Companies and Brands

This Is the Worst City for Cats

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 8, 2021 11:30 am

Almost 32 million households in America have cats, second among all pets after dogs with a number of 48 million. The International Cat Association (TICA) says there are 71 breeds of cats. And cats are expensive pets. A kitten can cost $300 to $1,200. The annual cost of keeping a cat runs, on average, about $700.
[in-text-ad]
One Vet’s recently released “Most Cat-Friendly Places – Best US Cities to Be a Cat” report included in the calculations data about “pet-friendly residences” and the numbers of veterinaries, cat adoptions, cat cafes and pet stores. Most of this information comes from Rent.com, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Yellow Pages. The maximum score among cities considered was 50.

Miami finished first at 43.47, followed closely by Orlando at 43.37 and then Salt Lake City at 39.69. Commenting on Miami, the researchers wrote: “With 642 cat adoptions per capita in 2020 and a high number of pet stores, the coastal city offers animal lovers plenty of opportunities to adopt then shop for their furry new family member.”

At the bottom of the list is the country’s largest city. New York’s score of 5.93 was far worse than for Memphis and New Orleans. There was no geographic pattern to the cities at the bottom of the list. The researchers commented: “New York, is the lowest per capita out of all 50 analyzed cities, at only 187 adoptions per capita; even if New Yorkers do adopt a cat, their chances of finding a pet-friendly rental are slim, with only 17.3 available rentals per capita.”

These are the 10 worst cities for cats:

• New York (5.93)
• Memphis (10.22)
• New Orleans (14.45)
• Jacksonville (15.94)
• Phoenix (16.13)
• Los Angeles (16.86)
• Detroit (17.27)
• San Francisco (18.11)
• Houston (18.38)
• Virginia Beach (19.06)

Click here to see which is the ugliest cat breed in the world.