Summary of Research Findings

The survey was conducted in August 2024 to 7,190 pet owners in Japan, ages 20 to 70 or older who own dogs, cats, or both, about how they care for their pets, their attitudes toward pet health, and their experiences of using a veterinary clinic, among other topics. The average age of pet owners was 54.7 years old, with 60% of pet owners in their 50s to 60s.
More than 90% of pet owners had visited a veterinarian for vaccinations, rabies prevention, and prevention of ticks, fleas, filaria, etc. for dogs, and spay/neuter surgery for cats.
High percentage of pet owners had a regularly used veterinary clinic and value the opinions of a veterinarian. Therefore, veterinarians are found out to be the key person of pet health.

The survey was conducted on pet insurance, pet health food, and pet supplements as representative products and services related to pet health (cats and dogs).
Pet insurance coverage rates were high, as the rate for dogs under 8 years of age was over 50% for small dogs and over 40% for medium to large dogs. For dogs 8 years or older, more than 30% for small dogs and a little less than 30% for medium to large dogs. The younger the dog, the higher the coverage rate. For cats, the coverage rate was highest at less than 30% for those kept entirely indoors and those younger than 8 years of age.
Health food use was high for small dogs over 8 years of age and cats over 8 years of age kept entirely indoors, both at over 20%. Dietary supplement use was about 10% for dogs and 7% for cats, with no major differences among pet types (small or medium/large dogs, indoor or outdoor cats, age of pets).  

Noteworthy Topics

Health Functions Expected in Pet Supplements

Owners of cats and dogs with all the above conditions were most likely to use pet supplements, with “Immunity maintenance and enhancement” being the most common reason for taking pet supplements, followed by “Intestinal regulation, abdominal condition” at about 30 to 40%.
A high percentage of indoor cats aged 8 years or older tend to take supplements for “Kidney function”, and outdoor cats or cats with access to the outdoors aged 8 years or older tend to take them for “Urinary tract”. More than 50% of medium to large dogs aged 8 years or older take supplements for “Gait functions, joint measures”. 

Research Outline