Pet ownership is down according to a USA Today article, with 2 million fewer dogs and 7.6 million fewer cats than there were six years ago. The data is attributed to the American Veterinary Medicine Association.
Two reasons are given for the reductions: economics and demographics. That is, fewer people can afford pets in straitened times (economics) and families with fewer than two parents plus children are less likely to have pets (demographics). As the population ages and more adults are living alone, people are moving beyond pet ownership.
This trend isn't good for pet food manufacturers and marketers.
