To mark Russia’s National Cat Day celebrated on March 1, the country’s largest classified ads website Avito carried out an extensive analysis of all customer activities related to pedigree cats on its platform.
According to Avito, users most often searched for Scottish Fold (36.9 percent), British Shorthair (22.6) and Main Coon cats (8.6). Bengal, Canadian, and Don Sphynx - as well as Abyssinian cats - also made it to the top seven.
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It turned out that every sixth user of the website was looking for a cat to buy and the majority of such searches came from Izhevsk (26.4), St. Petersburg (25.2) and Barnaul (24.7).
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How much does it cost to get a furry pedigree pet in Russia? Avito reports that on average such cats cost 13,200 rubles ($232). The most expensive are the Canadian Sphynx (21,300 rubles or $375), Bengals (19,000 rubles or $355), and Main Coon cats (17,100 rubles or $301). The cheapest breeds include Persian (6,200 rubles or $109) and Don Sphynx cats (6,800 rubles or $120).
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What’s more, the prices for Canadian and Don Sphynx cats went up over a year. While the Don Sphynx got more expensive by 18.5 percent, the Canadian Sphynx grew almost twice in price – by 97.1 percent. Scottish Folds and British cats got cheaper though – by 41.4 and 55.7 percent.
Not all Russians are buying cats though. There are many ads on Avito that offer pets for free - but only to good homes. Russians are considered the world’s biggest lovers of cats after all!