How Much Waste Does a Cat-and-Dog Household Produce?A Better Pet Living Guide.
A realistic look at how much waste a household with both a cat and a dog produces, and where most of it actually comes from.
Households with both a cat and a dog typically produce waste across five main categories — litter, food and treat packaging, poo bags, worn-out toys and bedding, and grooming products — with litter and food packaging usually making up the largest share by volume.
Where the waste actually comes from
Litter: For cat owners, spent litter is often the single largest recurring waste stream in the home, simply because of how frequently it's replaced.
Food and treat packaging: Multi-layer pouches, tins, and individually wrapped treats add up quickly, especially in multi-pet households buying for different sizes and life stages.
Waste bags: Poo bags for dog walks and litter-disposal bags for cats are small individually, but frequent enough to become a meaningful category over a year.
Toys, bedding and grooming products: Lower in frequency but often plastic-heavy, and rarely designed to be recycled or repaired.
Why this is worth thinking about
Most owners have never actually totalled this up — it tends to feel like background noise rather than a measurable footprint. Seeing it broken into categories makes it easier to spot where a single change (like litter type, or bulk-buying food) would have the biggest impact.
Bestami's honest view
We don't have a single verified figure for "the average cat-and-dog household," because usage varies enormously by pet size, number of pets, and habits. What we can say is that litter and food packaging are consistently the two biggest categories worth looking at first if you want to reduce your household's pet-related waste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which produces more waste — a cat or a dog?
It depends heavily on litter habits versus food and walking-related waste; cats typically generate more litter waste, dogs typically generate more poo-bag and food-packaging waste through more frequent outdoor walks.
Where should I start if I want to reduce this?
Litter and food packaging are usually the highest-volume categories, so starting there tends to have the biggest impact for the least lifestyle change.