Older adults lean on pets for purpose as care costs rise

Pets are still a major source of connection and meaning for older adults, but the financial side of care is becoming harder to ignore. That’s the central takeaway from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, released in February 2026, which found that 83% of pet parents age 50 and older say their pets give them a sense of purpose, while 31% say those pets strain their budget. The share reporting financial strain has climbed sharply since the poll last examined the issue in 2018, when 18% said the same. (ihpi.umich.edu)

The new report updates a topic the poll first explored seven years ago. Pet ownership itself has stayed relatively steady among older adults, with 57% reporting at least one pet today versus 55% in 2018. But the mix of perceived benefits has shifted. Compared with 2018, fewer older pet parents now say their pets help them cope with physical or emotional symptoms, stay physically active, or reduce stress. Even so, purpose remains stronger than before, and 70% say pets help connect them with other people, a notable finding at a time when loneliness and isolation remain major concerns in older populations. (ihpi.umich.edu)

Methodologically, the poll was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, using online and phone responses collected September 3-29, 2025, from 2,698 U.S. adults ages 50 to 95. For year-over-year comparisons with 2018, the researchers limited the comparison group to adults ages 50 to 80. The report also found that budget strain was more common among women, respondents reporting fair or poor physical or mental health, people with disabilities that limit daily activity, and those with household incomes under $60,000. In Michigan-specific findings, 38% of older pet parents said pets strained their budget, compared with 31% among older adults in the rest of the country. (ihpi.umich.edu)

University of Michigan researchers framed the findings as a healthy-aging issue, not just a pet issue. Preeti Malani, M.D., said the two polls show animals can play a key role in older adults’ lives, while also highlighting that some of the people who may benefit most are also the ones facing the biggest cost barriers. Poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., urged healthcare professionals to ask about pets directly, including whether a patient has support in place for pet care during hospitalization or recovery. The report’s implications section goes further, suggesting that fostering, pet-sitting, or spending time with a friend’s animal may offer some benefits without the full financial and caregiving demands of ownership. (ihpi.umich.edu)

For veterinary professionals, the findings reinforce a pattern that’s showing up elsewhere in the market. A January 2026 PetSmart Charities-Gallup survey found that 94% of veterinarians say client finances sometimes or often limit recommended care. The same study described a disconnect around affordability conversations: while 81% of veterinarians said they often or always recommend an alternative plan when care is declined because of cost, earlier pet parent data found that 73% of those who declined care said they were not offered a more financially accessible option. Taken together, those figures suggest that affordability discussions may be happening, but not always in ways clients recognize, remember, or can act on. That’s an inference, but it fits the data. (petsmartcharities.org)

Why it matters: Older adults are often among the most attached clients in companion animal practice, and many are managing fixed incomes, chronic illness, mobility limitations, or both. This poll suggests the human-animal bond in that group remains strong, but the economics are getting tighter. For clinics, that raises practical questions about how to present estimates, stage diagnostics and treatment, discuss preventive care before problems become urgent, and help clients plan for contingencies such as hospitalization, rehabilitation, or end-of-life transitions. It also supports a broader view of access to care: not only whether a client can pay for treatment today, but whether they can sustainably remain a pet parent over time. (ihpi.umich.edu)

There’s also a welfare and ethics angle. If cost is increasingly keeping older adults from having pets, or making continued care harder, veterinary teams may see more delayed presentations, difficult treatment tradeoffs, and preventable relinquishment risk. Community-based aging resources already note common concerns around fixed-income pet care, future pet planning, and what happens if an older adult can no longer manage daily care. That makes veterinary medicine an important touchpoint not just for medical care, but for early identification of risk and connection to social supports, family planning, rescue-backed assistance, or local access-to-care programs. (socialwork.pitt.edu)

What to watch: The next step is likely less about whether pets help older adults and more about how health systems, veterinary practices, and community organizations respond to the affordability gap, especially as both people and pets live longer and require more complex care. (ihpi.umich.edu)