As many of you know, VMAE has positions on several boards and committees doing important work in the profession and industry. One of those is a seat on the Board of Directors of the CATalyst Council, a national organization dedicated to accelerating innovation in feline care and enhancing quality of life for cats and their people. As part of the effort to share with our members happenings from these organizations, I am pleased to report that CATalyst is releasing today the first volume of the 2025 CATalyst Feline Market Insights Report, a first-of-its-kind data-driven resource offering a comprehensive view into the shifting dynamics of feline healthcare, market behavior, and veterinary trends across the United States.
Noteworthy is the fact that when the broader market headwinds are challenging veterinary medicine, the feline segment is bucking the trend with remarkable, sustained growth. According to proprietary practice data from multiple leading industry sources, feline veterinary visits and practice revenues in the U.S. have been steadily growing since early 2023, in stark contrast to the continuing and well-publicized annual decline in overall companion animal veterinary clinical visits over those same two years.
“We’re seeing strong evidence that feline veterinary care is resilient in the face of inflation and other pressures on pet-owning households,” said Kristin Wuhrman, CATalyst Council Vice Chair. “Driven in part by growing cat ownership, cats present a clear opportunity to prioritize investment in a more modern, data-informed feline care ecosystem.”
Key findings include:
- Feline clinical visits grew year-over-year in 2023 and 2024, while overall visits to veterinary practices in the U.S. (dominated by canine visits) declined, a departure from historical norms;
- Cats represent a growing percentage of the pet population in U.S. households;
- Growth in the household-owned feline population has continued at an elevated level since the onset of the pandemic, suggesting cat companionship is highly valued in the current environment;
- The return-to-office movement and denser urban living of today’s world favor cat ownership;
- The report’s novel, feline-specific analysis reveals new opportunities to address unmet needs in feline care, particularly around caregiver engagement, preventive care, and practice-level service models; and
- Leading pet industry companies are prioritizing investment in M&A, product pipelines, and retail strategies to reflect these trends.
The 2025 CATalyst Feline Market Insights Reports, expected to be released quarterly, are available exclusively to CATalyst Council sponsors. But as the Council releases high-level conclusions from the reports throughout the year, we’ll be sure to share those with you.
To receive direct updates or inquire about the benefits of CATalyst Council sponsorship, please visit catalystcouncil.org.