The UK's Top Kitty Cities

The UK's Top Kitty Cities

Reprinted with Express Permission from Masterfoods.

www.whiskas.co.uk

Fast facts:

There are approximately 9.2 m pet cats in the UK.
41 percent of UK cat-owning households have two or more cats.
92 percent of the UK's cats are moggies (mixed breed).
The most popular cat breeds in the UK are British Short Hair and Burmese.
The South East is officially the top region for cat lovers, housing half the UK's cat population.
The South East is the new kitten hotspot with around 92,500 kittens, having overtaken London with its 40,454 kittens in 2004.
Essex is home to more senior cats than any other region, with 815,030 curling up in front of the fire.

Cats are still the most popular, rewarding and low maintenance choice of pet in the UK, with around six million cat-owning households across the country. Cat owners agree that their pet is good company and 93 percent of owners find that their cat is good for their mental well being and can reduce the stress of modern life.The South East is still top when it comes to cat-owning households with the feline population rising to around to 1.6 million cats in Essex and Sussex.

HEY BIG SPENDERS: Approximately Ł791 million is spent per year by doting owners, on East Anglia's cat population.

KITTEN HOTSPOT: There are around 92,000 kittens in the South East, making it the UK's most thriving kitty region.

THE NOT SO BIG SPENDERS: Wales needs to treat their cats more with owners spending just a mere Ł135m each year on their feline friends.

PUSSY PENSIONER HOTSPOT: There are around 815,030 "senior" cats in Essex making it a top feline golden oldie area of the UK.

Kitty cities, adult area and senior scenery in the UK:

Region	No of Kittens (Up to 12 months)	No of Adult Cats(1 - 8 years)	No of Senior Citizen Cats (8 years +)	N0 of Households with Cats (41percent of households have 2 or more cats)
South East & East Anglia	92,546	755,750	815,030	1,663,326
East & West Midlands	55,104	446,734	482,158	983,996
Greater London	40,454	327,968	353,974	722,396
North	40,264	326,430	352,313	719,007
South West	37,127	300,991	324,858	662,976
North West	35,013	283,859	306,368	625,240
York & Humberside	35,011	283,864	306,350	625,225
Scotland	24,061	195,066	210,533	429,660
Wales	15,993	129,655	139,937	285,585

There are currently around 515,200 kittens, (cats aged 0 - 12 months) in the UK with the South East being the top kitten region, with a whopping 92,546 kittens making it their home. That figure accounts for nearly one-fifth of the total number of kittens born in the UK in 2003!

Today, 49 percent of the UK's cat population are classed as 'senior', that is eight years of age or more, although a large number of cats are now living up to astounding ages of 24 and above.

Britain's oldest cat, Whisky - a record-breaking age of 34, is an incredible 149 in cat years! Whisky's owner Jan from Jaywick in Essex has publicly claimed she thinks Whisky's superior senior age is down to his daily meal of Whiskas Senior Rabbit!

The first year of a cat's life is equal to 16 'human years, which slows down as the cat gets older - the second 'cat year' is equal to five human years and each of the following years are equivalent to four human years. A five-year-old cat's lifestage is equal to that of a 33-year-old human (see graph below).

How old is a cat in 'cat years'?