Familiarity and Use of Veterinary Services by US Resident Dog and Cat Owners

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Demographic information including pet ownership, veterinary use, and beliefs regarding veterinary care were collected from 997 U.S. residents.

Approximately half of respondents had a dog, or had a dog in the past five years, while 37% of respondents had a cat.

Veterinary visits differed between cat and dog owners, with over 90% of dog owners visiting a veterinarian at any time and 40% of cat owners visiting a veterinarian at any time.

Using logit models, the likelihood of visiting a veterinarian increased with the age and income of the pet owner.

Being a cat owner decreased the likelihood of visiting the veterinarian.

ABSTRACT: Pet ownership, veterinary use, and beliefs regarding veterinary care were elicited through the use of a nationally representative survey of 997 U.S. residents.

Fifty-one percent of respondents have or had a dog in the past five years and 37% have or had a cat in the past five years.

Over ninety percent of cat and dog owners had visited a veterinarian at any time, but only about 40% visited a veterinarian annually.

With the rise of options in veterinary medicine, including low-cost options for vaccines and spay/neuter, further study and analysis of pet-owners use of veterinary care is warranted.

Fifty-four percent of dog owners and 40% of cat owners who went to a low-cost spay/neuter clinic also went to a veterinarian/clinic/practice.

This finding suggests that pet-owners who use low-cost options do so in a manner that supplements rather than replaces traditional veterinary care.

Logit models were employed to evaluate the relationship between dog and cat owner demographics and visiting a veterinarian.

The probability of visiting a veterinarian increased with age and income for dog owners.