The 22% of Italian families has at least one dog, this figure has been growing in recent years, while the 17% at least one cat. From Christmas gifts to choosing a partner, four-legged friends are now an integral part of the family, which is also willing to change their free time, work and home for them.
According to the Istat multipurpose survey “Citizens and Free Time“, beyond 10 million families Italians live with at least one pet: especially dogs (22%) and cats (17%), but also fish (3%), birds (1.5%) and turtles (1%).
Among the families that own them, the average number of dogs is 1.3, while that of cats is 1.8: a sign that felines in particular tend to be adopted as a couple. This difference is probably also due to the fact that cats adapt better to domestic life, making it easier for a family to adopt more than one without upsetting their daily routine.
There are more of them small townswhere almost one in two families owns at least one pet. Larger houses and a greater availability of green spaces probably contribute to encouraging this diffusion.
Those who welcome them most into their home are the families with older children (over half have at least one). Couples under 65 without children also show a growing interest: from 38% in 2006 up to 48% in 2024. This growth is also linked to the demographic and social changes of recent years: couples without children are increasingly numerous and often choose a pet as a form of stable companionship, care and shared responsibility. At the other extreme, among single people over 65, less than 23% live with an animal.
The daily management of animals falls mainly on women. There gender difference it is present at all ages and reaches the maximum gap of 10 percentage points between 45 and 64 years, and then disappears after 65 years.
A recent study by Santévet, the main French insurance company for animal health, has highlighted how deep the emotional bond with our four-legged friends is: the 94.5% of the respondents considers them family members43% as best friends and 36.5% as children. This affection is also reflected in daily and nightly habits: 19% do them sleep in your bedroomand over 28% right together in bed. Furthermore, more than half give them special cuddles and attention at Christmas and birthdays, and 18% also celebrate them on Valentine’s Day.
On the other hand, for their animals, many Italians are ready to reorganize their lives: a third of families decides its own schedules based on the needs of the animals and as many as 72% would change their leisure activities, almost half (42%) their home and 29% their work. And it doesn’t end here: almost a third of those interviewed (31%) he would even change partners if the latter did not meet the needs of their pets, and more than two thirds (67%) could not have a relationship with someone who does not like animals.
In a changing country, with fewer children and increasingly smaller families, dogs and cats are not only more pets, but represent a new form of family, which includes them in our affections but also in habits and life choices.
