By Sophia Lei Zhu

Published on June 03, 2019

Cats and dogs have a reputation of being enemies. “Cat people” and “dog people” also seem to have different personalities. So here comes the question: Dog vs Cat, which is the favorite pet? A third grader shares his thoughts below.

Tableau data about pets in U.S. households show that California has the highest number of pet (dogs and cats) population, followed by Texas and Florida.

However, 70.8 percent of households in Vermont have pet, making it the most pet friendly U.S. state. New Mexico and South Dakota followed close behind.

The average number of cats per household is above 1.7 in all U.S. states, with the highest rate of 2.6 recorded in Maryland. On the other hand, the average number of dogs per household is above 1.1 in all U.S. states, with the highest rate of 2.1 registered in Oklahoma.

Washington D.C. ranks the lowest in terms of average numbers of both cat and dog per household.

Vermont households are more of cat lovers, as 49.5 percent of the household are cat owners. Arkansas households are more of dog lovers, as 47.7 percent are dog owners.

The charts below can be filtered using the filters on the right.

Data Source: Tableau Public

Metadata:
Pet Household Percentage
Highest % Cat Household
Highest % Dog Household
Dog-Cat Population
Mean Number of Cat-Dog Per Household

Dog or Cat?

by Haolun Zhang
Published on June 3, 2020

When it comes to choosing a dog or cat, it’s a little tricky. You see, dogs make great companions, but at the same time, cats are very meek and tender. Hmmm… Dogs have one thing everyone doesn’t like: Peeing all over the floor. And at the same time, cats also have an annoying habit: Being lazy.

Well, dogs have one thing I like the best out of all things: Running super-fast. This not only exercises the dog, but if the owner decides to run along the dog, he/she will also build up his/her body, which is great. When it comes to cats running, they are pretty fast, but they are completely NOTHING compared to dogs. Therefore, making my personal choice the dog.

Haolun Zhang is a third grader at a New York City public school in 2020. He loves basketball, playing piano and coding. He dreams of having a dog.