Most Americans say they are aware of the crisis of homeless pets, yet it turns out they seriously underestimate the size and scope of the problem. This came out of the findings of a comprehensive new survey commissioned by PetSmart Charities and conducted online by Ipsos Marketing of 2,000 U.S. adults and an additional 1,000 adults who acquired a dog or a cat in the past year.

Relative to familiarity with current social issues, pet overpopulation ranked third among respondents.  However, 76 percent estimated the number of pets euthanized in shelters every year at 1 million or fewer while the actual number is about 4 million cats and dogs.

Acquiring Pets
The survey also found that about 40 percent of pet owners acquired their cat or dog without doing advance research and that 76 percent of pets are acquired from sources other than animal shelters. In fact, the top reasons people don’t adopt pets from shelters are: desire for a specific breed or type of pet and uncertainty about shelters and the pet-adoption process. On the other hand, wanting to “save a life” and an overall sense that pets from shelters are “some of the best companion animals” ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively as top motivators for adopting a pet.

In a regional breakdown, 28 percent of pet owners in the western U.S. had adopted their pet compared to 23 percent of pet owners in the Northeast, Midwest and South who were pet adopters.

Spay and Neuter
Of the respondents, 65 percent said their dog or cat was spayed or neutered. Of the 35 percent who said their dogs and cats are not sterilized, 75 percent said they are considering having the procedure done on their dogs or cats in the future. Where pets are not neutered, most people said the biggest  barriers were confusion about the right age to have a dog or cat sterilized, as well as costs of the procedure.

Of the pet owners whose dogs or cats had litters, 53 percent of dog owners and 54 percent of cat owners said, “it was an accident.” Another 20 percent of dog owners and 12 percent of cat owners said they wanted their family to see a litter being born.

Pet owners in the West indicated having the highest number of pets who are sterilized, while pet owners in the South had the lowest number. Age of owners also is a factor in sterilization:  62 percent of people aged 18 to 34 had spayed or neutered their pets, ranking third in that category behind 35-to-54-year olds (65 percent) and people aged 55 and older (76 percent).

A PetSmart Charities spokesperson said in an official release about the survey that the organization hopes the findings will help those involved in animal rescue and welfare break down the barriers to pet adoption and spay/neuter to save more lives.