Half of Gen Z see their pets as actual children

Half of Gen Z Americans consider themselves mom and dad — to their pet, according to new research. Older generations don’t.

From a companion to their literal child, different generations approach pet parenthood in different ways. A survey of 2,000 employed cat and dog owners split evenly by generation found that while their methods vary, the one thing they can agree on is that pets make their lives better (98%).

Older generations were most likely to see their fur babies as companions or their support systems (37% for Gen X and 39% for baby boomers) or simply a “pet” (54% and 51%).

Meanwhile, Gen Z sees no difference between their pet and an actual human child (48%) and millennials see them as siblings (13%).

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to go to extreme lengths for their well-being. Regardless of income or generational attitudes, all saw the value in investing in their pet’s health.

Gen X would happily drop an average of nearly $6,000 to save their pet’s life ($5,990.20), while Gen Z mirrors with an average of $5,957.90.

While many baby boomers are prepared for that expense and already have the money on hand (46%), the younger generations are willing to get creative.

Two in five Gen Z (43%) would ask for the money from family and friends, start a fundraising campaign (40%) or drain all of their bank accounts (24%). Taking things a step further, one in five (18%) would sell an organ to cover the cost.

Millennials, on the other hand, are more likely to take out a loan and go into debt (36%) or sell their car (21%).

Still, on average, Gen Z spends nearly double the amount of baby boomers on their pet every month: $216.20 and $134, respectively. Most pet parents are purchasing dry food (85%), treats (78%) and wet food (60%) on a monthly basis, though millennials are more than twice as likely as baby boomers to purchase new beds and clothing (28% vs 9% and 8%).

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Vetster, the survey explored how pets not only play an integral role in their owners’ lives but also expand into the hearts and minds of others.

Forty-two percent of those polled do not have human children. Of those, three-quarters believe that their parents are satisfied with being a grand“paw”rent.

In fact, 37% regularly “babysit” their “grandchildren” and 32% buy them gifts. A quarter (26%) say their own parents greet their pet first when visiting and it’s not unusual for their parents to ask how their pet is doing before them (21%).

“It isn’t just the younger generations who are looking to bring their pet into the human world: If given the opportunity, 58% of all respondents would love to bring their pet on vacation with them and 37% would like to bring them to work or their job or even the grocery store (35%),” said Mark Bordo, CEO of Vetster.

The survey also found 20% of pet parents polled currently work an entirely remote work model. Those respondents reap benefits from being home with their pet, such as reduced stress levels (51%) and being less worried about their pet’s well-being (42%).

And it would take a lot to leave those benefits behind: on average, it would take a 50% pay increase for those respondents to head back to a fully in-person position and leave their pet at home all day.

These respondents estimate that they saved upwards of $215 on average each month on pet care by working from home.

On the flip side, 61% of respondents work a fully in-person work model, while 17% work a hybrid one, with some in-person and some remote work.

Currently, about a quarter (26%) bring their pet into the office with them at least occasionally and 34% of their coworkers bring their pets on the same cadence.

In fact, those respondents like their coworker’ pets more than their coworkers (51% vs 31%).
Pets in the office even reduce stress levels for 73% of these respondents.

Still, another 28% said bringing their pet to the office isn’t allowed period. If they were able to do so, 59% believe that they’d feel more connected to their colleagues.

Almost three-quarters of all respondents (73%) agree that their pet is always a good topic to bring up when they want to bond with their coworkers.

“According to the results, more than half of respondents (53%) say that they have a pet-friendly workplace,” said Cerys Goodall, COO at Vetster. “This includes time off when their pet is sick (29%), pet insurance (24%) and telehealth access (17%). This shows that despite leaving many Americans to navigate work and pet parenthood on their own, they are more likely to have the resources to take care of their pets if their workplace is pet friendly.”
 
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 employed cat and dog owners split evenly by generation (500 Gen Z, 500 millennials, 500 Gen X and 500 baby boomers); the survey was commissioned by Vetster and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between April 17 and April 22, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:
● Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
● Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in
Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:
● Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
● Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
● Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
● Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once
It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.