Owning a pet can be costly and new research from Sainsburys Finance has found that 56 per cent of vets claim that over the past five years, they have had to put down cats and/or dogs because their owners could not afford the expense of treating their conditions.
In addition, 88 per cent of vets state that they have experienced situations where owners have rejected a recommended course of treatment or operation because they could not afford to pay for it.
Sainsbury's Finance is advising pet owners not to do without cover. Joanne Mallon, Sainsbury's Pet Insurance Manager said: "It should be an essential item on a prospective owner's list when weighing up whether to purchase an animal or not. Doing without insurance is simply false economy and worse still could result in some heart breaking family decisions being made later down the line.
She added that advances in veterinary science mean that pets can get the best treatment nowadays, but these improvements come at higher costs and the financial burden is being felt by pet owners.




