The feline world domination project has progressed successfully. The cat population was the one that registered the highest growth among pets in Brazil from 2020 to 2021.
According to the Pet Census IPB (Instituto Pet Brasil), released this Thursday (30), the number of cats raised as pets in Brazilian homes increased by 6% in the period — more than the number of dogs, which rose by 4%.
As of December 2021, there were 27.1 million kittens purring and scratching sofas across this country. In the previous year, there were 25.6 million.
In total, according to the survey, by the end of last year the country had 149.6 million pets, an increase of 3.7% over the 144.3 million in 2020.
“The growth in preference for felines occurs due to the aging of the Brazilian population, the increase in people who live in apartments and who live alone. One of the main reasons is that the cat is an animal that does not demand as much attention as dogs”, he says. Nelo Marraccini, chairman of the advisory board of the IPB.
Despite being a pet that does not need walks on the street and large spaces at home, the health of cats should not be neglected. “It is important to take the cat to periodic consultations. At least once a year for healthy adult cats”, explains the veterinary specialist in felines Lia Nasi.
“As they are predators in nature, they cannot be vulnerable. That’s why they tend not to show much symptoms when they get sick, so they don’t become prey too,” says Lia.
The veterinarian points out that cat owners should always keep an eye on the animal’s weight, whether it has increased or decreased water intake and urine production – which can be a sign of kidney disease -, the appearance of feces, vomiting, loss of appetite and general behavior change. All these symptoms can represent some disease.
In previous years, cats had already registered a greater increase in relation to dogs, but never a jump as big as the one in the last survey. From 2019 to 2020, the index was 3.6%. From 2018 to 2019, 3.4%. The data began to be computed in 2018, but an estimate from the IPB of the last ten years points to an average annual growth of 2.5% among felines.
Although felines are increasingly conquering national territory, dogs are still at the top of the ranking, with 58.1 million in 2020, there were 55.9 million.
Amazingly, cats are in second place: this position is occupied by songbirds (such as the canary and the orange thrush), with 41 million.
Whiskers are in third place, followed by fish (20.8 million) and small reptiles and mammals (2.5 million).
Pet shop chain Petz also revealed this month that cats pulled the record for adoptions in May this year.
The Adopt Petz program set a record for adoptions last month with more than 900 animals, the highest monthly volume ever recorded over 15 years.
According to the pet store network, the demand for cats is much greater than for dogs. The felines accounted for 67% of the total number of animals adopted in 2022. Last year, the mustachioed ones represented 65% of the pets that gained a home and, in 2020, 57%.
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