Paw-rental differences: How each generation views their pets

Half of Gen Z Americans consider themselves mom and dad — to their pet, according to new research. Older generations don’t.

From a companion to their literal child, different generations approach pet parenthood in different ways. A survey of 2,000 employed cat and dog owners split evenly by generation found that while their methods vary, the one thing they can agree on is that pets make their lives better (98%).

Older generations were most likely to see their fur babies as companions or their support systems (37% for Gen X and 39% for baby boomers) or simply a “pet” (54% and 51%).

Meanwhile, Gen Z sees no difference between their pet and an actual human child (48%) and millennials see them as siblings (13%).

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to go to extreme lengths for their well-being. Regardless of income or generational attitudes, all saw the value in investing in their pet’s health.

Gen X would happily drop an average of nearly $6,000 to save their pet’s life ($5,990.20), while Gen Z mirrors with an average of $5,957.90.

While many baby boomers are prepared for that expense and already have the money on hand (46%), the younger generations are willing to get creative.

Two in five Gen Z (43%) would ask for the money from family and friends, start a fundraising campaign (40%) or drain all of their bank accounts (24%). Taking things a step further, one in five (18%) would sell an organ to cover the cost.

Millennials, on the other hand, are more likely to take out a loan and go into debt (36%) or sell their car (21%).

Still, on average, Gen Z spends nearly double the amount of baby boomers on their pet every month: $216.20 and $134, respectively. Most pet parents are purchasing dry food (85%), treats (78%) and wet food (60%) on a monthly basis, though millennials are more than twice as likely as baby boomers to purchase new beds and clothing (28% vs 9% and 8%).

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Vetster (https://vetster.com), the survey explored how pets not only play an integral role in their owners’ lives but also expand into the hearts and minds of others.

Forty-two percent of those polled do not have human children. Of those, three-quarters believe that their parents are satisfied with being a grand“paw”rent.

In fact, 37% regularly “babysit” their “grandchildren” and 32% buy them gifts. A quarter (26%) say their own parents greet their pet first when visiting and it’s not unusual for their parents to ask how their pet is doing before them (21%).

“It isn’t just the younger generations who are looking to bring their pet into the human world: If given the opportunity, 58% of all respondents would love to bring their pet on vacation with them and 37% would like to bring them to work or their job or even the grocery store (35%),” said Mark Bordo, CEO of Vetster.

The survey also found 20% of pet parents polled currently work an entirely remote work model. Those respondents reap benefits from being home with their pet, such as reduced stress levels (51%) and being less worried about their pet’s well-being (42%).

And it would take a lot to leave those benefits behind: on average, it would take a 50% pay increase for those respondents to head back to a fully in-person position and leave their pet at home all day.

These respondents estimate that they saved upwards of $215 on average each month on pet care by working from home.

On the flip side, 61% of respondents work a fully in-person work model, while 17% work a hybrid one, with some in-person and some remote work.

Currently, about a quarter (26%) bring their pet into the office with them at least occasionally and 34% of their coworkers bring their pets on the same cadence.

In fact, those respondents like their coworker’ pets more than their coworkers (51% vs 31%).

Pets in the office even reduce stress levels for 73% of these respondents.

Still, another 28% said bringing their pet to the office isn’t allowed period. If they were able to do so, 59% believe that they’d feel more connected to their colleagues.

Almost three-quarters of all respondents (73%) agree that their pet is always a good topic to bring up when they want to bond with their coworkers.

“According to the results, more than half of respondents (53%) say that they have a pet-friendly workplace,” said Cerys Goodall, COO at Vetster. “This includes time off when their pet is sick (29%), pet insurance (24%) and telehealth access (17%). This shows that despite leaving many Americans to navigate work and pet parenthood on their own, they are more likely to have the resources to take care of their pets if their workplace is pet friendly.”