Cats will be the most common pets in the United states of america. In accordance with the latest version of your U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook (2002 Edition) there were almost 70 Million pet cats in the United states of america. Why are cats so common? There are as many answers to this question as there are cat owners, but the low overall health risks cats pose to their owners is certainly near the top of this list. Even though the potential overall health risks cats pose to people are small, it is important that cat owners are aware of these risks and understand how to reduce them.