Profit from pampered pooches

Pets are big business. 63% of American households have at least one pet, and spending on pets has nearly doubled over the last decade. Many new players have entered the market. Eoin Gleeson examines the sector, and picks the best company to invest in.

At the age of 14, Chuckie the cat developed diabetes. Then a thyroid problem. Then he started having seizures. Soon he was surviving on a cocktail of drugs and knocking into furniture as he struggled to keep his balance. It was no life for a cat. So his owner faced a dilemma. Keep paying for hugely expensive procedures to prolong the life of her beloved cat or let him go?

It's a dilemma faced by thousands of households. It may seem incredible to non-pet owners, but consumer spending on pets has nearly doubled over the last decade, with the US (perhaps predictably) leading the way. All that lavish spending means cats and dogs, just like humans, are living much longer, and running up major medical bills in the process.

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Eoin came to MoneyWeek in 2006 having graduated with a MLitt in economics from Trinity College, Dublin. He taught economic history for two years at Trinity, while researching a thesis on how herd behaviour destroys financial markets.