Table 1.

Reasons for avoiding cat (or cat and dog) ownership

Study	Study overview	Number of people in study	Proportion citing allergy as a reason	Other, more common reasons cited	Other, equally or less common reasons cited (not necessarily all listed)
Leslie et al (1994) 13	Reasons for not owning either a cat or a dog, Canada	~160	36%	✜ Problems when I go away (82%) ✜ Not enough time (64%) ✜ Inappropriate housing (53%) ✜ Location is dangerous (52%)	✜ Too expensive (35%) ✜ Pets not allowed (34%) ✜ Health risks (33%) ✜ Dislike pets (24%) ✜ Pets should not be owned (16%) ✜ Health problems (14%)
American Humane Association (2012) 35	Reasons for never owning a cat, USA	500	18%	✜ Do not like cats (35%) ✜ Litter box smell (29%) ✜ Inappropriate lifestyle (22%)	✜ Veterinary expenses (18%) ✜ General expenses (17%) ✜ Not enough time (16%) ✜ Damage caused by cats (12%) ✜ Problems with travel (11%) ✜ Not allowed cats (10%)
American Humane Association (2012) 35	Reason for not owning a cat for ≥12 months, USA	500	16%	✜ Problems when I travel (28%) ✜ Cleaning up after the cat (25%) ✜ Veterinary expenses (24%) ✜ General expenses (24%) ✜ Lack of time (21%) ✜ Grieving after pet loss (17%)	✜ Do not like cats (12%) ✜ Not allowed to have cats (12%) ✜ Still looking for a new cat (11%) ✜ No time to find a new cat (11%) ✜ Damage caused by cats (11%)
Bibbo et al (2019) 12	Reasons for not owning either a cat or a dog for ≥12 months, USA	668	6%	✜ Insufficient time (32%) ✜ Not interested (17%) ✜ Too expensive (7%)	✜ Health risks (2%)