Choice of a pet

For a small to medium-size dog, the total cost over a dog's lifetime is about $7,240 to $12,700. For an indoor cat, the total cost over a cat's lifetime is about $8,620 to $11,275. People most commonly get pets for companionship, to protect a home or property, or because of the beauty or attractiveness of the animals. The most common reasons for not owning a pet are lack of time, lack of suitable housing, and lack of ability to care for the pet when traveling.

United States

Margaret Gorman with her pet Greyhound in April 1925

According to the 2007-2008 Pet Owners survey:

Animal	Number of U.S. households that own this kind of pet (millions)	Total number of this kind of pet owned in the U.S. (millions)
Bird	6.0	15.0
Cat	38.2	93.6
Dog	45.6	79.5
Equine	4.0	13.3
Freshwater fish	13.3	171.7
Saltwater fish	0.7	11.2
Reptile	4.7	13.6
Small pets	5.3	15.9

 Canada

The latest survey done by Colin Siren of Ipsos Reid estimates that there are 7.9 million cats and 5.9 million dogs in Canada. The survey also shows that 35% of Canadian households have a dog, while 38% have a cat, which is consistent with other surveys conducted around the world.

United Kingdom

A 2007 survey by the University of Bristol found that 26% of UK households owned cats and 31% owned dogs, estimating total domestic populations of approximately 10.3 million cats and 10.5 million dogs in 2006. The survey also found that 47.2% of households with a cat had at least one person educated to degree level, compared with 38.4% of homes with dogs.

Italy

According to a survey promoted by Italian family associations in 2009, it is estimated that there are approximately 45 million pets in Italy. This includes 7 million dogs, 7.5 million cats, 16 million fish, 12 million birds, 10 million snakes plus 3,000 wild animals held as "pets", mainly lions, panthers and cheetahs.