- Feline clinical visits increased 2.7% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026, while canine visits declined 3.3%, according to Vetsource data analyzed by CATalyst Council.
- Cat visits have increased for 12 consecutive quarters, while dog visits have declined in 11 of those quarters.
- Cats accounted for 24% of companion animal clinical visits in Q3 2026, up from 21% in Q3 2023.
- Kitten clinical visits remained approximately 11% above the 2018–2019 pre-pandemic baseline on a projected full-fiscal-year basis, while puppy visits were projected to be 44% below that benchmark.
- Overall veterinary clinical visits declined 1.9% during the quarter, reinforcing concerns about longer-term demand for companion animal veterinary services.
- CATalyst Council identifies opportunities for veterinary practices to improve feline access to care, strengthen client relationships and encourage lifelong veterinary engagement.
Feline veterinary visits continued to increase during the third quarter of 2026, providing a growing segment of demand for U.S. companion animal practices despite an overall decline in veterinary clinical visits.
According to the CATalyst Council’s Feline Veterinary Market Insights: Volume VII, feline clinical visits increased 2.7% year-over-year during the quarter, while canine visits declined 3.3%.
Across all species included in the Vetsource dataset, clinical visits fell 1.9% compared with the same quarter in 2025.
The report defines clinical visits as appointments in which an animal receives medical care, including both wellness and non-wellness services.
The findings are based on Vetsource data from 6,595 veterinary practices that consistently reported visits from the fourth quarter of 2022 through the third quarter of 2026. Results were normalized to account for Monday-through-Friday business days.
Feline Visits Maintain Three-Year Growth Streak
The report identifies a sustained divergence between feline and canine veterinary utilization.
Feline clinical visits increased in each of the past 12 quarters, representing three consecutive years of growth. During the same period, canine clinical visits declined in 11 quarters.
As a result, cats represented 24% of companion animal clinical visits in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 21% in the third quarter of 2023.
The shift is particularly notable given the size of the U.S. feline population.
According to CATalyst Council’s 2026 State of the Cat Report, cats account for approximately 46% of dogs and cats living in U.S. households.
However, the organization estimates that only about one-third of household cats visit a traditional veterinary practice annually.
The disparity suggests that substantial opportunities remain to improve feline veterinary utilization and access to preventive care.
“Cats are the one large segment of companion animal practice that has grown in every quarter for three years,” said Jon Ayers, chair of the CATalyst Council Data & Market Insights Committee.
“With puppy visits down, growing feline care has become a strategic necessity for practices.”
Kitten Visits Remain Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
The report also provides an early assessment of kitten and puppy clinical visits for the fiscal year beginning July 2026.
During July through September 2026, kitten clinical visits declined 0.9% compared with the same three-month period in 2025.
Despite that modest decline, CATalyst Council projects that kitten visits could finish the fiscal year approximately 11% above the 2018–2019 pre-pandemic baseline.
If that projection holds, it would mark the seventh consecutive fiscal year in which kitten visits remained above pre-pandemic levels.
The organization noted that, during each of the previous three fiscal years, the change recorded from July through September was within two percentage points of the eventual full-year change.
This historical relationship provides context for the current projection, although final fiscal-year results will depend on visit trends during the remaining months.
Puppy Visits Show Continued Decline
The report presents a considerably different outlook for canine veterinary demand.
Puppy clinical visits declined 10% during July through September 2026 compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
Based on early fiscal-year trends, CATalyst Council projects that puppy visits could finish approximately 44% below the 2018–2019 pre-pandemic baseline.
The organization argues that smaller puppy cohorts may have lasting implications for veterinary demand because fewer puppies entering households today can translate into smaller populations of adult dogs requiring veterinary services in subsequent years.
Even if puppy acquisition increases in the future, larger new cohorts would not immediately replace the missing animals in older age groups.
CATalyst Council previously explored this dynamic in its Puppocalypse, Kitten Craze and the Expectations Reset research.
The second edition of that analysis describes a scenario in which combined canine and feline clinical visits could decline by approximately 1% to 2% annually over the next decade.
That projection represents a modeled scenario rather than a guaranteed outcome and depends on future pet population and veterinary utilization trends.
Implications for Veterinary Practice Management
The contrasting trends in feline and canine visits may have important implications for veterinary practice planning, client engagement and service delivery.
For practices historically dependent on canine patient volume, sustained declines in puppy visits could affect future appointment demand as smaller cohorts progress through adulthood.
At the same time, continued growth in feline visits presents opportunities to expand preventive care, improve patient retention and strengthen relationships with cat owners.
CATalyst Council emphasizes that attracting new kitten patients is only one component of building sustainable feline care programs.
Maintaining regular veterinary engagement as cats mature may be equally important, particularly given the relatively low percentage of household cats receiving annual veterinary care.
“Kitten visits have stayed above pre-Covid levels for six straight years, so practices are seeing a steady stream of new feline patients,” said Gina Fortunato, MBA, executive director of CATalyst Council.
“The real question is how many of those kittens are still coming in as they age.”
The organization has published a companion article, The Kitten in the Room: Turning Kitten Season into Lifelong Feline Care, outlining eight actions intended to help veterinary practices improve long-term engagement with feline patients.
Addressing Barriers to Feline Care
The report underscores the importance of understanding why many cat owners do not seek regular veterinary services.
Potential considerations for practices include appointment accessibility, client education, feline-friendly handling techniques and communication about the value of preventive care.
Practices may also benefit from evaluating how feline patients move from initial kitten visits into adult and senior wellness programs.
Improving continuity of care could support earlier identification of health concerns while helping practices develop more consistent relationships with cat-owning households.
CATalyst Council’s findings suggest that feline medicine may represent an increasingly important component of practice strategy as the broader companion animal market adjusts to changing pet population dynamics.
About the Research
The Feline Veterinary Market Insights: Volume VII report draws on Vetsource clinical visit data from 6,595 U.S. veterinary practices reporting consistently between Q4 2022 and Q3 2026.
The analysis includes wellness and non-wellness visits and adjusts for weekday business-day differences.
Additional household population information comes from CATalyst Council’s 2026 State of the Cat Report, which was based on a survey of approximately 60,000 U.S. households.
The complete Feline Veterinary Market Insights: Volume VII report is available to CATalyst Council sponsors.
The companion article, The Kitten in the Room: Turning Kitten Season into Lifelong Feline Care, is available at no cost through the organization’s website.
More information is available at CATalyst Council.
Information sourced from CATalyst Council’s press release and its Feline Veterinary Market Insights: Volume VII report, using Vetsource clinical visit data through the third quarter of 2026.
