Purina: Nearly half of millennials are cat owners

Forget the stereotype of the pet-loving lady with a houseful of cats. Turns out many of today’s most passionate cat owners are millennials – nearly half of whom surveyed have a cat at home.
To better understand the relationship between young Americans and cats, Purina surveyed millennials in the United States (age range 18-34) in October 2015 and found:

• 88% consider themselves similar to their cat, and nearly the same number say they’re “in sync” with their cat.
• 57% consider their feline friends as important as the friends in their lives, and 2 in 5 say that owning a cat means they have a new best friend.
• 86% consider their cats to be a loyal companion, and nearly 1 in 2 say they tell their cat secrets no one else knows.

“People like cats because they are great pets – they provide comfort to their owners and with appropriate socialization they can be warm and friendly,” said Purina behaviorist Sandra Lyn. “In addition, they don’t need to be taken on walks or for bathroom breaks and they’re generally happy doing their own thing, though they do like attention and cuddling. These personality traits could be a factor as to why cats are growing in popularity among millennials – cats are a great fit for their busy lifestyles.”
Further fueling millennial enthusiasm for cat ownership is social media. Nearly 60% of millennials watch cat videos online. And – reflecting this generation’s love of sharing – half have spread cat memes online, and nearly 2 in 5 talk about their cat(s) often on social media.
Though cats seem particularly well-suited for today’s lifestyles, many of the reasons millennials love them have remained constant for millennia:
“Living alone after college, getting a cat was one of the first things on my to-do list,” said Hayley Lynes, 23, of Chicago. “I wanted the comfort of a pet but also knew I didn’t have the lifestyle to take care of a dog. I have heard so many stereotypes that cats are ‘mean’ and ‘loners,’ but my experience with my cat, Tilly, can’t be further from that – she loves to cuddle!”

Purina ONE to host Cat Camp pop-up event

Purina ONE has found the way to improve the active, energetic fun of summer camp: add cats. The first-ever Cat Camp will include camp-themed activities designed to bring cat lovers together to experience what whole body health means for cats.
While cat health is revealed from the inside out, Purina ONE is bringing the outside in with this indoor Cat Camp in the heart of New York City. Through Cat Camp, Purina ONE hopes campers leave feeling empowered that they know how to help support their cats' health and happiness every day and for a lifetime.
The Openhouse event space at 201 Mulberry in New York's SoHo neighborhood will undergo a cat-approved transformation for Cat Camp, July 31-August 1, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. During the pop-up event, Cat Camp counselors will guide members of the public through a series of activities that reflect a healthy cat's routine:
Campfire – Just as a campfire is the heart of any campground, nutrition is at the heart of whole body health. At the center of Cat Camp, a campfire made of Purina ONE kibble will be a gathering place for campers and cats while a Purina Veterinarian (Deborah S. Greco, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM) shows how to check your cat for signs of whole body health.

• Climbing – Campers can traverse an indoor climbing wall and learn why cats seek high places.
• Stretching – Cat Camp counselors will demonstrate stretches inspired by cats, which is part of their whole body health you can see every day.
• Purposeful Play – Campers can play with cats while a Purina Behaviorist (Sandra Lyn, PhD) educates about the importance of physical activity and mental stimulation in a cat's routine.
• Arts & Crafts – Campers can make DIY puzzle feeders to take home to their cats.

"Purina ONE's Cat Camp is a fun way for cat lovers to experience all the things that feed into whole body health for cats," said Brian Williams, brand manager for Purina ONE. "We had such a great response to last year's Cat Cafe, so this year we wanted to provide activities that would help educate people on whole body health, and there isn't a better way to do that this summer than a camp-like experience."
Adoptable cats from a Petfinder partner shelter will roam the "campgrounds" to interact with campers and show how Purina ONE provides all the nutrition your cat needs for each life stage.

Purina-sponsored cat cafe opens for one weekend in New York

The Purina-sponsored Cat Café opened on April 24 in Manhattan, and cat lovers enjoyed complimentary "cat'achino" cappuccinos, discussed cat health and learned about cat adoption with 16 cats in attendance. Purina One hosted the café as a pop-up shop, lasting only through April 27, but organizers said they hope the event encourages cat health awareness and adoption.

