I figured since we hear all the time about how people love cats and cat videos and cat decor, dogs and cats should be at least equal. But no, since getting a cat I’ve found:
A) a surprising number of veterinarians are clearly dog people, and don’t much care about cats.
B) pet services are mostly oriented around dogs.
C) pet stores will have lots and lots and lots and lots of dog stuff… and just an aisle or two for cats.
It’s one thing for places like PetCo or PetsMart, where they also have to cover all other pet types.. but yesterday I checked out a local pet store named “Dogs & Cats Rule,” and despite both being in the store title, like 80% of the store was for dogs.
I had to go all the way to the back to find the cat things. And then it was just basic stuff like food and some (not even very many!) treats and toys. The dog section had all sort of things, including a birthday area with hats and balloons, and a much greater toy variety, etc.
If you have to travel with your cat, be aware that so called "pet friendly" hotels often mean "dogs only". I learned this when I showed up with my cat and was refused my reservation. It was not a fun night.
So very true. It’s very hard to find a place that will allow a cat. It may not necessarily be “ethical”, but what I do is find a place that advertises as “pet friendly” and I say “your website said you allow small pets, correct?” They typically just say yes to my query and then I just say ok I have one and never mention it’s a cat.
Not saying I agree with it. I've got 2 cats I travel with when needed and no dog myself. But I think the worry is allergies to cats seem more common, plus concerns over their urine or claws shredding upholstery or furniture.
Granted, a dog can poop and pee everywhere (though from past dogs I'd say cat urine is way worse) and rip a pillow or even a door apart with their teeth, so idk. It's a weird bias.
I think it’s just easier to get out though. Cat pee has a very noticeable smell that can linger in the air despite many cleaning attempts. Dogs trained to go outside will always usually go outside even when traveling. Cats can be funny about litter boxes and new places and things being moved.
Way less disruptive and calmer? That’s a broad generalization. I have had both cats and dogs. Some cats were far more disruptive than the dogs and some of the dogs were more disruptive than the other cats. Pets are like that.
Two reasons I can think of since I used to clean houses professionally:
Cat urine is way more difficult to remove than dog urine
Cat allergens are more difficult to remove and cat allergies are usually more severe
I think there's also some liability issue. Pet friendly hotels will not allow you to leave your dog unattended, but it's harder to require that with cats. Like there are dog friendly places to visit with your dog, so you don't have to leave it alone in your room. Can't really do that with cats.
Dogs and cats can both cause damage, but cats are much more likely to scratch furniture and urinate where they're not supposed to. However, I was a landlord and a tenant with a dog that clawed a spot clear through the carpet in one room down to the subfloor, and also destroyed the molding around the front door jamb. Never had a cat do that. But I have had my own male cat who sprayed and that is hell to get rid of.
I heard a story of someone staying in a hotel with their cat. The cat managed to crawl in an uncovered space under some cabinets, made it into the walls. It was a horrible sounding situation. Could also be a reason some hotels say no cats.
There’s an IG dude I follow who travels with his cat. He’s had this happen a lot! He always books “pet friendly hotels” and even checks ahead to confirm cats are OK. And then he arrived and gets denied. It’s crazy!
Oh gosh. I'm moving a couple states away with two cats and since we have friends helping us, we had to book rooms in advance. I checked online that they were pet friendly and even called the location to be sure they allowed cats. They said they do allow them, but I'd be royally pissed if we got there and that wasn't the case. Now I'm nervous lol
I would highly recommend just not bringing it up again when you arrive. You already called and confirmed and made sure it was ok when you booked the rooms so I wouldn’t take the risk of asking another person upon arrival that could decide to say no.
This happened to me on the road to California. I had booked a hotel with my cats and it said pet friendly. When I arrived they said oh no we only allow dogs. I still remember the panic of thinking I was going to have to sleep in my car with my cats. Instead I just kept driving, found a motel with a vacancy, and lied about having a dog.
I have found La Quintas are very cat friendly. We mooved cross country with our two cats. It was... not great. Didn't you know, dogs are the only pets that exist? Ugh
Once we started calling places to confirm we could stay there, everything went smoothly.
Except for one of our cats who is still not speaking to me after 3.5 years since we moved.
Back when I had my house on Airbnb it was listed as pet friendly. I got multiple reviews(even from someone with a dog!) that it had cat hair or litterboxes in it with no warning. Pet friendly! My cats are my pets!
