There is considerable international research about the link between human demographics and pet ownership, and published data are available from several countries including the United Kingdom (UK) [1–3], the USA [4], Italy [5] and Brazil [6]. Demographic studies have been used to predict the usage of veterinary services [7–9] and future pet population trends [10], and to aid in managing pets (dogs in particular) for zoonotic disease control, especially rabies [8, 11]. Pet ownership has been linked to several factors relating to household demographics, including the presence of children in the household [1, 7, 10], urban/rural location [1, 7, 12], level of education [13] and age/family structure [1, 3, 13].

There is very little published information about the demography of domestic pets on the island of Ireland, which incorporates both the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI). The number and location of pets (especially dogs) is currently of interest, particularly within the government and veterinary organisations in Ireland, with increasing awareness of zoonotic diseases [14–17], human dog interactions [18] and the introduction of a pet passport scheme [19]; negating the necessity for a 6 month quarantine period for transport of dogs into Ireland from certain designated countries. Market research has been used by the pet food industry to provide a descriptive view of pet ownership in Ireland, but has not sought associations with human demographics [20]. In an earlier study on the island of Ireland, we identified links between dog ownership and a number of demographic factors, including urban/rural location, house type, household social class, household composition and the presence of school children in the house [21]. This earlier study also examined the demographic links with pet cat ownership, which included the type of house structure, the gender and the age of the participant. As yet, however, there is little understanding of the spatial distribution of pets throughout the regions where these data were collected. With all this in mind, the current paper describes the spatial distribution of pet dog and pet cat owning households on the island of Ireland (for brevity, subsequently referred to as 'Ireland').

There were an estimated 2,142,121 human households in Ireland in 2006.

The thematic choropleth maps are presented in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4. The density of households with a pet dog, and with a pet cat, in Ireland, the Dublin area and the Belfast area are presented in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. The proportion of households with a pet dog, and with a pet cat, in Ireland, the Dublin area and the Belfast area are presented in Figures 3 and 4, respectively.

Spatial maps and analyses have previously been used to present disease spread in pet dogs [22] and cats [23]. Some studies have used human demographic figures to predict overall populations of pet dogs [1, 10, 24] and cats [1, 24], but these results were not used to give an overall spatial description of the population. A study of cat ownership in Australia [25] displays a spatial representation of the proportion of cat owners, but only in the Sydney area and predictive factors were not considered. In our study, we used predictive probabilities of socio-demographic factors to determine the population of households that own a pet. These methods, as a means of demonstrating spatial distribution of pet ownership, have not been described previously.

One of the most dominant features of the maps in Figures 1 and 2 is the contrast between the densities of households owning dogs in urban areas with that of rural areas. The density of dog owning households is much higher in urban than rural districts. However, the spatial patterns are clearly different when considering the spatial distribution of the proportion of dog owning households (Figure 3), with this proportion being lower in urban compared to rural districts. These same features are also dominant in the cat owning households of Ireland (Figure 4). Cat owning households are sparse in rural areas (Figure 2), but the proportion of cat owning households is higher in urban districts (Figure 4). These findings can be explained somewhat by the difference in the density of households throughout Ireland. The number of households in inner-city electoral divisions (EDs) was as high as 10,581 per ED, whereas rural EDs were as low as 23 per ED [26].

In the large urban areas of Dublin and Belfast, there is an increase in the proportion of pet dog owning households in suburban districts compared to inner-city districts. In the UK, dog ownership has been shown to be associated with the presence of a garden [1], which may offer some explanation for the differences observed here. Suburban households generally have greater access to gardens and open green areas such as parks compared to inner city dwellings. These regional differences in pet dog ownership should be considered when setting up facilities for dog owners, and also when implementing animal control practices like dog warden numbers and disease surveillance.

In Ireland, most cats are adopted directly from the free-roaming population [21], which is likely to affect the spatial distribution of owned pet cats. The free-roaming population may be larger in suburban districts, given larger open spaces for cat colonies to form and greater access of free-roaming cats to houses through gardens. In inner-city apartment dwelling, access to households would be limited to ground floor apartments and there are fewer open spaces for colony formation.

This study was constrained by restricted access to census data as a consequence of data protection concerns [27]. Consequently, we were unable to predict pet ownership using more than one of the household factors that were previously identified as important [21]. Given this constraint, this study was conducted using household factors that were likely of greatest biological relevance to our study. Greater detail during mapping, and greater precision during estimation, would have been possible if all collected data had been available from the ROI and NI censuses. Also, projected estimates for NI household figures for 2006 were used instead of the actual census figures in 2001; as a consequence, there is less certainty about the 2006 NI (compared with ROI) estimates. The decision to use these figures was based on the aim to produce a uniform map reflecting the situation on the island of Ireland at a single point in time (namely, 2006). Spatial predictive probability modelling was of value in the current study, enabling us to utilise publicly available data, and to extrapolate results to both the surveyed and non-surveyed households.

This study presents the spatial distribution of pet dogs and pet cats on the island of Ireland. It also provides an insight into the spatial relationship between human households and the density of pet dogs and pet cats. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of the baseline, normal population is important as it provides information when determining the incidence of disease and when comparing stray pet numbers to owned pets. With this type of objective data, it is possible to make informed decisions and recommendations when analysing disease prevalence and risk of disease spread through the population. For example, if an outbreak of rabies were to occur in the pet population in Ireland, this information could inform subsequent investigations with knowledge of the expected population size and distribution of the pet dog population. This information is also beneficial in instigating veterinary care and product marketing, based on objective information about the density of pet ownership in given areas.