Four studies of cat ownership

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, August/September 1996:

Data gathered in Las Vegas by Dr. Roger Nassar in
1983, in Santa Clara and San Diego counties of California by
Karen Johnson and Laura Lewellyn of the National Pet Alliance in
1993 and 1995, and in the Boston area by Carter Luke of the
Massachusetts SPCA, also in 1995, is arranged below by date of
survey. The findings are remarkably consistent. The decline in
number of homes keeping dogs from 1983 to 1993-1995 is about
twice as steep as other pet ownership studies indicate, but is consistent
with a 20-year national trend. The lower percentage of
owned cats who are former strays in the Boston area probably
reflects the impact of the harsh northeastern winter on the homeless
cat population.

Las Vegas Santa Clara San Diego MSPCA
1983 Cnty 1993 Cnty 1995 1995
% cat homes 15% 19% 16% 15%
% dog homes 49% 19% 21% 14%
% dogs & cats 11% 9% 7%
Cats per home 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6
Dogs per home 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.2
Source of cats:
Stray 25% 33% 29% 17%
Born at home 10% 6% 10% 3%
Given 43% 33% 31% 47%
Shelter/rescue 14% 13% 9% 12%
Pet store 5% 8% 6% 7%
Newspaper ad 3% 1% 3%
Breeder 5% 3% 4% 3%
Veterinarian 1% 2%
Other 5% 6%
Cat keeping practices
% of cats kept indoors 33% 37% 38%
% indoor/outdoor cats 53% 45%
% outdoor only 14% 17%
Cat deaths/yr 14% 14%
Strays fed per home 3% 3% 4%
Strays as % of all cats 41% 36% 42%
% homes feeding strays 10% 9% 7%
% that fed strays known
to have had kittens 19% 18%
% that altered stray cats 7% 9%
Disposition of stray kittens:
Adopted/Taken to shelter 54% 47%
Disappeared/Unknown 46% 53%