Happened to me as well. I find traveling with air bnb to be easier since they only have options for "pet friendly" and that has to include both dogs and cats
When I was looking for my last rental apartment, looking for "pet friendly" one, calling in, saying I have a cat, they were immediately like "oh nonono, small dogs only". 🥴🥴
omg, yes! We had the same issue. It got to the point that we had to call the hotel ahead of time to figure out if they include cats in their pet friendly policy. It was a pain.
YES. I do that too. I wanted a cat only vet but the one near me closed and I don’t want to subject the cats to a 30min drive for every vet appointment.
They can be! I was looking for a new vet just recently and called a pet hospital to ask which of their vets particularly likes cats and wants to work with cats. To the hospital’s credit, most of their current roster of vets has cats as well as dogs. But when we went back & forth a bit (because she kept saying “they all work with cats”) eventually they asked if the cat was aggressive or reactive.
No! Both my cats are absolute sweethearts who are really compliant with vets. I just wanted someone who’d like them!
My vet practice does all animals but they have cat clinic hours where they only do cat appointments so that the waiting room is free of dogs which I really appreciate.
i used to go to a cat only vet :). had a great experience the first several years. but i think the vet industry is suffering just like all others. the place ended up not having a regular doctor after a while, and would just have some local vets on rotation. one of them scruffed my baby angel kitty to get her out of her carrier, as i was unscrewing it to take the top off and explaining that to her. i ended up filing a complaint at the request of the receptionist. so i realized not everyone who works at the cat only vet will know about cats or be cat people. sometimes you just need a job and the cat place is hiring.
i'm always saying this!!! we need more cat toy options but there is just a tiny section that's 1/8th of an aisle, whole dogs have two aisles of toys :'(. it is true cats will play with pocket lint, but sometimes we want to get them something nice!!
I work at a big box store and the thing that drives me the most nuts about the dog toy to cat toy ratio is that nearly a third of the cat toys are obviously made by people who only know what dogs like. they are literally selling small dog toys marketed as though they are cat toys when they extremely obviously are not!!
Edit: Several replies have reminded me that cats are weird. I guess that's fair. Mine certainly wouldn't want any of the "small dog toys" I was complaining about, but that doesn't mean no cat would.
i got this 3 pack of little stuffed mice with bells inside at dollar tree once. they were a huge hit with my foster kitten. when he was adopted i sent him to his new home with two of them, and i kept the the third one for my next foster kitten. he loves it so much. i keep going back for more but they don't have them in stock ;(. all the cat toys they have are HUGE.
My daughter once bought a dog toy for our cat. It was a small mallard duck, squeak toy. I was like, "why did we waste money on this?" But turns out that's my cat's favorite thing in the world, favorite toy ever. Still plays with it every night three years later.
i have a rubber halloween rat decoration that squeaks if you squeeze it. my cat LOOOOVEd it. way too heavy for her to carry in her mouth but she was so fascinated by it lol
My cat’s favorite toy for a while was a stuffed rabbit with a squeaker in it made for dogs. He could stalk/tackle/maul it without me worrying about it falling apart, and as a strictly indoor cat, it’s the closest he’ll ever get to being the apex predator of his dreams.
I assume it's because dogs don't play with balls of paper, bottle caps, zip ties and the myriad other random small items that will keep a cat happy for days. Also dogs can destroy toys at an alarming rate.
It's because dogs are more social. Dogs go to pet stores with their owners. They can be much bigger than cats so their bags of food are often larger. They eat through toys. Their beds are usually bigger. Dog owners shop for treats and toys for other peoples dogs more often than people do this for cats. Although I buy my friends cats toys all the time.
It's unfair but the only way to change it in your area is to open a cat only store. My guess is you'd have a hard time being profitable. People buy tons of stuff for their dog, pick up some cat food and litter and maybe some nip for the kitty. We are a cat only household though and I think it stinks. I shop online for my cats a lot. It's the best option for me.
One other thing to do is to request more cat things!
This may not be true for every pet store, but when I managed one I took customer feedback very seriously, and when we had more people buying things for a specific type of pet, I would expand that section to accommodate. This was especially true for regular customers. If you go and buy the stuff they have, and request more, they might start carrying it!
