LONDON — Mars Incorporated, global leader in pet care products and services, revealed the results of the world’s largest pet parent study on Oct. 2.

With insights from over 20,000 dog and cat owners across 20 countries, the Mars Global Pet Parent Study dives into the evolving needs of pet parents, including generational differences in ownership, the most common breeds, and new insight into the pain points pet parents around the world experience today.

With pet ownership on the rise and people considering their pets as part of the family, the results demonstrate a new era where the emotional connection between a pet parent and their pet is stronger than ever, according to Mars.

“Almost half (47%) of those surveyed are first-time owners, signaling a new era of pet parents,” said Ikdeep Singh, global president of Mars Pet Nutrition. “We know that pet parents are evolving, and we need to evolve with them, which means embedding pet parent centricity into our DNA to transform the experience and build lifelong relationships with the 455 million pets and pet parents we reach.”

It’s quite clear that pet parents are devoted to their pets, with more than one-third (37%) of dog and cat owners considering their pets the most important thing in their lives. The percentage is even higher for Gen Zers (45%) and Millennials (40%).

There’s a substantial preference toward kittens and puppies too: 84% of dogs and cats are acquired before the age of 12 months.

There has also been a rise in cat ownership globally, with cat ownership now being more common than dog ownership. Additionally, more men (52% male versus 48% female) are cat owners.

The study showed that the decision to get a pet is greatly influenced by those around us with family (26%) as the primary influence, followed by friends (21%), social media (13%), online search (13%), and veterinarians (11%).

Dog owners appreciate unconditional love (50%) and family completeness (49%), while cat owners appreciate the entertainment (48%) and stress relief (44%) their four-legged friends bring. However, being a pet parent also brings about challenges: 32% feel guilty about leaving their dogs and cats alone, and only 42% find their neighborhoods very pet-friendly, with a further 26% of pet parents claiming they find the idea of traveling with their pets demanding and/or challenging. 

“As the world’s leading pet care company, we’re always working on the next big thing in pet parenting, using the insights from this study to continuously innovate and adapt to solve pet parent pain points,” Singh added. “Pet parents aren’t born — they become, which is why we must ensure they have the advice, guidance and support they need along every step of their journey.”

Stay up to date on the latest pet food processing industry headlines on our News page.