Key Takeaways
- France ranks first among EU countries for total pet cats in 2024. It recorded 16.7 million.
- Housing is linked to France’s higher share of cat-owning households than Germany’s. Renting is far more common in Germany, where fewer households have a house, garden, or terrace.
- Spain has the EU’s highest share of cat-owning households. 56% of Spanish households own at least one cat.
- Spain ranks only 5th among EU countries for total pet cats. It recorded 4.9 million. A country’s total pet cat population also depends on its size, not just its share of cat-owning households.
- The EU’s 27 countries have a combined 83.1 million pet cats in 2024. That is more than the bloc’s 69.6 million pet dogs.
- Cats cost less to keep than dogs and require no daily walks. Those advantages suit renters and people in smaller homes. That combination helps explain why cats have overtaken dogs as the EU’s most common pet.
EU Pet Cat Population and Share of Cat-Owning Households by Country
| Country | Pet Cat Population | Cat-Owning Households (%) |
|---|---|---|
| France | 16,700,000 | 39 |
| Germany | 15,900,000 | 25 |
| Italy | 11,900,000 | 17 |
| Poland | 7,463,000 | 42 |
| Spain | 4,939,000 | 56 |
| Romania | 4,439,000 | 48 |
| Belgium | 3,128,000 | 33 |
| Netherlands | 3,001,000 | 23 |
| Hungary | 2,357,000 | 34 |
| Portugal | 2,116,000 | 32 |
| Austria | 2,019,000 | 28 |
| Sweden | 1,723,000 | 21 |
| Czechia | 1,395,000 | 23 |
| Finland | 1,003,000 | 23 |
| Bulgaria | 793,000 | 25 |
| Denmark | 670,000 | 19 |
| Greece | 601,000 | 13 |
| Slovakia | 535,000 | 15 |
| Slovenia | 471,000 | 32 |
| Croatia | 456,000 | 15 |
| Latvia | 417,000 | 37 |
| Ireland | 404,000 | 18 |
| Estonia | 313,000 | 18 |
| Lithuania | 163,000 | 32 |
| Luxembourg | 105,000 | 25 |
| Cyprus | 55,000 | 13 |
| Malta | 23,000 | 22 |
Source: FEDIAF (2024)
Pet cat population figures are supplied by FEDIAF’s national association members and reviewed by Soulor Consulting, with some countries’ figures estimated where no data was submitted.
FEDIAF adjusted some country figures using 2024 data from the European Medicines Agency, which tracks veterinary medicine sales. It adjusted when its own previously published numbers differed significantly from the medicines agency’s data.
The share of cat-owning households comes from a separate table in the same FEDIAF report and may draw on different country-level survey methods than the population figures.
Ranked by cat population, highest to lowest. Share-of-cat-owning-households values follow the same row order and aren’t independently sorted.
France Leads the EU in Total Pet Cats Despite a Smaller Population Than Germany
France ranks first among EU countries for total pet cats. It recorded 16.7 million in 2024.
Only France has more pet cats than Germany. Germany recorded 15.9 million in 2024.
Germany’s population reached 83.6 million on 1 January 2025. France counted about 68.9 million residents on the same date.
Germany’s population is about 15 million larger than France’s. However, France still leads Germany in total pet cats.
The share of cat-owning households reflects how many households own a cat. The total pet cat population reflects how many pet cats live in a country. That total pet cat population is shaped by population size and how many cats each household keeps.
France’s lead over Germany comes down to its share of cat-owning households. France’s share of cat-owning households is 39%. Germany’s share is 25%.
Housing is linked to the gap in cat-owning households between France and Germany. French people with a house, a garden, or a terrace are twice as likely to own a cat or dog as people in apartments.
Meanwhile, renting is far more common in Germany than in France. Germany’s rented-housing share reached 52.8% in 2025.
Germany’s rented-housing share was the EU’s highest in 2025. France’s rented-housing share was 38.6%.
Spain Has the EU’s Highest Share of Cat-Owning Households
Spain ranks only 5th among EU countries for total pet cats. It recorded 4.9 million.
However, Spain ranks first among EU countries for its share of cat-owning households. 56% of Spanish households own at least one cat.
Four EU countries have a share of cat-owning households above 35%:
- Spain: 56%
- Romania: 48%
- Poland: 42%
- France: 39%
Cats cost less to keep than dogs. They also need no daily walks, which makes them a better fit for renters and people with smaller homes. That’s a large part of why cats have overtaken dogs as the EU’s most common pet.
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References
- https://europeanpetfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/FEDIAF_Annual-Report_2026_WEBv1.1.pdf
- https://www.destatis.de/Europa/EN/Topic/Population-Labour-Social-Issues/Social-issues-living-conditions/RentedAccommodation.html
- https://www.facco.fr/facco-odoxa-barometre-2024-chiffres-4-4/
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250711-1
- https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/8726555
- https://www.connexionfrance.com/news/french-choose-cats-over-dogs/501047
