Cat People vs. Dog People ... They Really are...( SCHAUMBURG Ill. Oct. 27 /- Cat pe...),Health

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Cat people worship felines like pharos; dog people talk to hounds like people. New research shows that cat and dog people really are different -- in marital status, economic standing and education among other things.

"Our studies have shown that there are some interesting differences between cat owners and dog owners," says James Flanigan, head of marketing at the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). "Our surveys show that single people are more attracted to cat ownership, while dog owners are married with children. While the demographic information is interesting, some of it is concerning, too." http://www.avma.org

The AVMA conducts surveys of pet owners every five years, and publishes the results in the U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook. In the 2007 edition, the image of a dog as a family pet is shown to be true: 67.0 percent of dog owners are married compared to 61.8 percent of cat owners, and 52.6 percent of dog owners are families of three or more, compared to 47.0 percent of cat owners.

"One of the most concerning differences among cat and dog owners is cat owners are much less likely to seek veterinary care for their animals, they spend less, and this divide seems to be growing," Flanigan explains.

The Sourcebook shows that 82.7 percent of dog owners made at least one annual visit to a veterinarian, compared to 63.7 percent of cat owners.

As for what is America's favorite pet ... it depends on how you read the most recent pet demographic statistics. There are more cats, 81.7 million compared to 72.1 million dogs, but there are more dog owners, 43 million compared to 37.5 million cat owners. This is because cat owners are more likely to have more than one cat.

For more of these fascinating statistics from the U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook, visit