61% of BC pet owners buy gifts for pet: dumb?

by Rob Peters | December 20, 2007 at 01:42 pm

1588 views | 20 Recommendations | 18 comments

If I see any goldfish with little sweaters after Christmas I'm going to lose it.

Vancouver, BC – A new Ipsos Reid poll reveals that six-in-ten (61%) pet owners in British Columbia plan to buy (or have already bought) a present for one or more of their pets this holiday season. This includes 68% of dog owners, 61% of cat owners and 54% of other pet owners (e.g. fish, birds, rabbits, hamsters). Women pet owners (65%) are more likely than men (53%) to say they plan to buy a gift for their pet.

Among those planning to buy a present for a pet this holiday season, the average amount being spent is $30 (the average among all pet owners is $18). Average spending intentions are slightly higher among dog owners ($35) than among cat owners ($29). Average spending drops to $17 for owners of other types of pets.

Among those planning to buy a present, the top gifts are treats (72%) and toys (69%), followed by specialty food (27%), beds/sleeping mats (14%), collars (12%), seasonal accessories (10%) and grooming supplies (10%).

In other survey findings:

* 25% of pet owners plan to have a holiday stocking for their pet (31% of dog owners vs. 23% of cat owners).

* 22% of pet owners plan to buy a present for their pet to give to a family member, friend or other pet.

* 13% of pet owners plan to make their pet a special holiday dinner.

* 7% of pet owners plan to dress up their pet in holiday attire (10% of dog owners vs. 5% of cat owners).

* 6% of pet owners plan to make a holiday greeting card with a photo of their pet.

* 5% of pet owners plan to get a picture taken of their pet with Santa Claus (9% of dog owners vs. 3% of cat owners).

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Karen Hatter

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:00 on December 20th, 2007

Rob Peters, my dear cousin, in Pennsylvania, fits into the last statistic listed here, taking her furry 'babies', her three cats, appropriately attired (usually in a festive bow), for their pictures with Santa every year! They're very well behaved and never take off their bows! Her husband refuses to accompany her on these excursions.

brunsie24

at 15:15 on December 20th, 2007

I buy presents for my pets every year. I wrap them and put them under the tree. They even have a stocking hanging along side ours. They are part of the family and they should be allowed to take part in the holiday cheer. I buy presents for my mother in laws pet too.

pwalmsley

at 15:10 on December 20th, 2007

We get our dog a nice pig's ear and our cat some catnip for christmas every year... Nothing wrong with a little gift!

eckybay

at 15:22 on December 20th, 2007

Well, not only do I usually get my pets presents, but this year, my dogs are part of a gift exchange. I belong to an online forum for pets and all the pets have "Secret Santas" and sent presents for one another!

Karen Hatter

at 15:28 on December 20th, 2007

That's an adorable idea! Until my cat Shadow passed away, selected members of my family received cards from him.

Kaitlin

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:48 on December 20th, 2007

Dogs are people too, aren't they?

This is what I was raised to believe, at any rate; mine have stockings and get wrapped gifts, which I then have to unwrap. Waste, or fun? Or both? You decide. :)

Good stuff!

jefftuck47

at 15:48 on December 20th, 2007

We always buy our pets Christmas presents. Usually things we would get them anyway (e.g. treats for the cats and dogs, chew toys for the hampster, carrots for the rabbit, fish food).

jefftuck47 has contributed a photo to this story.

fallingbluedragon

at 16:39 on December 20th, 2007

This kitten was "the gift" LOL
Our cat (the mother) was an amazing little factory for a while and poplulated our part of the city with grey cats... now everyone has one :-)

fallingbluedragon has contributed a photo to this story.

Araleya

at 16:56 on December 20th, 2007

In Thailand we dress our some pets too, is that counted as a gift...
I sometimes buy their faverite foods occasionally and feel those are gift but not packed as gift

Araleya has contributed a photo to this story.

Donnas View

at 17:16 on December 20th, 2007

Emily, our calico, doesn't care about what's in the packages, just if she can fit on top of them.

Donnas View has contributed a photo to this story.

shymammi

at 17:24 on December 20th, 2007

My dogs are part of my family. I love them. I can't wait to give them their Christmas gifts!

shymammi has contributed a photo to this story.

Spankholio

at 18:14 on December 20th, 2007

Mr. Sassafrass.
He is defintately a Christmas cat. It did not matter if you were wrapping or unwrapping presents, he was there to help!
Do not try to take away his paper as it would be very hazardous to your hands, he has claws and knows how to use them!

Spankholio has contributed a photo to this story.

denseatoms

at 21:13 on December 20th, 2007

If it brings some happiness anywhere within the animal-human relationship, I'm for it. Glean joy where you can find it. Besides, it's really no worse than people losing themselves in Second Life and wasting emotions on avatars.

Asherblue

at 21:31 on December 20th, 2007

The perfect gift? Perhaps...

Asherblue has contributed a photo to this story.

pippawilson

at 05:20 on December 21st, 2007

I got myself caught in a 20 mins long cue @Petco store to buy presents for my kitties and my dog. I must say the atmosphere was nice and everywhere in the store people were testing toys and looking for the perfect outfit for their furry companions. I found all of this nice and sweet. Pets give us love and affection all through the year, why not buy them a little gift to play with during Christmas dinner?

pippawilson has contributed a photo to this story.

insaniac

at 06:18 on December 21st, 2007

I used to test potential chew toys myself, to make sure that my dog would like them. I miss my dog.

Edmund Jenks

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:21 on December 21st, 2007

Rob Peters, Good stuff.

It's all about the M1, you know, the movement of the money
supply. On the one hand it really, really dumb ... on the other hand, where
would our economy be without these people spending money on beings that don't
really know that they are the recipient of a gift!

Three cheers for the M1!

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

celeria

at 07:30 on December 21st, 2007

We have two dogs. They usually get stockings with some special sort
of excessively large dog biscuit. It's all a little silly -- we don't
dress them up, fix special meals, or *scrolls back to article* get
their picture taken with Santa -- but harmless.

The kitty in my picture, now a full-grown (and somewhat fat) cat, lives with her brother and her other mom, but we didn't get them presents the first year we had her. Somehow it seems less satisfying to buy presents for cats.

celeria has contributed a photo to this story.