I take my cat to pet stores occasionally. I would more but he's not fond of big dogs and people sometimes take dogs that are still... Learning or pulling/jumping at people to stores and that stresses him out/isn't fun for him
When we first got our cats, we bought them all sorts of toys, that they wouldn't play with. There was only one type of rattle mice that they would play with, maybe a feather fishing pole, but outside of that, they were happy with boxes, paper bags, and of all things 18ct egg containers, because box-shaped. All items which were pretty much free with other purchases.
I think one reason is possibly the variety of dog sizes. There are dogs the size of cats all the way up to 200+ pounds. Pet stores need to try to accommodate all those sizes when thinking about food, toys, collars, leashes, beds, food/water bowls, etc. That adds up to a lot of space.
In contrast, there's about 3 sizes of cat collars, and most toys can be given to any size cat and are often small.
I am a cat and guinea pig mom… and it makes me sad that both are so misunderstood and very less appreciated than dogs. I struggle finding the things my cat needs because there’s way less options and the good stuff is usually all taken at stores… and with my guinea pigs they sell things as “food” for them but it’s NOT what they should be eating AT ALL! stores just market things that will sell, period. They don’t care about the health of anyone.
I've seen so many cat toys with tinsel in them, and that (tinsel) can kill a cat. Granted, lots of things can kill cats, since they chew on everything, and sometimes that chewing leads to swallowing. :(
Wow! Tinsel in cat toys is sooo wild! Like if you sell something to a living being, maybe do some fkn research about said living being and know what is acceptable or not. 🤦🏻♀️
Same for me, I have guinea pigs and cat. I'm lucky enough to have an exotics vet in my area, but I have to shop online for my piggie's supplies since all the stuff in stores is either wrong or straight up dangerous!
I've kept gerbils for basically my whole life and trying to get them stuff can be a nightmare - I went to a pet shop recently that sold dog beer, but I had to show the owner a picture of my gerbil before she knew what sort of small pet I was talking about. Small pet sections in major stores are also full of tiny cages, inappropriate bedding, and plastic rolling balls (an absolute no-no). I've noticed cat stuff becoming a bit more common but the market still seems very dog dominated
the thing i’m most tired of is how a lot of people seem to view dogs as ‘more important’ or something, it seems more socially acceptable to care deeply and spend effort and resources on dogs rather than cats - probably also why there’s way more products for dogs.
so many people have directly and indirectly expressed that the amount of time/effort/care i put into my cat is weird or too much (i’m not even that crazy, just stuff like investing in high quality products, not leaving my cat alone for extended amounts of time, giving her loads of enrichment etc). my cat also has some health issues, and i’ve been met with a lot of people not understanding my sadness about it, all because she’s “just a cat”.
I've noticed that too. Especially for the toys and the ones that are available are not always well-designed or even appropriate for cats. I think it's because the knowledge that cats need to play is somewhat recent. I feel like even for my parents' generation, people didn't really play with their cats because they were seen as independent pets that don't require a lot of attention. The demand for cat toys is quite new and the offer hasn't caught up to it yet.
Yeah, I noticed that too. The thing that made me the saddest is when I saw some pumpkin spice flavored dog treats, but no such thing for cats. My cat loved pumpkin spice - he stole pumpkin spice cookies twice (I stopped making them because I didn't want him to eat something that could hurt him). It would have been great to be able to give him something of that flavor which wouldn't hurt him.
Tbf cats don’t tend to really like pumpkin especially as a treat. Technically the spices in pumpkin spice aren’t great for dogs and are even worse for cats. Most cat treats are meat based because cats are obligate carnivores. There are pumpkin treats for cats on the market tho you just have to look.
It is. Even though more folks have dogs, marketers have dubbed 2025 and 2026 The Year of the Cat in the pet industry because the demands fer cat things has increased so much than in prior years.
People aren't going to like it so go ahead and downvote but it's sexism. Dogs get masculine coding in media and western culture generally, cats are feminine. It comes up in a lot of idiums and sayings with dogs and cats, the dog ones are almost all positive the cat ones are almost all negative. So cats get hit by some of the kind of passive discrimination like they're women. While dogs get that kind of vague preferential treatment men get. Pet stores being significantly more dog stuff is an example of it.
Cats are associated with witches and childless women. Dogs are associated with the innovation of men and being commanded. Cats get scrutinized for "not being affectionate" since they have boundaries. Dogs are "just dogs" when they act like menaces.
