Cats reach a quarter of vet visits, highlighting feline care gap

CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: Cats now account for 24.7% of U.S. veterinary clinical visits, the highest quarterly feline share CATalyst Council says it has recorded, based on its Feline Veterinary Market Insights Volume V released February 24, 2026. The group said feline visits grew in every quarter of 2025, extending a 12-quarter outperformance streak even as the broader companion-animal market contracted. CATalyst also estimated the U.S. feline veterinary market reached $12.7 billion in 2025, and could expand to about $33.9 billion if cats received care at the same rate and intensity as dogs, leaving roughly $21.2 billion in incremental revenue on the table. Early findings from CATalyst’s 60,000-household survey put the annual care gap in sharper terms: about one in three cats received veterinary care in 2025, versus about seven in 10 dogs. (catalystcouncil.org)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the message is less about a one-time market statistic and more about where future growth may come from. CATalyst argues cats have become a stabilizing species segment as dog visits soften, with an estimated $663,000 per-practice opportunity tied to closing both the feline “medicalization” gap and the lower care intensity of cat visits. Outside groups have been making a similar case: AAHA recently highlighted rising cat ownership, lower feline care utilization, and evidence that cat-friendly practices see more visits, more diagnostics, and higher revenue per feline patient. At the same time, Best Friends Animal Society reported that nearly 75% fewer cats were killed in U.S. shelters in 2025 than a decade earlier, crediting expanded community-cat programs, a 20% rise in cat adoptions, and more kitten foster care. That does not directly translate into clinic demand, but it does suggest more cats are surviving, entering homes, and potentially needing long-term veterinary care. (catalystcouncil.org)

What to watch: CATalyst says fuller results from its household survey will feed into its 2026 State of the Cat report, which should give practices more detail on what keeps cat-focused pet parents from booking care, and what might bring them in. The broader feline-care picture also bears watching as shelters move through kitten season: Best Friends said about 200,000 cats are still killed annually, underscoring that gains in survival and adoption have not closed every gap in feline welfare. (catalystcouncil.org)