Cats or dogs? It’s the age-old question that divides families, friends and first dates. KittySpout can now provide an answer to end this debate once and for all.
Using real data from 2,640 animal adoption shelters across the country, KittySpout has created an interactive map to show which animal is most saved across all 50 states. You can find it here: https://www.kittyspout.com/
The result for California: it’s a dog state.
The 163 shelters counted in California saved 182,456 cats and 221,639 dogs.
That’s 121 dogs for every 100 cats, a gap of 39,183 animals. California saved more cats and more dogs than any other state.
Nationally, it’s too close to call. Among the shelters counted, 26 states lean dog and 24 lean cat, with dogs ahead by just 48,403 animals out of more than 3.2 million recorded.
John Butterworth, Marketing Lead at KittySpout, commented on the findings:
“People love to argue cat versus dog, but shelters answer it differently, because they show which animals local shelters are actually saving. No state’s label says its people love one more than the other, and every state on the map is doing serious work for both. If you don’t like California’s result, your local shelter is the place to do something about it.”
What the map measures
A state is a cat state when its counted shelters collectively saved more cats than dogs, and a dog state when the reverse is true. Saved is the figure each shelter shows on the Best Friends dashboard. Shelter figures are added together, so an animal transferred between shelters may be counted more than once.
The label reflects the shelters reporting in each state, not what residents prefer, and a state’s mix of government and private shelters can change its result.
Methodology
Of the 3,880 shelters on the Best Friends Animal Society national shelter dashboard, the study counts the 2,640 reporting cats and dogs as separate figures, as of September 10, 2026. Each reports its most recent 12 months, between September 2024 and August 2026. Nothing is weighted, adjusted or modeled. The 416 shelters reporting one combined total (507,393 animals saved) aren’t counted, and 401 counted shelters report only one species, so the national lead and some state labels could change.
About KittySpout
KittySpout exists to improve the health and happiness of cats across the world. It makes water fountains, supplements and feeders for cats, and donates $1 from every order to cat shelters and charities.