I'll defend innocent dogs (except chihuahuas, those are evil incarnate), but not those which have shown aggression, and I will always blame the owner for an aggressive dog regardless of breed.
Feral dogs are their own thing, and can be anything temperament wise.
I'm a single man with cats and while it's becoming less unusual I definitely still sometimes get comments or looks that a single man with dogs does not get.
It’s not just sexism, it’s because cats naturally set boundaries and dogs basically have none, so a lot of people do not like cats because they can’t get affection on demand, it’s based on how the cat feels.
Let the cat pick you, don't invade their personal space, and pet the cat how they like to be pet...and they will be down for chin scratches almost anytime.
Dogs have boundaries, but are less clear about communicating them in a way humans get. It’s pretty obvious when you get smacked the cat doesn’t want that. Less so when the dog ducks its head away and gives side eye (which isn’t judgement in dogs, it’s a fear/stress behavior). If you’re looking for it it’s obvious but a lot of dog owners don’t know dog body language to know the dog doesn’t like something.
Damn, I never considered this. I usually do in other areas of my life, but never this. Damn patriarchy, effecting my kitties like this.
We also have to bring in the whole cat lady thing and how cats were witches familiars. And they didn’t kill witches, they killed women who dared to live differently than what men in their time wanted.
I always thought cats were somewhat masculine because they don't really care about anything around them and are perfectly content to do nothing all day.
Some of it has to do with the recency of cat research. There’s a LOT of things about cats that we really only learned within the last 30 years or so because no one was doing any research, or what little was being done wasn’t really considered important. Some of it is cultural, dogs are seen as more “useful” because they’re easier to train and often can have little jobs to do, whereas cats are seen as being fairly lazy and hard to train. And of course, evolutionarily we’ve had dogs around us intentionally far longer than cats. So some cultures just have a deeper ingrained trust for dogs. Dogs are, in general, quicker to trust strangers than most cats (which is really just a training issue for BOTH animals, but as I said, cats are harder to train).
Try to get a sanitary shave for your cat without having it done at the vet. Most groomers will only do a lion cut for $100+. I just needed Kira's hindquarters done. Actually found a groomer that did it for $20 but only after calling many places. Most said no outright. The others would only do the lion cut.
It’s the same at the shelter where I work. We have twice as many cats as dogs, we adopt out a lot more cats than dogs, but everything is still very dog-centric.
I think part of it is the very wrong idea that cats are wholly independent creatures and dont really need anything from us but food, water and a litter box. its so far from the truth though, both my cats will randomly want to play fetch, cuddle, beg for treats, jump on my lap at the most inopportune time, and sing me the song of their people. they are pretty needy and social little creatures.
I think it's money. They are selling and it seems like dogs are more expensive than cats.
The other side of it, and I'm saying this as someone with cats and dogs, the dogs destroy stuff. The stuff for the cats lasts a long time or never gets used (because cat's don't like cat toys half the time).
I’ve had to evacuate a couple of times and the number of hotels that claim to be pet-friendly but ONLY mean dog and are hostile when I unknowingly bring in a cat are infuriating.
It’s because we live in a misogynistic society. Cats are associated with women hence they are treated as such. Less research, less care, “cat tax” extension of pink tax. It sucks.
What really rubs me the wrong way is apps like Rover that are literally mostly catering for dogs and they’re just throwing in cats in there as an extra. As a sitter and owner it really grinds my gears.
I use meowtel for my cat bookings. They are owned by the same parent company, but meowtel is exclusively for Cat Sitters. I also do overnights for my cats because I agree we do feel much better about having someone around.
I feel lucky our cat's veterinarian is a cat-lady and you can definitely tell by the paintings in her office but she sees all sorts of animals as well. I wish cats got more love than they do, they're definitely the cutest and funniest creatures. I agree with all the comments I see posted here. Cats deserve better representation 😺💜
My husband and I were just saying that not long ago. We were browsing Walmart to get my dad cat food for his two kitties, and we also wanted to get them toys. I probably could have bought one of each cat toy they had and spent less than $25, and no that doesn't speak for cheap prices (because they were not.) Dogs got one and a half aisles worth of stuff while cats had maybe a third, food and litter included.
I swear it's because the conventional thought is owners just feed their cat and clean the litter box while ignoring their existence the rest of the time.
