Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA

August 10-16, 2025

At the AVMA Convention in Washington, D.C., an expert panel spotlighted a growing concern: Nearly 80% of pet owners underestimate the total cost of caring for their animals over a lifetime. The panel discussion, titled “Navigating the Lifetime Cost of Pet Care,” drew attention to a widening financial preparedness gap among pet owners.

Synchrony’s Pet Lifetime of Care 2025 report revealed that, over a 15-year lifespan, dog care costs now range from $22,125 to $60,602, while cat care ranges between $20,073 and $47,106. In contrast, owners typically estimate far lower — around $8,158 for dogs and $5,735 for cats. And, while the cost of care for small companion animals is $7,600 to $14,938 over 6 years, pet owners expect to pay just $3,000.

Financial anxiety is also rising. The share of pet owners worried about unexpected expenses has jumped to 50%, up from just 33% in 2022. “That means 50% of people walking in your door are panicking,” said panel moderator Dr. Peter Weinstein.
The panelists, Dr. Courtney Campbell (CareCredit), Lior Keren (Pumpkin Pet Insurance), and Jonathan Wainberg (Synchrony), emphasized proactive steps veterinary professionals can take:

• Get comfortable talking about finances and start conversations about payment solutions up front. According to the report, 4 in 5 pet owners want to know about financial options.
• Ask “Who is your insurance provider?” on intake forms.
• Stress the importance of preventive care visits to clients. “Because when you catch stuff early, you don’t have to have that more expensive sick visit or emergency visit, which puts more strain and stress on pet owners,” said Wainberg.

As pet owners increasingly view their animals as family, the panel urged veterinary professionals to champion both financial readiness and preventive wellness, ensuring pets receive the care they need without compromising owners’ peace of mind.

 

Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker for daily stats.

 

 

+1.3% Revenue YoY (Last Week)

-3.4% Visits YoY (Last Week)

 

Year-over-year veterinary industry revenue was 1.3% last week, a drop from the previous week’s 2.0%. Meanwhile, visits plunged from -1.4% to -3.4%.

 

-9.2% Heartworm YoY

-8.4% Flea/Tick YoY

 

 

+2.7% Services YoY

-3.0% Products YoY

 

Parasiticide purchases continued to fall last week, with year-over-year heartworm and flea/tick dipping from -5.1% and -5.5% to -9.2% and -8.4% respectively. Year-over-year service revenue was 2.7%, a slight decline from 3.1% the week prior, and product revenue fell from -1.2% to -3.0%.

 

 

+2.2% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months)

-2.9% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months)

 

The rolling 14-day trendline showed revenue and visits holding fairly steady for the past month.

 

 

6,253 Practices

2.2M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months)

10.1K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months)

 

Maine enjoyed the highest year-over-year revenue growth again last week at 6.0%, while Oregon saw the most growth in year-over-year visits at 0.2%. No other states experienced positive growth in visits, but Iowa and Mississippi saw the smallest declines at -0.7% and -0.8% respectively.

*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.

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