Mars has revealed the results of the world’s largest pet parent study, with insights from over 20,000 pet parents across 20 countries.
Results from the study, show that cat ownership is more common than dog ownership and that more men (52 per cent) being cat owners. Over one-third of dog and cat owners consider their pets the most important thing in their lives, with that percentage even higher amongst Gen Z (45 per cent) and Millennials (40 per cent).
Ikdeep Singh, Global President of Mars Pet Nutrition, said almost half (47 per cent) of those surveyed are first-time owners, signalling a new era of pet parents.
“We know that pet parents are evolving, and we need to evolve with them, which means embedding pet parent centricity into our DNA to transform the experience and build lifelong relationships with the 455 million pets and pet parents we reach.”
Puppies and kittens are more preferred, with 84 per cent of dogs and cats acquired before the age of 12 months. The most owned global dog breeds are Labrador (6 per cent), Chihuahua (6 per cent), and Golden Retriever (5 per cent), and the most owned global cat breeds are Persian (16 per cent), British Shorthair (11 per cent), and Siamese (9 per cent).
It was also revealed that dog and cat owners appreciate different things about their four-legged friends, with dog owners appreciating unconditional love (50 per cent) and family completeness (49 per cent), while cat owners appreciate the entertainment (48 per cent) and stress relief (44 per cent) their feline friends bring.
“As the world’s leading pet care company, we’re always working on the next big thing in pet parenting, using the insights from this study to continuously innovate and adapt to solve pet parent pain points. Pet parents aren’t born – they become, which is why we must ensure they have the advice, guidance and support they need along every step of their journey,” said Singh.
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