My Three Cats founder launches Cats Deserve More campaign

Wendy Thomson Melling, founder of My Three Cats, has launched the Cats Deserve More campaign calling out the pet industry for consistently sidelining the UK’s 12.5 million pet cats.

She believes that despite cats being on track to overtake dogs as the UK’s most popular pet, dog products still dominate the shelves in pet shops, supermarkets, and even vets, leaving cat owners frustrated.

UK cat owners spend an estimated £8bn a year on premium food, enrichment toys, healthcare, behaviour support, custom furniture, and in-home care.

Thomson Melling said: “We’ve been told to our faces by pet shop owners that they don’t stock much for cats because ‘cat owners don’t spend’ and ‘they just buy food in the supermarket’ and it simply isn’t true.

“Cat owners are passionate and educated. They don’t want to ‘make do’ with dog products. Cats are not small dogs, they’re a completely different species with very specific needs. We want choice, quality, and more products catering for the needs of our cats.”

She added: “The latest stats from UK Pet Food say there are 36% of homes with a dog and 29% with a cat. It’s not a huge difference but you’d never guess looking at what’s on the shelves. You see so many products for dogs, from fitness trackers to training games and all kinds of treats, and there is so little out there for cats.”