2009 North American Urban Animal Survey Prospectus

Background
In October 2009, PetLynx will be hosting the fourth annual National Summit on Urban Animal Strategies. As in previous years, the Summit will incorporate the findings from survey research focused on cat and dog owning households. This research will seek to illuminate the relationships people have with their pets and will educate the industry on what pet owners are really like in terms of their attitudes and behaviors towards their pets.

As we learned in the 2008 survey, the companion animal market in Canada is vast, with more than 4.8 million households owning a cat and 4.4 million households owning a dog. Consequently, pet owners tend to be quite diverse, which makes understanding this marketplace a real challenge.

For this reason, the 2009 survey will include a segmentation of cat and dog owners, which will reduce this population down to 4 or 5 basic typologies or segments based on their attitudes and behaviors. This analysis will help industry stakeholders better understand pet owners and allow for more informed decisions regarding how to best position their services or products and communicate with this market.

Study Objectives
The main objective of this study is to provide the industry with information about pet owners. The study will be insightful for manufacturers of pet food and animal health products, veterinary associations, shelters, animal control agencies and the retailers of pet care products. This research will:

· Measure pet owners’ attitudes towards relationships with cats and dogs;
· Determine the levels of care given to cats and dogs, based on owners’ behavior;
· Profile the cat and dog ownership market, including demographics and owner lifestyle;
· Identify key market segments based on different pet care attitudes and behaviors;
· Determine the most influential sources of information for cat and dog care; and
· Determine the differences in all of the above between cat owners and dog owners

Methodology
This study will be based on questionnaires completed by a representative sample of 1500 cat or dog owners in Canada and a similar number in the US. Maximum statistical margin of error is +/- 2.53% at the 95% confidence interval.

Schedule
The project timeline is: Survey Design in August; Data Collection in September; and, Report Available in late October.

The Report
The report will present the findings in detail, including comparisons between cat and dog owners, as well as across socio-economic backgrounds.

The results will be presented at the National Summit in October, 2009 and at the Regional Summits to be held in the spring of 2010.

Further Information
For more information, please contact Cindy Kreutzer or Larry Evans at 403. 219.1088 or NAUAS@petlynxmail.com