While felines have always had a prominent part in family life, and even history, domesticated cats as pets is steadily climbing. With increased cat ownership globally, especially among urban, single-person, and millennial households, the animal health industry must adapt rapidly to meet the needs of feline health.
1. More Feline-Specific R&D Funding
Cats have historically been underserved in pharmaceutical development. Many treatments are dog-adapted, not cat-designed. But cats have unique physiology, metabolism, and behavior that demand tailored approaches.
Industry Solution- As an industry, we need to allocate more resources for research and development within pharma and biotech to develop feline-specific therapies. There also needs to be more global collaboration and cross-border research on feline zoonoses and aging.
2. Veterinary Education Updates to Close the Cat Care Gap
Veterinarians often receive less training in feline-specific diseases, behavior, and handling—despite cats being the most common pet in many regions.
Industry Solution- We need to work collaboratively with veterinary schools and the AVMA to reform curriculum to embed feline medicine as a core and not a specialization. Encouraging veterinary schools to develop clinical rotation partnerships with cat-only clinics and providing certification and CE programs that are feline-only tracks will take the next generation of veterinarians to a better place for servicing felines. And, finally, we need to develop online learning for busy veterinarians and veterinary technicians focused on feline pain, stress, and subtle symptom detection.
3. Policy and Regulatory Advocacy
There are fewer drugs and diagnostics approved specifically for cats in part due to small market assumptions and lack of feline-specific studies.
Industry Solution- We need to work with leading public policy organizations to make feline health a priority. Engage with regulators, create feline-specific pathways and find ways to reduce trial costs for small-market species, like cats.
The surge in cat ownership is more than a trend, it’s a transformational opportunity. By shifting from a dog-first model to a species-specific innovation ecosystem, the animal health industry can improve outcomes, open new markets, and meet the evolving expectations of cat owners worldwide.