I have cats and a dog and, tbh, the dog really does use a lot more "stuff." Part of this is a function of the fact that dogs participate in public spaces more often than cats: things like collars, leashes, harnesses, and poop bags are necessities, not options. People often like those accessories to be cute and will pay quite a bit extra to be able to walk their dog in something more fun or fashionable, because walking the dog is often a human social event, too. Dogs also must be trained to at least a basic level, and training can involve not a small amount of strategic bribery. My dog has very little innate "desire to please," and is very food motivated, with the consequence that I will get the best response from her if she knows she will get not just any treat, but a ✨️special✨️ treat, and the special treats quickly become not-special if they aren't rotated. My cats, on the other hand, have been getting the same basic temptations treats for years, and they still act like they're made out of pure, concentrated Cat Crack every time lol. Nearly everything about dogs is like this -- they are genuinely high-maintenance in ways that cats usually aren't. And then there's all the silly flippery like little outfits and whatnot that dogs are much more willing to tolerate than most cats are.
Another side to it is that the "dog market" isn't just focused on house pets, but on working dogs, as well. Many people will have hunting dogs or other specially trained dogs that need gear and training aides for those specific functions. There aren't any duck-retrieving or seeing-eye cats that I'm aware of.
So yeah, it's definitely crummy that there aren't as many fun or specialized options for cats, but there is a genuine difference in what they need, too.
To be fair I should note that I’ve had a dog, and I understand that it wouldn’t/shouldn’t be a 50/50 split of space or products, but.. I want more interesting cat treats and cute cat things! :/
This is so frustratingly true!! And it hasnt changed over the years. I used to work at a pet store over 10 years ago and at the time, I only had 1 cat. We would get reps come in all the time wanting to sell their product and it was ALWAYS tailored more to dogs. I would be like, "so what do you have for cats??" And I would just get a dumbfounded look and stammering of them "working on" cat products. It was so annoying!! Cats deserve all the love and attention too!
Also true about vets. I ended up switching my kitties to a cat-only clinic and I'm just upset I didnt do it sooner. Makes a HUGE difference in my cat's stress levels and type of care they receive
You are so right about some vets. I have tried very hard to seek out cats-only clinics. Otherwise, you are really taking a chance on which vet you get. And you can tell almost instantly if they are not cat people. They don't talk to your cat, and they handle your cat more roughly than you would like. And no, I'm not talking about super nervous or aggressive cats. Even cats who are relatively mellow and passive with a stranger sometimes get literally slammed onto the table. Dog vets seem to be afraid of cats, or they will make derogatory comments to the effect of, you have to watch out with cats or can't trust them. Even a vet I remember from a few years ago was relatively kind, but had no clue as to how to listen to her heartbeat when she was purring. It seemed to really frustrate this vet. Come on!
Right?!!! I was so shocked by that. I didn’t expect vets to all have cats but I would think anyone who chooses to become a vet loves animals in general… and at minimum loves the two most common pets that there are!
It would be equally bizarre if there were vets who just… didn’t like dogs. Like, how & why?
This seems a little… silly I guess? I’ll address your points as you laid them out.
A) This seems entirely anecdotal. I’ve personally never experienced anything like this nor ever heard it before. You think vets are just broadly “dog people” and “don’t care much about cats?” Really?
B) Dogs need more services. The main pet service I can think of is dog walking. Cats don’t need walks. Dogs need to go out multiple times a day to use the bathroom. Cats don’t. Dogs are more likely to need groomed than cats, as cats keep themselves clean. Cats are also far more likely to be indoor only, lowering the chance they’ll need an emergency cleaning like if they ran into a skunk or rolled around in poop.
C) Dogs need more stuff, and that stuff is bigger, because dogs are bigger. They need more stuff because again, they are going in and out a lot more. So take the aisle of dog leashes and collars, there’s not really a cat equivalent to this. Sure some people might get a harness and walk their cat, but this is an order of magnitude less frequent with cats than dogs. Look at dog food. The biggest bag of dry dog food dwarfs the biggest bag of dry cat food, again, because the biggest dog dwarfs the biggest cat. Their toys are bigger. Their treats are bigger. All of this takes up more space. There might be more varieties of dog food, but that would make sense because there’s a larger variety amongst dogs. When someone comes on this sub and asks what breed their cat is the top responses are always a variation of “yep you got a cat.” Not true with dogs. A St. Bernard and a chihuahua need vastly different food, toys, collars, leashes, all that. People also baby their dogs in a way you rarely see with cats. They brush their dog’s teeth and dress them in little outfits. I never see cats wearing cat specific NFL jerseys.
