunk (yes he did have the scent glands removed and he was so darn cute!), a few piranhas and oscars. Hubby and I currently have 5 snakes (2 ball pythons, 2 red albino corn,and 1 mojave corn.
posted by Noxi on 2-16-2009 at 9:02 am
I have a hedgehog and a rescued pit bull. The dog is scared of the hog.
posted by Caitlin on 2-16-2009 at 9:31 am
My neighbors growing up always had a bunch of pets-cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, a rabbit and a lizard (I think that covers it all). Well, they only had one cat and one dog at a time, but went through more than one over the 20+ years I’ve known them. I also have a friend who breeds snakes.
I have to say though I’m surprised that only 18% of cats are adopted? I thought the number would have been higher….but maybe just because I have such a soft spot for those darn ASPCA commercials (and I have two adopted cats!).
posted by Kate on 2-16-2009 at 10:10 am
We have an 8 foot long, 16 year old red tail boa constrictor. I can’t tell you the number of times I was asked, “What are you going to do with the snake when the baby is born?” “Nothing. He’s fine!”
It’s my basenji (African hunting dog) that we actually had the problem with.
posted by Kendyl on 2-16-2009 at 10:14 am
I was surprised at the adoption rate for cats too! Where do the majority of people get cats? Cat breeders?
posted by Carl on 2-16-2009 at 10:29 am
Sadly, I’ve had no pets yet (except a goldfish I won at a fair. I killed it though…I actually fed it TOO much rather than not enough.) But that’s because 1. i’m only 13 and 2. My family travels too much to take care of one. Oh well!
posted by Linda on 2-16-2009 at 10:29 am
I’ve owned many snakes over the years, from boa constrictors and various python species through more exotics like Haitian Vine Snakes. Also, Poison Dart Frogs, tarantulas, scorpions, Black Widows, and centipedes (Scolopendra heros, the Arizona Giant Centipede…way cool species).
Kendyl: The Basenji is not an African Hunting Dog. The African Hunting Dog (or African Wild Dog) is in the canine family but in a separate monotypic genus (Lycaon pictus) than domesticated dogs. Basenjis are placed in the Hound group. They’re an ancient breed, originally from Africa, but they’re Canis familiaris.
Don’t mean to be nitpicky, but African Hunting Dogs are among my favorite mammal species. They’re a fascinating animal.
posted by 8rustystaples on 2-16-2009 at 10:42 am
I was surprised by the adoption rates for both cats and dogs. I assume this means people get their pets from breeders, family/friends/neighbors, Walmart Parking lots (my friend got her kitten there), or just find a stray animal. My two cats were strays in the neighborhood that adopted us while my previous cat was from a shelter.
posted by Gina on 2-16-2009 at 10:50 am
Growing up, we always had a house full of animals. We had dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, mice, chinchillas, hedgehogs, ferrets, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, lizards, snakes, frogs, salamanders, fish, turtles. I hope I’m not forgetting something, lol.
posted by Dani on 2-16-2009 at 10:52 am
I have a rabbit and I’ve owned rats, turtles, spiders and a tame crow who was let out to fly around during the day but would always come when you called her name and land on your head or shoulder.
posted by Laura on 2-16-2009 at 10:57 am
My boyfriend and I have 2 ferrets and an african grey parrot.
posted by Liz on 2-16-2009 at 11:32 am
I wonder if the low adoption rates for cats from shelters is because a lot of people just adopt them as strays from the streets (unlike dogs). I’ve had three cats – one from a shelter, one was a stray, and one was dumped at my vets office and I volunteered to take her. So technically I only got one from a shelter.
btw – rats make great pets. Anyone wanting to choose a rodent pet would do well with a rat rather than a hamster or guinea pig. Just don’t adopt one off the street ;)
posted by Diana on 2-16-2009 at 11:35 am
Wild birds (all died), wild rabbits (all died), tame rabbit (ate its young), possum (nasty creature, released), deer (awesome–for 2 years, lef to hand with fellow dee), cats, dogs, horse, fish, hamsters (one eviscerated the other), snakes, turtle (bit me and I have now have turtle phobia),
posted by Country girl on 2-16-2009 at 11:42 am
Wild birds (all died), wild rabbits (all died), tame rabbit (ate its young), possum (nasty creature, released), deer (awesome–for 2 years, left to hang with fellow deer), cats, dogs, horse, fish, hamsters (one eviscerated the other), snakes, turtle (bit me and I have now have turtle phobia),
posted by Country girl on 2-16-2009 at 11:43 am
I have owned rats and a rescued pigeon once. He came and went as he pleased. RIP Homer.
