Pet owners will spend £683.98 on their furry friends in a year, which is £47.16 more than they spend on treating their significant other in a year.
Hamsters are the nation’s most affordable pet to keep, at just £62.84 a month. Dog owners can expect to spend more than £10,000 on their pooch in a lifetime, according to a survey by Wilko.
Pet-loving Londoners spend the most at £963 a year, while those in Northern Ireland spend the least, at just £525.48 per year.
Almost a quarter of those who buy clothes and accessories for their pets admitted they do so simply so they can post cute photos on Facebook or Instagram.
In fact – pets and social media go together so well, one in seven has their own social media account.
Half of pet owners (52 percent) celebrate their pet’s birthday – with men more likely to than their female counterparts. Hosts spend on average £111 on a pet birthday party, while a further one in ten have hosted pet Christenings, weddings and funerals.
But it’s not just money we’re investing – we’re also spending more time with our pets than our partners – an additional two hours and 20 minutes a week. In an average day, we spend four hours and 41 minutes a day with pets.
Pet owners also admitted they enjoyed shopping for their pets more than their own children.
Most expensive pets to keep (per year)
- Horse / Pony: £2,022.36
- Bird: £1,042.80
- Rat: £1,106.04
- Turtle/Tortoise: £1,103.88
- Chicken/Domestic fowl: £976.80
- Snake/Reptile: £866.28
- Dog: £787.20
- Rabbit: £773.28
- Hamster: £754.08
- Fish: £682.56
- Cat: £676.32
- Guinea Pig: £759.84
- Hamster: £754.08
Neil Fairhurst, head of pets at Wilko, commented: “For many, pets are considered another member of the family and given the unconditional love and loyalty they offer, it’s not surprising that we want to spoil them.
“Our customers love to go the extra mile for their pets – so why not celebrate their life milestones?”
