The Cost of Having a Pet

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There are 36 million pets in the UK, which doesn't include fish and other aquatics, and the cost of owning one can add up.

One of the biggest bills a pet owner can face is the price of taking their animal to the vet.

The Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation earlier this year into whether people are paying too much and whether they are getting information about treatment options. It says the 'unprecedented response' it's had shows the strength of feeling.

Aside from that, there's the general cost of care like food and heating bills.

This week Felicity Hannah is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux, dog owner, vet and current president of the British Veterinary Association and by Lisa Webb, dog and cat owner and senior lawyer at the consumer organisation Which?

We also hear from an award winning dog breeder, a cat and rabbit rescue centre and even head to a dog Christmas party - although we must point out, a pet is for life, not just for the festive season.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle

(This episode was first broadcast on Saturday the 28th of December 2024).

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Greg Jenner. I'm the host of Your Dead to Me, where the best names in comedy and history
0:05.5	join me to learn about and laugh at the past. You are a traitor. And in the new series, we'll meet
0:11.2	Aristotle. I think he might have been a time traveller. Someone who's like almost a glitch.
0:15.3	We'll dive into the causes of the British Civil Wars in the 1600s. In England at this period,
0:19.8	there's people can't get on the housing ladder.
0:21.5	This sounds familiar. And we'll discover the arts and crafts movement. I love the clothes. I love
0:26.5	the vibe. Yes, we're a comedy show that takes history seriously and then laughs at it. You're dead to me.
0:31.3	Listen first on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, Radio, podcasts.
0:42.8	Hello, welcome to this special Moneybox podcast, where I want you to be really honest.
0:46.2	If you have a pet, did you buy it a Christmas present this year?
0:50.5	And if you did, you don't need to be embarrassed because you are definitely not alone.
0:56.8	Around 60% of owners said they gave an animal a gift this Christmas. And that is a lot of people.
1:02.1	There are 36 million pets in the UK, which doesn't even include fish and other aquatics.
1:10.6	And I do like to think some goldfish out there got presents this year. In the UK, we spend a lot of money on looking after our pets and on treating them too. We bought a cateo, almost like a shed that you put on the patio for cats to go in.
1:15.6	They hated it.
1:16.6	Yes, there are no guarantees they will actually like their treats.
1:20.6	And when things go wrong, it can get even more expensive.
1:23.6	Just over £8,000.
1:25.6	They always say cats have nine lives, don't they? Or she's used at most of them.
1:30.3	So in this special episode of Moneybox, we're talking about the cost of pets, from treats to vet bills to insurance.
1:38.3	And when I say treats, I did even go to a dog Christmas party, which was a very hard day in the office. Now, the first
1:46.0	money you spend on a pet is usually the cost of getting it. Now, there are different ways to
	...

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