posted by ftssoad on 2-16-2009 at 11:46 am
I think a lot of people adopt cats, but from friends or neighbors rather than shelters. The cats I’ve owned were adopted from, variously, a family going overseas, a student of my grandmother’s, and a local dairy farm. Cats are so much easier to take care of that I think people don’t dump them in shelters as readily as they do dogs.
My puppy is from the shelter, though.
posted by gibson8or on 2-16-2009 at 11:54 am
a classmate of mine has 2 red foxes. they like to jump on the trampoline, which i always thought was the weirdest thing.
personally, ive always had french bulldogs or schnauzers. im in the market for a kitten though.
posted by emily on 2-16-2009 at 1:31 pm
At one point we had 2 scorpions, 2 baby box turtles, a parakeet, a rose hair tarntula, 2 cats, a water dragon, and a bunch of fish. I also had like 500 crickets to feed the lizard and spider. It was like a zoo at our house! Now I have 1 of the 2 cats, a different bird, and different fish, plus one new child. recaptcha: Keggy PG11 – new drinkin age?
posted by Jaime on 2-16-2009 at 1:55 pm
I currently have one cat that we take to the vet…and four others that are stray and that we feed. This is our 7th cat; 2 were orphans at the vet’s office and the rest wandered up and we took them in. When I was a kid I had cats, dogs, a horned toad, gerbils and a possum. Now that I think about it, my mom was a saint to let me have all these! I wanted to become a vet when I was young but could not face having to put them down so went into computer programming instead. But when I retire, I’m thinking seriously of becoming a vet technician.
posted by Carol on 2-16-2009 at 2:03 pm
We currently have five cats and many fish in residence. No dogs at the present time, though we would love to get another one. The cats have been either rescued strays (they must mark my fence with hobo sign or something; they all find me!) or gotten from friends on the farm. Only once in my long history of being a cat-herder did I buy a kitten at a pet shop; that was more than 30 years ago and I think I spent, like, $3.
I cannot bear to watch those ASPCA commercials; the pictures (and music) are heartbreaking and I just have to change the channel. Any kind of cruelty (not just to pets) just sends me right over the edge. So I watch TV with remote firmly in hand.
posted by Mama9cats on 2-16-2009 at 3:12 pm
My aunt currently has a ground squirrel. I hate that thing. It makes noises worse then chickens (which she has also had many of in my childhood along with an iguana, a HUGE turtle, a boar, ferrets, cats, and dogs). As for me personally, I’ve only had the usual pets: cats, dogs, fish. My brother has a red-earred slider (turtle).
posted by Jamie. =) on 2-16-2009 at 3:22 pm
that picture is just about the cutest thing i’ve seen all day.
made me smile.
:D
my current pet tally: 3 parrots, 1 cat, 1 turtle. Parrots are considered exotics by most vets.
posted by the creature on 2-16-2009 at 3:36 pm
Cats do take matters into their own paws, sometimes. I remember the night at a friend’s house when she heard persistent scratching at the front door, opened it and in walked a kitten liked it owned the place; my friend had that cat till it died 12 years later. I read once that such behavior is an extension of the instinct to find a territory that can sustain them; a willing human is a very good source for food!
posted by VM on 2-16-2009 at 4:52 pm
I used to have pot bellied pigs. They are very intelligent. They, all three, would sleep by the woodstove. I would tell people I was roasting pork from the outside in. They lived in the house during the winter. We lived on a farm and had fancy chickens, around 2 dozen, the potbellies, several cats and a Sheltie.
posted by gus on 2-16-2009 at 9:19 pm
I had a possum live in my cellar one winter when we had a prolonged cold snap. The night time temp dropped to minus 20 on several nights. I called the possum Elvis, he ate cat food and left in the spring.
