There are a million cats in animal shelters all over the world, and many of them won’t find their forever home due to illness, aggression, or lack of space inside the shelter.
The policy of many shelters is to do euthanasia, mostly including injections. Do you know how many cats will be euthanized in the country every year?
Animal activists are fighting against inhumane methods and want to end euthanasia so all animal shelters in the United States become no-kill places. You can find most interesting as well as some of the shocking statistics and facts about this topic, so we recommend to keep on reading.
Top 6 Cat Euthanasia Facts
(Editor’s pick)
- Around 860,000 cats will be euthanized every year in the United States.
- Cats are killed more than twice as frequently as dogs.
- Around 70% of cats are euthanized in animal shelters.
- Around 54 % of Americans will sign a petition to require no-kill shelters in their city.
- Statistics show that 3 out of 4 Americans are against euthanization.
- Animal activists are on a mission to create no-kill shelters by 2025.
12 Newest Cat Euthanasia Statistics
1. Around 860,000 cats will be euthanized every year
Animal shelters all over the United States are overcrowded with animals, including cats. Shelter statistics show that 1.5 million animals are euthanized every year, mostly because of aggression, illness, or age, but many of them were healthy and ready to find them forever homes.
Because there are no firmly required statistics about exact numbers neither taken nor euthanized cats, the number can be much higher and many of them believe that more than 3 million animals are euthanized every year.
From this number, approximately 860,000 of them are cats, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals statistics. Comparing it to euthanized dogs, there are more euthanized cats which are sometimes much harder to adopt because of temperaments.
Source: petpedia.co
2. According to stats, cats are killed more than twice as frequently as dogs
Every day, all over the animal shelters in the United States, about 950 cats and fogs will be euthanized. Even if there is a higher number of dogs that enter animal shelters, according to statistics, cats have a higher euthanasia rate.
The main reason is that, according to cat owners statistics, dogs are the favorite pets to choose for adoption in the United States.
Source: dailypaws.com
3. Around 70% of cats are euthanized in animal shelters
The euthanization process can be done in animal shelters or veterinary centers. According to statistics from the shelters, around 70% of cats are euthanized.
The main reason is the number of animals inside as well as more cats that enter animal shelters don’t have any owner identification. There are cases where cat needs to be euthanized even if they had an owner, mostly because of illness.
Source: kittencoalition.org
4. The second most abused animals are cats
Thousands of animals get abused all over the world, mostly because of pharmaceutical and clinical testings which can be really harmful and cause a lot of mental and health damage to cats.
Statistics show that cats are the second-most abused animals in the world, right behind dogs. For pharmaceutical testing there can be over 20,000 cats used as subjects.
Source: petpedia.co
5. There is 75% less pet euthanasia than in 2009.
One of the main reasons why the euthanasia rate is decreasing every year is the high number of pet adoption, as well as many stray cats that are successfully returned to their owners. More and more people decide to have a cat which is much easier to take care of than a dog.
According to statistics, the number of euthanasia in 2011. was around 2.6 million, and in 2019 this number was 1 million. Till this date, there is 75% less euthanasia than in 2009.
The newest statistics show that around 347,000 animals were euthanized in 2020. , and comparing it to the year before, the euthanasia rate dropped by 44.5%.
Source: allaboutcats.com
6. Around 54 % of Americans will sign a petition to require no-kill shelters in their city
Different surveys show positive results about no-kill shelters and citizens in the United States. About 55% of adults will donate to local animal shelters or rescue groups so the shelters can become no-kill.
About 54% of them would sign a petition that requires only no-kill shelters. The highest percentage, around 80% of people support shelter work to become a no-kill place.
Source: bestfriends.org
7. Five states are responsible for half of shelter euthanasia
There are still many states that approve euthanasia, and 5 of them are responsible for 50% of all euthanasia in animal shelters, including cat euthanasia. Those states include Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas.
Each state has its own euthanasia statistics, and for example in California, around 75% of killed animals are cats, which is one of the highest percentages of euthanasia in the country. Texas is equally spread between cats and dogs.
Source: pawsomeadvice.com
8. Around 85% of Americans prefer to have stray cats then let them in shelters
If the cat enters animal shelters, it is a high possibility it will be euthanized due to different reasons, but mostly because of lack of space.
Homeless cat statistics show that 85% of Americans prefer to have community cats on the street than left them in animal shelters because of the possibility they will be euthanized one day.
So the cats have enough food and water, around 12 % of the general population provides food for stray animals.
Source: pawsomeadvice.com
9. Statistics show that 3 out of 4 Americans are against euthanasia
The United States is, according to cat statistics, on the top list of most pet owners. Because citizens love animals, statistics show that around 75% of them think euthanization shouldn’t be illegal if the animal is healthy or can be treated by a vet.
This shows that every 3 out of 4 Americans are against euthanasia and 96% of them believe humans need to be morally obliged to protect animals.
Another survey shows how 84% of adult Americans feel it is important to have no-kill shelter in their area. About 49% of them were not sure if their local animal shelter is no-kill.
Source: petpedia.co
10. Statistics show that PETA euthanized 1,614 animals in 2019.
Even if the PETA fights against animal cruelty, there are statistics from animal shelters that include the number of euthanized animals.
According to statistics, in 2019. PETA euthanized 1,614 animals, including cats. They claim the main reason is that animals were suffering and had a lot of pain.
Source: petpedia.co
11. From 2015. till 2020. the saving rate hit 83%
Source: bestfriends.org
12. Animal activists are on a mission to create no-kill shelters by 2025.
There are over 2,000 no-kill shelters in the United States, which represents 44% of all shelters. Comparing it to 2018., there were only 29%. Best Friend activists are on the mission to stop euthanasia in animal shelters make it a thing of the past by 2025 and end inhumane methods in all 50 U.S. states.
Since 2013. about 70 animal shelters shut down their gas chambers, and currently, 27 states ban chambers on pets, while four still use gas for euthanasia. Best Friend activists are on the mission to stop euthanasia in animal shelters and make it a thing of the past by 2025.
So the shelter can become a no-kill shelter, it needs to have a save rate of 90%. Roughly 10% of animals that need to be euthanized will be only because of medical or behavioral issues.
Source: pawsomeadvice.com
To Sum Up
Cat euthanasia statistics show that around 860,000 cats are euthanized in animal shelters every year, mostly because of overcrowded places and illness. The number of euthanized cats is double the number of euthanized dogs, even if there are more dogs taken in every year in shelters. 3 out of 4 Americans are against euthanizations and animal activists are working to protect animals so all shelters become no-kill by 2025.
