Cats Are Cashing In: Pet Companies Boom as Cat Ownership Rises
Cat food and product sales are climbing while dog sales slip, giving companies like Chewy, Petco and General Mills a bright spot.
Cat lovers are opening their wallets — and pet companies are cheering. Even as everyday costs like fuel and groceries rise, spending on cats and cat products is going up, according to major pet retailers.
Three big companies recently highlighted cats as a strong point during their earnings calls (regular meetings where a company shares how much money it made and answers questions from investors):
- General Mills (the food giant behind cat brand Tiki Cat) reported cat food sales growing by double-digit percentages.
- Chewy (an online pet supply store) said cat sales are strengthening.
- Petco (a pet store chain) saw strong cat product sales, including bedding, furniture and treats.
- A 5% increase in cat ownership in 2025
- An estimated 53 million U.S. households now own cats
- This followed a huge 23% jump in cat ownership in 2024
Dogs, meanwhile, are struggling. General Mills' dog food sales fell, and Chewy's CEO plainly said "dog seems to be worsening; cat seems to be strengthening." Petco noted that dog adoptions are down slightly.
Still, executives admit trends aren't the whole story. General Mills' operating chief said the company needs to rethink its dog food product, packaging and marketing — not just blame fewer dog owners.
The takeaway: Pet companies with a wide range of products (called being diversified — meaning they don't rely on just one thing to make money) are better protected. As Petco's CEO put it, having strong cat sales and other services means the business isn't stuck depending only on dogs.
For now, cats are the clear favorite in the pet business — good news for the companies that sell to their devoted owners.
This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/24/cat-ownership-food-sales-dog-demand.html