29% of households are multi-pet and have cats and dogs
CA – 100,239
TX – 96,707
NC – 47,652
FL – 45,503
LA – 32,150
Click here to see all the states.
For more on lifesaving progress, see our printable infographic or the pet lifesaving dashboard.
A 90% save rate for the animals entering a shelter is the common sense benchmark for measuring no-kill. Learn what no-kill means.
2,126 (44%) of shelters meet the no-kill benchmark, accounting for 5,460 (35%) communities with sheltering services.2
Why the difference? Barriers to adoption revolve around uncertainty and lack of ease in the process.
Pets are relinquished to shelters for reasons related to the owner’s circumstances at roughly a ratio of 2 to 1 as compared to reasons specific to the animal. Unlike what many may believe, the animal’s behavior is not a leading reason for surrender.
While euthanasia* is the most frequently cited reason for surrendering a pet, three other human-related reasons—housing (specifically moving), financial and owner health/death—account for 37% of all shelter surrenders.
12% of cats are surrendered due to the owner having too many animals, ranking 4th, ahead of financial factors.
While dog intakes are higher than cat intakes, twice as many cats are dying in shelters. 69% of the animals killed in shelters are cats (the remaining 31% are dogs).6
Most significant concerns about free roaming cats:
These concerns can be remedied through TNR and community cat programs. 72% of survey respondents support and prefer TNR, compared to just 18% favoring impoundment and lethal injection.7
84% of Americans believe that federal, state or local government should not tell citizens what breeds of dog they cannot own.8
22 states have passed provisions against breed discriminatory legislation9, but only two states (Pennsylvania and Michigan) have laws prohibiting breed-based discrimination in the homeowner’s insurance market.10
Sadly, legislation in seven states currently discriminates against dogs seized in dogfighting cases, stigmatizing them as damaged and unadoptable and denying them an opportunity to prove otherwise.11
Three states (Maine, Maryland, California) and more than 360 municipalities have retail pet store bans, that prohibit the sale of animals from breeding mills.12
Since 2002, the percentage of households with purebred dogs has seen a decrease and households with mixed-breed dogs has seen an increase.1
Despite the increases seen since 2000 in the rate of dogs and cats spayed and neutered, there has been a more recent downward trend.13
Cats can get pregnant as early as 4 months14
Help create big change for the pets and people in your community. Connect with a local team of advocates today.
*Owner requested euthanasia (ORE) is an important service that shelters use to assist low-income pet owners who cannot afford veterinary services for end-of-life care for their pets and when no other low-cost services are available.
2 Best Friends 2019 National Shelter Data
3 Best Friends 2020 Brand Study
4 Best Friends 2016 Adoption Barriers Study
5 Best Friends analysis on Shelterluv data
6 Analysis on Best Friends 2019 National Shelter Data
7 Faunalytics Animal Tracker survey, 2017: https://faunalytics.org/tnr-and-ethics-taking-the-nation-by-storm/
8 2014 BF Focus Group Research via Luntz Global National Survey: http://resources.bestfriends.org/article/dog-breed-discrimination-prevention
9 As of 2019, https://bestfriends.org/our-work/best-friends-advocacy/ending-breed-discrimination
10https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/pit-bull-insurance-and-housing-resources
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/difs/Bulletin_2019-20-INS_670400_7.pdf
https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-3-ps-agriculture/pa-st-sect-3-459-507-a.html
11https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/states-discriminating-against-dogfighting-victims
12https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/states-retail-pet-sale-bans
13 Analysis of 2019—2020 APPA Study (Acquired %’s add up to >100 as a result of multiple pets per household.)