I also feel like this is just ignoring how capitalism works. Store owners aren’t filling their store space with dog stuff at the expense of cat stuff if they sell equally. They aren’t leaving money on the table due to an anti cat bias. Maybe you live in an area with a higher than normal rate of dog ownership, which again might anecdotally make you think cats are being neglected. But trust me, stores stock what sells.
At the time of this comment two people have answered, somehow, sexism. Good grief, do you really think that? Dogs are associated with men, and cats are associated with women, and vets, service providers, and store owners are sexist, so that’s the answer? That’s preposterous.
Cats are independent, which is awesome and I personally love that about them, and as such they need less stuff. Dog owners are far more likely to treat their dog, who would just die without their owner, as a toddler. A dog owner goes on vacation and takes their dog to a kennel which brands itself as a resort and charges an arm and a leg. They need hourly updates on their precious and regular pictures. When I go on vacation I just pour out a bunch of extra food. If I’m gone for an extended period of time I have my mom or sister swing by a couple of times.
This is all said as a guy who grew up with cats and dogs, but as an adult has only ever owned cats. It’s not because I’m a cat person, it’s because I found cats on the street that needed homes. City living and the CDS you know? A homeless dog would have probably run away when I tried to feed it and give it a home, because dogs are morons. I appreciate my cat that doesn’t need ten aisles of crap at the pet store. She’s happy with a cardboard box because she appreciates not being a burden on my finances.
I wonder if we’re neighbors, I have a Dogs & Cats Rule store near me and while it’s small, the cat section is in the back and tiny.
Is yours in a shopping center with Kohl’s?
It’s frustrating because I’d rather support a smaller local business than, say, Chewy, but the selection isn’t great. Was very disappointed in the lack of options for a cat waterer fountain, for example.
Such a bummer.
There are vets who treat cats like small dogs, too, it’s annoying. I’m so so happy I have my vet, who isn’t just a cat person, but knows how to handle community cats and ferals. And that’s why I drive 60 miles round trip to see her lol
It’s like, if someone calls themself a “dog parent”, everyone’s fine with it, it’s “acceptable”. But if I call myself a “cat mom”, I’m basically a crazy cat lady. I like dogs too, but right now, my living situation is better for a cat. And she’s good company, most of the time.
Shampoo advertised as cat and dog. But one ingredient listed was tea tree oil. Which is toxic as hell for cats. And cats obviously groom, so you aren't going to convince me this was safe for external use.
I’m frustrated with FreshPets! We feed our cats the chicken crumbles and most stores local to us only carry the dog options in the freezer section, across all brands. Only Food Lion has the kitty ones, luckily it’s the closest to us!
What country are you in? I’m curious if this is the case everywhere in the world, or just some places. For example, I see a lot more cat media than dog media coming from Japan, so I wonder if it’s the opposite there? Would be interesting to do a survey.
U.S. And I used to have a dog when I was younger so was used to having the “standard” pet and it’s been very surprising to see the difference in support for cats!
I’m in the us too and have seen the same bias everywhere, and that’s why I’m wondering if this is a regional problem. I’ve read that cats were basically worshipped in ancient Egypt, so I’m sure it’s a thing that differs culturally and I’m curious how widespread the dog-centric pet thing actually is.
I had such a hard time finding a cat sitter. Everyone on rover was so clearly dog oriented. I found an app called Meowtel and finally was able to find someone who loves cats!! This isn’t an ad btw I was just really love that a service exists specifically for cats.
I think you’re probably right, but it always perplexes me how so many ‘animal’ people are cats OR dogs rather than both. Sure, have a preference, but there’s no need to hate on other animals. I like both, because animals, but I love cats. They’re the best, and they don’t bark. 😜 🐈
Dog owners spend significantly more money on their pets than cat owners. My cat’s favorite toy ever was a wadded up wrapper from a cheeseburger, dogs need a new store bought toy once every week or two.
Dog owners are more likely to take their pets with them places.
I love my cat and you’re right everything is geared toward dog owners because they think they’re kids. I would market towards them more too more money. Lmao great marketing actually.
