Italy: households owning cats and dogs 2023| ��ƽ��

Share of households owning at least one cat or dog in Italy from 2014 to 2023

Characteristic	Dog	Cat
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Release date

2026

More information

Region

Italy

Survey time period

2014 to 2023

Supplementary notes

The source specifies that national associations provided data for 2023, as some markets cannot provide the most recent year of data in time for FEDIAF’s report, and estimates were made for the other European countries based on data published for 2022.

Figures refer to pet animals and exclude strays.

The release date is the date of data access.

Data prior to 2023 from earlier publications by the source.

Citation formats

In 2023, ** percent of Italian households owned at least one dog. In that year, the share of households owning at least one cat was ** percent. When compared to the European average, dog ownership in Italy is slightly higher than the rest of the continent. On the other hand, the estimated share of European households owning a cat was ** percent in 2022, five percent higher than Italy.

Pet dogs in Europe

In 2024, the dog population in Italy amounted to approximately **** million (excluding strays), making it one of the largest in the European Union. Germany ranked highest with a dog population of approximately **** million, followed then by Spain. While the number of pet dogs in Italy has remained stable between 2014 and 2019, it then increased steadily in the following three years, also increasing overall in Europe at an estimate of more than *** million in 2022.

Pet cats in Europe

When considering cats, Italy was home to approximately **** million cats (excluding strays) in 2023, the third largest population in the Europe Union after Germany and France. As for dogs, the cat population in Italy also remained stable since 2014 with an increase in the last years. Again, as for dogs, the cat population increased steadily in Europe, reaching more than *** million in 2022, which means there is approximately one cat for every five individuals on the continent.