Older adults say pets give purpose, but costs are rising

Older Americans are saying more clearly than before that pets help give their lives structure, meaning, and connection, but a growing share also says that bond is getting harder to afford. New findings from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging show that among pet parents ages 50 to 80, 83% say their pets give them a sense of purpose, up from 73% in 2018, while 31% now say pet care strains their budget, nearly double the 18% reported seven years ago. (ihpi.umich.edu)

The poll updates a question set first asked in 2018 and reflects a period in which veterinary affordability has become a much more visible issue across the profession. Pet ownership rates among older adults were largely stable, with 57% of adults age 50 and older reporting at least one pet, compared with 55% in 2018. But the economics around that relationship appear to have shifted. In the new poll, one-third of adults over 50 who do not have pets said cost is a main reason why. (ihpi.umich.edu)

Methodologically, the University of Michigan report draws on a nationally representative survey of 2,698 U.S. adults ages 50 to 95, conducted online and by phone from September 3 to 29, 2025, by NORC at the University of Chicago. For year-over-year comparison with 2018, the researchers analyzed the 50-to-80 subgroup from the 2025 sample. Beyond purpose, 70% of current older pet parents said pets connect them with others, 63% said pets reduce stress, and 44% said pets help them stay physically active. The budget strain was not evenly distributed: women, respondents with household incomes under $60,000, people reporting fair or poor physical or mental health, and those with activity-limiting disabilities were more likely to say pet care strained their finances. (ihpi.umich.edu)

University of Michigan geriatrician Preeti Malani, who advised the poll research team, said the two surveys show that animals can play “a key role” in healthy aging while also highlighting a cost problem for people who may benefit most from pet companionship. That framing fits with broader industry data released earlier this year. In the PetSmart Charities-Gallup State of Pet Care study, 94% of veterinarians said clients’ financial considerations sometimes or often limit their ability to provide recommended care, and 74% said euthanasia for financial reasons is one of the hardest parts of the job. Gallup’s summary described a profession dealing with the clinical and emotional consequences of affordability constraints for pets, families, and care teams. (ihpi.umich.edu)

For veterinary teams, the practical takeaway isn’t just that older clients love their pets. It’s that many of them may be highly motivated to pursue care, yet increasingly vulnerable to cost-related delays, declined treatment, or silent nonadherence. The Gallup-PetSmart Charities data suggest communication gaps remain: only 17% of veterinarians said they proactively try to understand a client’s financial concerns before making recommendations, while 49% do so afterward and 34% address costs only if the client raises the issue. At the same time, most veterinarians are familiar with spectrum of care, but only about half say they often or always apply it. (gallup.com)

That matters in geriatric and chronic-care settings, where older pet parents may be managing fixed incomes, their own health limitations, transportation barriers, or competing household expenses. Animal welfare groups have increasingly framed affordability support as a pet-retention strategy, arguing that access to veterinary care, supplies, and related services can keep people and pets together when the bond is strong but resources are thin. The ASPCA, for example, explicitly positions affordable veterinary care and practical support as part of “keeping pets and people together.” (aspca.org)

The bigger issue for practices may be how to respond without oversimplifying the problem. This poll does not suggest older adults are retreating from pets; if anything, the emotional importance of pets appears to be rising. But it does suggest that the client experience around affordability deserves more attention, especially for older adults who may be less likely to volunteer financial stress until a care plan already feels out of reach. Clinics that build earlier cost discussions, tiered treatment options, and referral lists for charitable or low-cost resources may be better positioned to preserve continuity of care and the human-animal bond. That last point is partly an inference from the poll and access-to-care data, but it is well supported by the broader evidence on affordability barriers in veterinary medicine. (ihpi.umich.edu)

What to watch: The next development to monitor is whether practices, nonprofits, and industry groups turn these findings into more concrete support models for older pet parents, especially around spectrum-of-care protocols, payment flexibility, and community-based access-to-care partnerships. (gallup.com)