Pet Adoption, Rescue or Shelters

This online resource library from the Humane Society of the United States provides a compilation of statistics-related articles about companion animal population.

This study analyzes New Jersey's and New Hampshire's effective programs for companion animal overpopulation -- and Maine's relatively ineffective spay/neuter programs -- and provides recommendations for a potentially successful program for Maine.

The vast majority of feral cat caregivers, in the order of 80%, are women who have a unique voice that needs to be heard in the public policy debate on legal protections for animals. In particular, the public needs to know that their definition of protection is rooted in sterilization, not "humane" killing; and, moreover, that they are dedicated to protecting individual animals, and do so at great personal cost. That women have long been marginalized is a historic fact, and that the legal remedies have been incomplete is a present reality.

This report summarizes results from Wave 1 of the Humane Research Council's "Animal Tracker" survey of U.S. adults regarding their attitudes and behavior toward animals. This inaugural survey of 16 core questions shows strong support for the protection of all animals. The strength of that support varies by situation and species, however, and actual behavior does not always reflect the favorable attitudes identified.

Can a single female cat and her offspring really produce 420,000 cats over just seven years? This article examines the validity and origin of this commonly cited statistic, concluding that this statistic is likely an urban myth. A lower estimate is provided and substantiated by research by biologist Michael Stoskopf, who documented six kittens per year with a 75% kitten mortality.

This report compiles various estimates of dog and cat populations, focusing on data from the American Association of Pet Product Manufacturers (APPMA). The research provides estimates of 72 million dogs and 82 million cats in U.S. households, with about 60% of all households having dogs and cats.

Ohio State University researchers discovered that 71% of lost dogs are found, compared with 53% of lost cats, according to this study of one Ohio city. This difference between dogs and cats is likely due to Ohio animal control laws, which requires that dogs be licensed.

According to Ohio State University, ideas related to cat overpopulation in Ohio differ between rural and urban dwellers and also between cat owners and non-pet owners. In addition, about one quarter of Ohio households feed free-roaming cats, whether or not they are spayed or neutered.

Shelter statistics show that 13.5 million dogs and cats were euthanized in shelters in 1973, compared with 3-4 million in 2007. Tax and financial data on individual nonprofits and state population totals were used to calculate a per-capita donation figure, used here as benchmarks to assess the level of support for animal protection in each state.