Since at least 9,500 years ago, men have been living with companion cats. And in all likelihood, the relationship goes back much further. Thus, it’s absolutely nothing new, despite stubborn tropes and stereotypes in the modern world. But those ill-conceived notions are quickly fading, and now some interesting data backs it up.
More Men Adopted Cats in the UK in 2024
A Pet Population Report for 2024 from UK Pet Food shows that five hundred thousand more men adopted cats than women this year! The association has been doing the pet population survey for over 15 years, collecting market data and detailed feedback from over 8000 households.
Their findings for this year break down to 1.5 million male households adopting an adult cat, compared to 1 million female households. In 2024, the UK is home to 13.5 million dogs and 12.5 million cats in all. Wonderfully, pets of all kinds are rising in popularity.
Image via Facebook/Cat Man Chris and Mazikeen
More Men Adopted Adult Cats, Too!
Besides seeing men becoming Cat Dads, we love seeing that more folks are adopting adult cats and dogs!
“According to the report, over the past four years, 27% of men have chosen to take on an adult cat as a pet, compared to 18% of women. This translates to 1.5 million new male households adding an adult cat, compared to around 1 million female households,” reported petfoodindustry.com.
In all, 2.5 million households adopted adult companions, while 2.6 million adopted kittens in recent years. As we saw in the US, there was a huge spike in adoptions during the pandemic. But in any year, adult pets generally have much longer waits to find homes despite being purrfect in every way.
Men Know Cats and Kittens Are Pawesome
Of course, we’ve long known that cats and kittens make incredible companions for anyone, regardless of gender. And now it looks like more men in the UK have discovered their ameowzing qualities.
“Cats have always been a popular choice of pet, but we’re particularly delighted to see that more men are seeing the benefits of older cats, as well as kittens,” said Daniel Warren-Cummings, behavior officer at Cats Protection and owner of Lady Bug the cat.
Andrew Villarreal with Sebby the cat in Texas. Image via Instagram/sebbythecat_
Cats and Kittens are ‘Stress-Busters’
In an interview with The Wildest, men adopting cats in the UK said they chose adult cats because they are more independent for those who are too busy to raise a kitten. They also cited the benefit of knowing a cat’s temperament from the start.
Other men found cats “incredibly entertaining,” highly affectionate, and relaxing “stress-busters.” One man said he appreciated how much his cat “prioritizes his own comfort and just generally does his own thing,” and found the cat’s “inherently funny and weird” purrsonality naturally entertaining.
Another man who had always had dogs before. But he found his adopted cat, Dax, was easier and cheaper to care for.
“There’s very little upkeep compared to a dog — and cats are cheaper! Dax is the best, he’s very chill and easy to be around, he sleeps in bed with us every night,” said Nathan York.
As you can see, none of this points to men becoming “softer.” Rather, it looks like more men are just figuring out all the wonderful qualities that cats can offer in an always-busy and expensive world.
Cat rescuer Sterling Davis with a kitty. Images via Facebook/Sterling Davis
Pets on Prescription!
Incredibly, people found the emotional support cats provide so valuable that one-fifth of those questioned thought pets should be available “on prescription!” And, as we’ve shared before, there can be incredibly significant health benefits associated with cats, including that healing purr supurrpower.
Adoptable Cats, dogs, and all companion animals in rescues and shelters can give so much back to us if we open up our homes to them. In an often stressful world, they might be just what the doctor ordered, regardless of your gender.
