Utah is not the purrfect place for felines, according to a survey released by the American Veterinary Medical Association. In fact, Utah is last in cat ownership out of all 50 states.
Dog ownership is also low for the state, ranking 43rd nationally, according to the AVMA’s U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook, which was released in January.
“I’m really amazed the numbers are so low,” said Steve Nalder, store manager for PetSmart in Riverdale.
The survey was distributed to random households nationwide via email in February 2012. Of Utah’s households, 24.6 percent own cats, and 32.6 percent of homes have dogs.
The poll didn’t include respondents stating why they didn’t own cats or dogs, but pet aficionados speculate it could be many things — including tight household budgets, large families, rental housing with strict landlords, desert-climate allergies, cold weather that isn’t favorable for walking dogs, and even an overabundance of technology.
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