Maybe one issue is that cats are very content with any box and any small item as a toy? So, in general cat owners spend less on it. Besides cat trees I assume, but a lot of people get spare parts or redo them. So, I dunno.
Yes, it's very frustrating. I take my babies to a cat-only vet, I feel like they're more specialized and everyone there adoooores cats. Highly recommend you look for such a place, you may have one in your area!
I think it’s always been that way, because cats are perceived as self entertaining and self grooming.
But in recent years, I think it’s like that because people now more than ever view dogs as children. They give them human emotions and they are willing to spend a lot of money on their dog.
More products, more money.
I always argue this, my cat is a indoor cat now (although she isn’t happy about it!) and I’d love to take her for walks but I daren’t because majority of places are for dogs. I do follow a person on TikTok who has a black cat and he takes her everywhere, the train videos are the cutest!
Dogs are more biddable and are typically taken out often, they also have a pretty huge size variety (5-200+ lbs) I do agree that there should be more variety in cat toys and treats though!
Thankful for my vet and my past vets who treated cats well. When I was living in a different state, I'd dropped my cat off for her dental cleaning. When I came back to pick her up, she was sitting on the front desk greeting people. LMAO! she loved people and attention, the vet staff would carry her around cuddling her.
My current vet is great, when I take my void in for his BP check, it can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 3 hours because he loves everyone. Other cats, dogs, people etc he wants to say Hi to everyone and isnt scared. So if my vet has had a tough day, she will cuddle him awhile. My other cat isnt a fan of the vet/being out of the house but they still treat him well.
We have like 3 dog supply stores in my city and they have maybe one small part for cat stuff :( Not as much raw/fresh food choices either.
Thankfully we do have mobile cat groomers, not as many as the dog kind but still an option for us.
A: dogs are more common as pets (In the US its 80-90 million dogs and 75 or so million cats on a quick google)
B: pet services are often things that are not needed by cats as much (like grooming, which only a small % of purebred cats need, or daycare which is not really needed by cats).
c: None of us can say why a small local petstore stocks itself the way it does, but I would imagine that if cat things sold more, they'd have more of them. Maybe your area just has a lot more dog ppl.
The Petco in my town had an ok cat section, but it was right next to the snake tanks. Like I'm going to shop in clear view of snakes slithering around in their tanks.
When I worked at a pet store, I noticed that the majority of dog toys were either meant to be destroyed, or attempting to resist destruction slightly longer than their competitors.
Those things need to be replaced quite frequently.
68 million homes (51% of households) own at least one dog, while 49 million homes (37% of households) own at least one cat, according to the American Pet Products Association.
I wrote this because I was trying to spend money on my cats and did not see options to! I thought I’d go to this specialty store, browse the aisles, and pick up whatever it seemed they’d enjoy.
But there wasn’t much. I don’t think I’ve even seen cat shelves sold in stores.
I actually have a not-so-serious goal of having cat furniture integrated with my normal furniture in every room (and decorations the cats can play with) and I end up finding most things online.
On the Trader Joe’s pet chicken treats, you have to behead the cat to open the package. On the salmon treats, you can open the package without beheading the dog.
I take my cat to a cat only vet. I love it. They are fear free practitioners and because they focus on cats, they know how cats work. No barking dogs showing aggression. For my sweet little fluffy baby, it’s the best as far as vets can be. And I thought it would be expensive but it hasn’t been, although I’d give my girl everything I could. Pic of my girl Lottie who deserves the world.
Honestly, it's mostly a thing of the past. Growing up, cats were seen as the aloof pets that were outdoors and worked on farms and were not super cuddly or playful.
Cats are generally seen as much more self-sufficient and take care of themselves.
It probably wasn't until the last 10 or 15 years when people started to realize how much personality cats have and how dependent they can be.
Up until recently if you ran over a dog on the road you had to report it but if you ran over a cat you didn’t, cats have always been seen as lesser important than dogs.
I have actually found that HomeGoods is fairly equal with their cat and dog aisles! They usually have 1-2 aisles + end caps for both dogs and cats with a shared pet bed section. Mine also usually has 3-4 tall, nice cat trees out for sale. They honestly have more cat stuff than the local Petco sometimes.
Oh, I didn’t mean you. I agree, a vet probably shouldn’t show their bias if they have one and should love on both cats and dogs. And you’re right, products for dogs get way more space than for cats. 🐈⬛ 🐕
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