Facts About Animal Homelessness You Should Know By The Blog Dog on May 10 @ 4:06PM

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We know that cats and dogs are among the most loving and loved animals all over the world. These two species tend to get a lot more attention than the others and are perhaps the top choice of pets among most people.The main reason behind the popularity of cats and dogs as domesticated animals is that human beings tend to identify with these two groups of animals. They have a certain level of intelligence, a playful nature and can be excellent companions when you’re alone or need to uplift your mood.

The surprising fact is that although cats and dogs are quite popular with human beings, it might be wrong to assume that they all of them manage to find safe shelters and are looked after by their owners. Here are some interesting facts about animal homelessness that you should know:

• Millions of animals enter U.S. Animal SheltersThe Humane Society of the United States reports that there are approximately 70 million stray dogs and cats found in America. Also, only about 6.5 million of these animals (mostly cats and dogs) are brought into U.S. animal shelters spread across the country each year. Out of this, about 3.3 million animals are dogs while cats make up 3.2 million of the total count. Although there has been a decline in the number of animals being brought to these animal shelters in America (the count was nearly 7.2 million back in 2011), the statistics still remain quite high.
• Reasons for homelessnessReports suggest that the two primary reasons for homelessness and for animals ending up in shelters are: surrender by the guardians or getting picked up by animal control officials. Further for every one homeless person in America, there are five homeless animals.
• No spaying or neuteringOnly 10% of the total animals brought into shelters get neutered or spayed. The North Shore Animal League’s SpayUSA reports that an un-spayed female dog along with her offspring could produce 67,000 more dogs in just six years. Further, in the case of an up-spayed cat, the number could go up to as much as 2,072,514 kittens in just 8 years.

Here are some other important facts about animal homelessness:

• Only one out of every ten dogs would manage to get a permanent home.
• Nearly 2.7 million cats and dogs are killed each year owing to overfilled shelters and lack of adoptive homes.
• Approximately 30% of the dogs living in shelters are ultimately reclaimed by the original owners or guardians. On the other hand, only 2 to 5% of the cats find their way back to their guardian homes.