1 in 4 Gen Zers say they've given up their pets due to high costs
(File: Sviatlana Barchan / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
High costs related to inflation are affecting everyone, including pet owners who are finding it tougher to manage the financial weight of having a furry companion.
In a new LendingTree survey, 25% of Gen Zers say they have given up their pets because they could no longer afford it.
To gather data for the report, LendingTree commissioned QuestionPro to conduct an online survey of 1,991 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 78 from July 1 to 8, 2024.
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The online lending marketplace learned that 85% of pet owners admitted that inflation is making pet ownership more expensive with 41% saying they are struggling to afford costs.
Meanwhile, some pet owners (37%) say they have gone into debt for their pet with 68% saying a medical emergency caused it, 64% of owners say they have had an unexpected medical expense for their pet, and only 27% have pet insurance.
Pet expenses are also depleting the funds of owners, with varying costs mentioned in the survey. When owners responded to a poll question asking what their biggest expense was, 76% said pet food, 56% said veterinarian services, and 40% said necessary supplies.
FILE-A dog has a drink of water from a bowl in New York City. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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Nearly a quarter of pet owners (23%) say they have considered not having a pet because of the costs, with 39% revealing that they will not own a pet again in the future.
Moreover, people without pets say they want to avoid the expense of having one. Among the 31% of individuals who do not have a pet, 25% said they cannot afford one.
The poll noted that 64% of people with pets say they make financial sacrifices for them, including scaling back on personal spending (29%), skipping vacations (19%) and taking on debt for other expenses (19%).