Cats have overtaken dogs as Britain’s favourite pet thanks to celebrity owners who flaunt them on social media, according to a new study.
House cats have seen a surge of popularity after the likes of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran started posting photographs of their feline friends online.
Jollyes, Britain’s biggest pet retailer, claims it is seeing a huge spike in cat-related purchases.
It predicts that at the current rate of growth, there will be more cats than dogs within two years.
Around 13.5 million dogs are owned across 36 per cent of households while 12.5 million cats are owned by 29 per cent.
But Jollyes says transactions for its range of cat products at its 100 stores are a third higher than that of goods for dogs.
Cats are great pets for people from all walks of life
They said the demand first surged 18 months ago, with famous cat owners such as Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry driving the trend among consumers.
Ms Swift, 35, who is arguably the world’s most famous cat lady, owns two Scottish Folds, as well as a Ragdoll, and regularly shares pictures of them to her 280 million Instagram followers.
Her Scottish Fold Olivia Benson — who is named in honor of the protagonist on the TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — has even starred in her music videos for Blank Space and Karama. She has also appeared in television advertisements for Diet Coke and AT&T.
According to Jollyes, young people prefer the personality of cats and see dogs as too high maintenance.
It says ownership among 18 to 34-year-olds has soared “dramatically” in recent years, with 41 per cent of Generation Z sharing a property with at least one cat.
Daniel Warren-Cummings, behaviour officer at Cats Protection, told The Times: “Just like humans, cats are all different and this is what makes them great pets for people from all walks of life whether its indoor cats suited to living in a quiet home or more adventurous ones, which thrive in a busy household and love exploring the outdoors.”
