Does New Bedford Prefer Cats or Dogs as Pets?

I can't tell you whether there are more cat lovers or dog lovers on the SouthCoast, but I can tell you that Massachusetts residents own more dogs than cats.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association's most recent survey for 2017-2018, more than 80 million U.S. households own a dog or a cat – 48.2 million, or 38.4 percent, own dogs, while 25.4 percent are cat owners.

The AVMA estimates there are 76.8 million pets dogs in the U.S. and some 58.3 million pet cats. That's a lot of pet food!

The AVMA says Americans have millions of other pets including, birds, horses, fish, ferrets, rabbits, reptiles, pet livestock, pet poultry, other mammals, and other creatures.

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Massachusetts ranks near the bottom of the 10 states with the lowest percentage of pet-owning households. Just 49.4 percent of Massachusetts households own pets. In Rhode Island, it's 45.4 percent, with Connecticut at 49.9 percent, New Hampshire at 51.8 percent, Maine at 63.5 percent, and Vermont with 70 percent.

According to the AVMA survey, 28.9 percent of all Massachusetts households own a dog, while 23.5 percent own a cat. Rhode Island homeowners also prefer dogs, but folks in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut own more cats than dogs.

Wyoming has the highest rate of pet ownership at 71.8 percent. The survey does not include statistics for Hawaii and Alaska.

By the way, AVMA says dog ownership increased by some 47 percent across America during the pandemic.

The AVMA's survey does not include information about pet ownership at the local level, so that is where you come in. Do you own pets? If so, what kind? Do you prefer dogs or cats?