Family Pets Are Overlooked Victims Of Affordability Crisis
A lack of competition in the pet care market is leading to higher prices
Ask America’s veterinarians what keeps them from giving pets the care they’d recommend, and nearly all of them, 94 percent, will tell you the same thing: the client just can’t afford it. That’s from a new survey by Gallup and PetSmart Charities, and anecdotally, pet owners tell the same story.
The number one reason a sick dog or cat goes untreated in America is the price of treatment. This reality should bother anyone with a leash hanging on the door or a pooper scooper in the closet. By one industry estimate, caring for a dog over its lifetime now runs about $35,000, and the cost of caring for a cat isn’t far behind. One cat owner told CBS News her routine vet visit doubled from $50 to $100, and her first month with a new cat, who turned out to be epileptic, cost nearly $1,000. According to one study, 22 percent of pet owners are carrying more than $2,000 in pet debt.
Paws Chicago, one of the largest no-kill shelters in the country, reports a 28 percent increase in pet surrenders this year and cites medical costs as a factor. That tracks with previous American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) research, which found most owners surrendering pets did so because they couldn’t afford or access medical care. For young families already squeezed by the cost of housing, groceries, and childcare, the family dog is quickly becoming a luxury good.
I grew up with both dogs and cats, so I know the experience of expensive pet care firsthand. The animal on the table is part of the family. He sleeps at the foot of your bed and waits excitedly when you return from school or work. Most of us would consider selling a kidney before we would let our pet suffer. But when the estimate comes back and the math doesn’t math, what is a responsible pet owner supposed to do? Are they supposed to take out an installment loan or sign up for a pet care credit card to take a chance that maybe — just maybe — an expensive experimental treatment might save their furry friend?