Want a pet? Watch out – they are a pricey proposition

Dog and cat ownership is booming. But before you invest in a furry friend, consider how much it costs to buy, feed, care for and insure one.

Woman with a dog
The price of a puppy has doubled to £1,400
(Image credit: © Getty Images)

The crisis has led to a boom in pet sales, with lockdown prompting many of us to decide that we could do with one to keep us company. Pets4Homes, the free pet classified-advertisements site, says it rehomed 2,000 pets per day during lockdown.

If you got a pet the chances are you paid a lot for it. With demand fast outstripping supply, prices have rocketed, with the average cost of a puppy doubling to £1,400. Cocker spaniels saw the biggest price rise. A puppy would have set you back by an average £2,109 in June, triple the cost 12 months earlier. The price of cats also shot up by almost a third during lockdown. People were parting with almost £400 on average for a kitten.

If you are inclined to get a pet, be careful. In March and April 669 people lost £282,686 to pet cons, according to Action Fraud. Scammers post advertisements online despite not having any animals to sell. They ask for a deposit, then more money for insurance, vaccinations and delivery, but the pet never appears.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Always “identify a Kennel Club Assured Breeder, or find a breeder through a personal recommendation”, Paula Boyden, Dog Trust’s veterinary director told the Daily Mirror. Ensure you “see a puppy, even if it’s over a video call, and ask to see vital paperwork, such as a puppy contract”. Before you get a pet, consider how much it can cost you over its lifetime. Food, vets’ bills and other costs add up to an average of £4,500 for a small dog, rising to £13,000 for a large breed, according to the PDSA. The average cat will cost its owner around £12,000.

The next question is pet insurance. It is a booming industry, with 3.6 million policies. “Given the high costs of veterinary care, a growing number of pet owners are... paying a steady monthly premium for peace of mind,” says Nick Johnstone in the Financial Times. “Claims have nearly doubled to £815m in the past six years.”

The average pet insurance claim is £793. Before you sign up, note that the average premium for a dog over the age of five is £381 a year, according to moneysupermarket.com. If you have a dog that lives for 15 years, it would cost £4,975 to insure it. If you have savings to cover vets’ bills in the early years, then another option is to self-insure. Rather than pay an insurer you put the equivalent premium into a savings account. That way you have the money to pay for any problems that arise, but if Fido has a healthy life you still have your savings.

Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.