Whether for religious rituals, pest control, or companionship, humans have kept domesticated cats since ancient times. Today, we have facilitated their populations to such a degree as to allow these curious carnivores to list among the most populous mammals on the face of the earth.

10. Japan (7.25 million)
Japanese people have a longstanding and loving relationship with cats. The affection towards cats is so great in the country that Japanese art and literature has scores of examples where the cat is the primary subject.

9. Ukraine (7.5 million)
Ukraine has an extremely large cat population of about 7.5 million. Though a large number of Ukrainian households have pet cats, the country also has a significant stray cat population.

8. Germany (7.75 million)
Germans love their cats. This is evidenced by the cat population figures from the country, estimated to be about 7.75 million-strong nationwide.

7. UK (7.75 million)
The United Kingdom has a large percentage of its households owning a pet cat. The country also has some of the most well-developed animal welfare laws in the world.

6. Italy (9.5 million)
While pet cats in Italy enjoy a lot of privileges, stray cats are not far behind. They are allowed to roam around freely in the streets of the country under the admirable glances of their human lovers, as the country has a large number of no-kill shelters for its feral and stray cat populations.

5. France (9.5 million)
The French own cats for different reasons, with some doing so out of pure love for the furry creatures, while others are doing so for more practical purposes, like using the cats as a fashion symbol or for companionship.

4. Brazil (12.5 million)
Though Brazil has a large (and still rising) domestic cat population, lack of recorded data makes it difficult to estimate the individual estimates for pet, stray, and feral cat populations in the country.

3. Russia (12.75 million)
Russia has a burgeoning cat population which today stands at an estimated 12.75 million. Russians, in general, bear a warm hearted and loving attitude towards their animals.

2. China (53 million)
China is home to around 53 million cats. China, having the third-largest pet industry in the world, definitely has a substantial pet cat population.

1. USA (76.5 million)
Cats are one of the most favored pets of the USA’s citizens. In the United States, one in three households own a pet cat, with an average of 2.2 cats per cat-owning household.

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