Pet Spending Recession-Proof as 75 Percent of Pet Owners Report the Economy Doesn't Affect How Much They Spend on Their Pets, Reveals New CouponCabin.com Survey

-- More Than One-Quarter of Pet Owners Would Put Their Pet's Health Care Needs Before Their Own --

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May 02, 2012, 07:00 ET

WHITING, Ind., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet spending appears to be recession-proof. A new CouponCabin.com survey reveals that three-in-four (75 percent) pet owners said that the state of the economy doesn't affect how much money they spend on their pets. Twelve percent report they spend $101 or more per month on their pets, while more than one in five (21 percent) said they spend $51-$100 per month on their pets. This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin from April 19th –23rd, 2012, among 2,211 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, of which 1,299 are pet owners.

Sometimes, the integral role pets play in family life means that a pet's wellbeing can trump that of others. More than one-quarter (26 percent) of pet owners would put their pets' health care needs before their own. In addition, nearly one-in-five (17 percent) said they don't currently have pet insurance, but might be interested in purchasing it. Seven percent of pet owners said they currently own pet insurance.

Pets' importance in their owners' lives can even surpass that of their other relationships. More than one-third (34 percent) of pet owners said they spend less on their friends than they do on their pets. Thirty-two percent spend less on their family than they do on their pets, while 22 percent spend less on themselves than they do on their pets.

"Pets play a huge role in our society and are often treated like members of the family," said Jackie Warrick, President and Chief Savings Officer at CouponCabin.com. "Many people keep their pet spending within reason, but sometimes it can get out of control. It's important to keep an eye on how much you're spending on your animal companions and not get carried away with extravagant or unnecessary pet purchases."

While many pet owners are able to keep their pet spending in check, others take things a bit too far. In fact, nearly eight-in-ten (78 percent) U.S. adults strongly or somewhat agree that some people spend too much money on their pets.

Expensive and unnecessary grooming treatments top the list of excessive pet spending. When asked which of the following they consider as purchases that are too expensive to spend on a pet, U.S. adults said the following:

Getting your pet a professional massage – 77 percent
Paying for beauty and groom treatments beyond typical grooming (nail polish, hair styling, body wraps, etc…) – 73 percent
Extravagant pet hotels and boarding – 71 percent
Regularly buying your pet gourmet food – 48 percent
Medicating your pet for any psychological needs (e.g. anxiety medicine, depression medicine, etc…) – 44 percent
Paying for expensive experimental health treatments (e.g. new cancer treatments to save pet's life) – 40 percent
Buying your pet too many toys – 33 percent

http://bit.ly/CCpets

Survey Methodology:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin from April 19th – April 23rd, 2012, among 2,211 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, of which 1,299 are pet owners. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact: Allison Nawoj, [email protected].

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SOURCE CouponCabin.com