posted by gus on 2-16-2009 at 9:28 pm
Right now I don’t have any pets of my own because my apartment complex is very uptight about them, but throughout my life my family has had: the usual cats & dogs, an iguana, rabbits, a baby possum, fish, tadpoles (that never turned into frogs), a snake, salamanders, hermit crabs, ducks, baby wild turkeys and turtles. My dad had a house-trained racoon when he was in high school, which I’ve always thought sounded cool. This really makes me want a pet!
posted by Nikki on 2-16-2009 at 10:15 pm
My daughter and I “adopted” three kittens when their feral mom was attacked by my neighbor’s pit bulls. They had just opened their eyes so I had to bottle-feed them. They are 4 months old now. We also have a rat, a hermit crab, a dojo loach (a scale-less fish; he looks kind of like an eel) and four Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Yes, I’m a science teacher!
posted by Lindsey on 2-17-2009 at 12:56 am
I have raised several tadpoles to froggyhood. That’s about as exotic as my menagerie gets.
posted by kt on 2-18-2009 at 12:36 am
At one point, I had a dog, a pet crow, two African Gray parrots, 2 pigmy hedgehogs, 3 degus, 2 pigmy opossums, 2 tigers oscars, a plecostomous and a wife.
I love most of them. :)
posted by Marc Brooks on 2-18-2009 at 1:56 am
I got my first cat at age 6; when she had kittens, the only way she would stay in her box was if I stayed with her!
When I was still a child I had several cats, a couple rabbits (one housebroken), hamsters and a chameleon lizard. Lizards eat meal worms which turn into meal bugs if you buy too many. Mother was not pleased by this lesson. I also captured several horned toads which I kept in a cage for a few days and then released them. The same with scorpions and black widow spiders. Mother wasn’t thrilled, so I kept them on the porch. My brother had already taken over the back porch with TV repair business, so I had them on the front porch. I have since wondered what the mailman thought.
She really wasn’t thrilled when one of my grasshoppers got loose in the house and had babies. Just as we were sitting down to dinner one night, someone brushed the drapes and a cloud of baby grasshoppers erupted over the dining room table and into our dinner.
I trained one of my many cats to climb up my jeans and get on my shoulder. I did this with bits of raw hamburger. One night Mother was fixing hamburgers for dinner… in a dress. I untrained my cat in a hurry!
I didn’t have a dog as a kid; Mother didn’t like them. When I left home I had cats and dogs and when my kids came along we had cats, dogs, lots of rabbits, a chicken and a pigeon. We counted 16 critters at one time. Now I’m down to just one cat and my loving husband. I rescued my cat when she was a week old (her mother was chased away). She is 11 years old now and has made it clear she is going to be an only cat!
I feed the birds and have to defend the birdseed from squirrels and javalinas (a peccary, not a pig). The squirrels are easy: trap and release with a Hav-a-Hart trap. The javalinas are not so easy. I have tried barricading the bird feeder and the special pepper spray to no avail; so I find myself outside chasing javalinas at all hours of the night! Even though they can be dangerous and do bite, I have my trusty pepper spray and I chase away up to 12-15 critters at a time.
posted by Carol Ruby on 2-20-2009 at 12:57 am
And the fish! How could I forget the fish? Silly me!
In addition to the fish past, we presently have silver lyre-tailed mollys and a 16 year old plecostomous who is about 14 inches long.
posted by Carol on 2-20-2009 at 3:54 pm
One of my girls reminded me about the pet I miss the most!
When I was in Jr Hi (middle school), I had a donkey my Dad had rescued. His name was Pedro and he had the cross on his shoulders. We had many adventures together; I rode him with just a rope halter. He loved to jog downhill and lower his head so I would bounce off and he would nip me on the way down. Then he stood just out of reach and would raise his head and laugh at me! He didn’t bray, just raised his lips and tossed his head while keeping a wary eye on me.
On my 14th birthday, I snuck out and went for a ride. He was feeling very mischievous and dumped me in the powdery dust in front of the recreation center. As if that wasn’t enough humiliation, he actually sat on me and laughed! And laughed! It took six grown men to pull him off me!
I dragged him back to the corral and went home, knowing there was no way I could sneak into the house without being seen. Dreading it, I stepped into the house and my surprise birthday party! Mother told me (much, much later) that they heard the story of what happened that day from many friends who witnessed my humiliation by my beloved Pedro.
I miss him still and always.
posted by Carol Ruby on 2-22-2009 at 2:23 am