Overall usage rates for veterinary services among dog- and cat-owning households is at 71%, down from a high of 85% during the pandemic period and down from the 77% of pre-pandemic 2019, according to a data report published by Packaged Facts.
The new report cited costs as being the among the chief reasons for fewer veterinary service calls – the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics determined veterinary services cost 7.5% more in September versus one year earlier. Declines in dog ownership rates in the post-pandemic years are also a contributing factor – dogs receive vet care at significantly higher rates than cats.
The new report found millennials and Gen Z pet parents are more likely than their baby boomer counterparts to be strongly concerned about the affordability of emergency healthcare (at 53% to 43%, respectively), the cost of prescription pet medications (42% vs. 27%), and the affordability of routine pet healthcare (39% vs. 31%). Furthermore, many pet owners facing financial difficulties in the current economic are forced to either borrow money for pet care, to decline pet care treatment because they could not afford it, or to resort to payday loans or other loan alternatives to cover veterinary bills.
Report analyst David Sprinkle called on veterinary practices to “include offering a wider range of economical services to reclaim a greater share of pet owners as clients.”