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"The goal of what we're doing here is try to start a conversation about cat health," said Niky Roberts with Purina One. "What better place to do that then over a cup of coffee with some friends in a café? We thought if people are going to be talking about cat health, you should be among your subjects and have cats all around you.
"It's a great thing because dogs are very publicly social—you can take your dog out and go for a walk, talk to people at the dog park—but that's not a luxury most cat owners have, so this is a place you can talk with like-minded people about cat health and be among cats."
The café featured a "Cat Chat" speaker series with discussions led by a cat behaviorist, a veterinarian and other cat experts. Purina One partnered with North Shore Animal League, a large, no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization based in Long Island, New York, to bring 16 specially chosen cats from around the country to hang out at the café.

Friskies cat food brand calls for entries to video contest

Cat food brand Friskies is calling for video entries to "The Friskies" contest for the chance to win a US$5,000 cash prize and a custom-made, gold-plated statue. 
Cat owners can upload a video up to two minutes long to www.TheFriskies.com that captures their cat's funniest or most adventurous moment through July 15. Entries are accepted in four categories: 

• Cat Comedy: Your cat(s) in an humorous situation
• Catventure: An indoor cat adventure
• Rescue Cat: Your cat(s) adopted from a rescue group or shelter enjoying life
• Pursuit of Food/Treat: Your cat(s) pursuing or engaging with their cat food or treat(s)
All entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges using the following criteria to select 20 semi-finalists (five from each category): originality & overall artistic impression, audience appeal & entertainment quality, sense that there's a story being told and portraying cat's perspective.  
The 20 semi-finalists will be announced on August 6 and will be awarded a one-year supply of Friskies cat food and Friskies Party Mix brand cat treats. Then, the public will have a chance to vote on the semi-finalists' videos through September 16 to select the top three videos from each category. These finalists will win a trip to New York, New York, USA, to attend "The Friskies" award show on October 15, where one grand-prize winner from each of the four categories will be selected. The four grand-prize winners along with a fan-favorite winner will receive a Friskies Catuette statue and a US$5,000 cash prize.

APPA releases 2013-14 National Pet Owners Survey

Pet ownership rose to an all-time high of 68 percent of the US population in 2012.

The American Pet Products Association released the 2013-2014 National Pet Owners Survey, which found pet ownership in the United States is at a record. The survey indicated that pet ownership among all US households is 68 percent, an increase to 82.5 million pet-owning households in 2012.
Dog ownership rose to 56.7 million households, and cat ownership grew to 45.3 million. These gains in dog- and cat-owning households indicate that the total number of these pets also rose to 83.3 million dogs and 95.6 million cats in the U.S.
Although the number of households owning a pet has increased in all categories from the last survey, the proportion of pet ownership by species has remained stable. Dogs and cats are still the most popular pets, owned by 46.7 and 37.3 percent of US households, respectively. After declining in 2010, ownership of freshwater fish returned to 12 percent. Bird ownership rose slightly to 5.7 percent in 2012. Horse ownership also rebounded in 2012 to 2.3 percent after a slight drop in 2010. Small animal and reptile ownership levels increased to 5.7 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively. Saltwater fish ownership increased to 1.5 percent of the total online US population. These rises in pet ownership mean that more households than ever before own small animals, reptiles or saltwater fish.
With the rise in pet ownership, petfood was noted as one of the highest annual expenses for pet owners of all species, except freshwater fish, with US$239 spent on food for dogs and US$203 spent on food for cats. The survey found pet owners' use of pet nutritional supplements and medications is increasing, as well. Veterinarian visits, whether emergency, sick, surgical or routine, are also named as top expenses, particularly among dog, cat and bird owners. The survey also noted that dog owners spend more than cat owners on common expenses.
A rise in the number of multiple pet-owning households to an all-time high of 53.4 million was among contributing factors to the overall growth in pet ownership in 2012. Nearly 40 percent of pet-owning households own multiple types of pets. Similar to past years, the most popular combination of pets owned is a dog and a cat, as noted by 29 percent of pet owners in 2012. Another contributing factor was pet owners' willingness to promote owning a pet to others. In fact, nearly half of pet owners surveyed reported that they heard about their pet's availability by word-of-mouth.
“As an industry, we have been working very hard to promote the joys and benefits of responsible pet ownership, and we are thrilled to see that more people are opening their homes and sharing their families with pets than ever before,” said American Pet Products Association president and CEO, Bob Vetere. 

Friskies cat food brand launches 'Catify Yourself' app

Friskies has launched a new "Catify Yourself" application that allows users to create, post and share photos of their friends and family as cats.
The free "Catify Yourself" iPhone app lets users send photo messages to friends from their cat-like self. Facebook users can also use "Catify Yourself" on Friskies' Facebook page, with the chance for users' photos to become the "Catify Photo of the Day." Users can choose templates and captions for their cat photos.