Pet owners spent $24.5 billion on veterinary care in 2006, according to the American Veterinary Medical Assn.’s new 2007 “U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook,” which is published every five years. The average veterinary expenditure per household for all pets was $366 in 2006. About 64 percent of pet-owning households own more than one pet, according to the sourcebook. In addition, there are 43 million dog owning households compared with 37.5 million cat owning households, but 81.7 million cats compared to 72 million dogs. The sourcebook also includes statistics on veterinary medical use and expenditures, pet owner demographics, pet owner profiles, pet ownership and pet population. About 48,000 U.S. households were surveyed for the study. <HOME>
