Paws And Claws Research Paper

Paws and Claws
A Syndicated Study on Canadian Pet Ownership June, 2001

Table of Contents
BACKGROUND AND REPORT STRUCTURE .........................................................................1 METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................4
Who Are Pet Owners?.....................................................................................................4 Owners’ Relationships with Their Pets..............................................................................4 Pet Owner Segments ......................................................................................................5
All fieldwork, data processing and analysis were completed in-house by Ipsos-Reid Corporation, formerly known as Angus Reid Group. In addition to the attitudinal segmentation of pet owners, the main focus of the analysis is by the type and number of pets owned. The two major areas of the study are Pet Health and Pet Food. This report presents the main findings of the study in summary charts and tables. The complete statistical cross-tabulations of the results have been reported under separate cover. A copy of the questionnaire is appended. In addition to the Paws & Claws survey, a supplementary omnibus research was conducted in April 2001 with 1000 adult Canadians nation-wide to determine the incidence of pet ownership and attitudes toward pet
Pet health maintenance includes veterinary check-ups, vaccinations and other treatments. About seven in ten pet owners take their pet to the vet at least once a year. However, very much like in people, pets’ health deteriorates with age. About onequarter of all pets are considered by their owner to be overweight; if true, this might negatively affect the overall pet’s health, especially in dogs. One in ten pets is reported to suffer from a chronic health condition, with senior pets more prone to diseases. Further, about one in ten pets have had some behavioural problems in the past year, such as separation anxiety or house soiling. Canadian pet owners trust their veterinarians and are extremely loyal customers. Only 15 percent of pet owners switched their main veterinary clinic last year or intend to switch in the coming year, primarily, because of relocation. Overall, pet owners rate the vet services they received from their main vet clinic at 6.3 on a 7-point scale (where 1 is completely dissatisfied and 7 completely satisfied). Veterinarians’ attitude toward the pets, quality of treatment and vet’s competency received even higher marks than the overall rating. The majority of pets in Canadian cities are spayed or neutered. However, to date, only 13 percent of pets are microchipped though the number of electronically traceable pets is expected to increase next