Cats—and the childless women who love them—have been in the news a lot lately. And in Philadelphia, the love is strong, from all kinds of humans. In fact, it’s the No. 6 most popular city in the U.S. to be a cat owner, as reported by U.S. News & World Report.
How does a city get on this list? It derives from census data, which also reveals that cats are owned in 44 percent of American households. That translates to 28 million homes with a feline ruling the roost. But to help give you an idea of the popularity of cat ownership in different areas, the publication looked at a database of registered U.S. cats to see which cities have the most cats (so unregistered cats don’t show up in this study, FYI).
The No. 1 most popular city for having a cat is Los Angeles, followed by New York City and Chicago. The study notes that people in large cities most likely tend to adopt cats rather than dogs because of apartment living in dense population centers. Also, populous cities tend to be more expensive, and owning a cat may be more affordable than owning a dog.
A few city call-outs on the list? San Diego hosts the annual Cat Fanciers Cat Show, Pasadena impresses CatCon attendees with workshops, events and the chance to meet “celebricats” and Washington, D.C. holds the annual Capital City Cat, a Cat Fanciers Association All Breed Cat Show. But what makes Philly rise to No. 6? Perhaps the Philadelphia CATstravaganza, held in January at the expo center, has something to do with it!
Here are the top 10 most popular U.S. cities to own a cat:
1. Los Angeles
2. New York
3. Chicago
4. Brooklyn
5. Seattle
6. Philadelphia
7. San Diego
8. San Francisco
9. San Jose
10. Portland, OR