Survey Reveals 80% of Cat Owners Feel Overlooked

Cat Person, the brand strengthening the bond between cats and cat persons, today released key findings from a national survey of 1,000 cat owners to better understand the attitudes, challenges, and opportunities among this segment of pet owners. The report aims to uncover whether cat owners feel adequately represented within the broader pet market, as well as whether underlying stereotypes about cat people persist in our culture.

Despite the fact that there are more cats than dogs in the U.S., 80% of respondents feel we live in a dog-centric culture and 81% report they do not identify with the stereotype of cat owners.

Further, responses overwhelmingly showed that cat owners wish they had better options when it came to food and products made specifically for cats, and that cat owners aren’t getting what they deserve from the pet industry or pet store chains.

Key insights include:

Products

• Fragmented buying experience: Despite tremendous growth within the cat market ($14 billion growing at 4-5% CAGR), seventy-one percent (71%) of cat owners are not completely satisfied with the selection of cat furniture; thirty-three percent (33%) are not satisfied with the overall options for cat products in pet stores. Nearly half of cat owners (47%) believe cat products are underrepresented in pet stores.
• Treated as one-size-fits-all: More than half (54%) of cat owners have bought products for their cats that were actually made for small dogs.
• Lack of design and innovation: Half of cat owners (50%) believe the pet industry is not investing enough in innovating products for cats. Additionally, half of cat owners (50%) feel they must compromise between products that are aesthetically pleasing and what will make their cat happy. More than a quarter (26%) of cat owners even take drastic measures to hide their cat’s toys and products when hosting company.

Food

• Low-quality food options: Seventy-four percent (74%) of cat owners wish they had healthier food options for their cat.
• Lack of transparency: Sixty percent (60%) of cat owners find cat food labels confusing.

Culture and Stereotypes

• Living in a dog-centric world: Eighty percent (80%) of cat owners think that U.S. culture caters more to dog people than cat people.
• Overwhelmingly, people feel there is a stereotype that comes with owning a cat: Seventy-three percent (73%) of cat owners think there are negative stereotypes of cat people. Yet, eighty percent (80%) of all respondents do not believe the stereotypes of cat people apply to them.
• Neither men or women identify with it: Specifically, seventy-six percent (76%) of female cat owners believe they face negative stereotypes of cat people, while sixty-three percent (63%) of male cat owners feel the same. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of female cat owners and eighty-eight percent (88%) of male cat owners don’t believe the stereotypes of cat people apply to them.
• Cat owners are not more likely to be single: Cats are typically part of a larger family unit. Over half (56%) of cat people have children. Only twenty-six percent (26%) of people are single.

Methodology

Survey insights were collected by Cat Person through AYTM — Ask Your Target Market online research platform from March 11 to March 12, 2020, among 1,000 cat owners in the U.S. ages 18 - 65+ years old.

About Cat Person

Cat Person is committed to strengthening the relationship between cats and cat persons by delivering food, treats, and products that are specially made for the unique needs of cats, and thoughtfully designed for their people. Cat Person is prioritizing the unmet needs of this billion-dollar pet market and flipping the script on the stereotype about cat owners. Cat Person was founded by Jimmy Wu and Lambert Wang in March 2020 with the support of Harry's, Inc and is headquartered in New York City. See more at www.catperson.com.

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