More people insuring dogs than cats

One in three dog owners insure their pet, while less than in one five cat owners insure their feline, Saga Pet Insurance has found.

14:42 07 January 2005

One in three dog owners insure their pet, while less than one in five cat owners insure their feline, Saga Pet Insurance has found.

A survey by the insurer found that only 32 per cent of dog owners have insurance to cover their pet in the event that they need treatment, while a mere 17 per cent of cat owners cover their animals with insurance.

But 21 per cent of dog owners said they would splash out more than 2,000 to save their pet, with ten per cent of cat owners expressing a similar sentiment.

In fact, if their pet faced treatment which would cost more than 1,500, 32 per cent of cat owners would consider "putting their pet to sleep", with 14 per cent of dog owners saying they would take a similar course.

These figures make the fact that many pet owners do not have pet insurance increasingly surprising, especially as Datamonitor has reported it can cost 1,000 to treat a cat or dog with a broken leg or respiratory condition.

"Around 1.24 billion is spent on vet fees every year and some 625,000 pet owners will spend 500 or more a year on this," David Pickett, Sainsbury's Bank pet insurance manager, noted.

And in addition to the specific costs of treatment, last month Sainsbury's revealed that the average dog costs its owners 981 a year, with the average cat costing of 476 a year.

Michael Cutbill, director of Saga Pet Insurance, said: "We may be a nation of animal lovers, but with twice as many people insuring their dogs as their cats it appears George Orwell was right when he wrote, 'all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others'."