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PETS

How much does it cost to keep a pet in Spain?

Many people in Spain own a pet, but how much does it actually cost to keep your furry friend? Find out what the average expenses in Spain are for vet bills, pet food, and pet insurance.

Published: 14 September 2022 16:16 CEST
Updated: 10 November 2023 13:04 CET
How much does it cost to keep a pet in Spain?
Pet costs in Spain. Photo: Andrew S / Unsplash

Let’s face it, owning a pet can be expensive, as well as basic items such as food, leashes, and litter trays, there are vet bills to pay, vaccination and grooming costs, which can soon mount up.  

According to the most recent data from Veterindustria, the Spanish Business Association of Animal Health and Nutrition in collaboration with the National Association of Pet Food Manufacturers (ANFAAC), 50.2 percent of families in Spain own some type of pet.

A survey by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) suggests that 65 percent ​​of the owners have a dog, 44 percent have a cat, 15 percent have a small bird, 11 percent have a turtle, seven percent have fish and just six percent have a hamster or other type of rodent.

The OCU discovered that people in Spain spend an average of €1,131 per year on a dog and €986 on a cat. This can be quite a big expense and works out to €94.25 per month for dog owners and €82.16 per month for cat owners.

Find out how is this broken up, what the biggest expense is, and if there are any ways you can save money as a pet owner in Spain.

READ ALSO – Renting in Spain when you have a pet: What are my rights?

Pet food costs

The biggest expense in owning a pet is food, according to the OCU survey. Pet owners spend an average of €47 per month on dog food and €44 on cats. This equates to €564 and €528 per year respectively.

But, pet food doesn’t need to be so expensive, in fact, the OCU state that it’s possible to save up to €300 per year if you choose wisely.

During their pet study, they also discovered that the most expensive brands of pet food weren’t necessarily the best and did not always meet the nutritional needs of the animal.

For cats, they discovered that a 5kg bag of dry food costs between €0.40 and €0.50 per day, while wet food costs €4 per day.

Be aware, that the report found there were no good dry food brands that completely met the nutritional needs of a cat for less than €3 per kg, so while you can save money it’s best not to buy the very cheapest brands on the market.

READ ALSO: Can Brits move to Spain with their pets post-Brexit?

Veterinary costs

Whatever happens, at some point you will need to take your pet to the vet. Even if they don’t get sick very often, they will need vaccinations, check-ups, and sterilisation.

According to a report by the Spanish Veterinary Management Studies (VMS), the average price of a vet visit in Spain is €34.

Average prices for other common veterinary services include ultrasounds (€56), X-rays (€40), rabies vaccine (€26), castration of dogs (€150) and cats (€85), and mouth or teeth cleaning (€108).  

In Barcelona, the prices were among the highest in the country, well above the average, while in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, the prices were below the average.  It is also worth noting that veterinary centres have increased their prices by 4.98 percent since last year, due to recent inflation.  

When you first get a pet there are other costs involved too, such as the registration and microchipping costs. Typically these are sold in a pack along with basic vaccinations and vary widely in price. If you want to travel with your pet, getting a pet passport can add further costs on top of this. For example, in Madrid, it costs around €25 for a pet passport and another €25 for a vet certificate. 

Pet insurance costs

According to the OCU survey, in the last 12 months, 45 percent of dogs had to have an emergency trip to the vet and 24 percent of cats. As we’ve seen above, vet costs can build up, but if you have pet insurance this can help cover the cost of the financial burden.

Pet insurance varies widely, depending on exactly what it covers. Here are some of the costs for the most popular insurance companies.

  • Caser pet insurance €199 per year
  • Adeslas Mascotas basic from €5.58 per month or complete cover from €24.74 per month
  • Mapfre from €64 per year
  • Asisa Mascotas from €9,47 per month

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Member comments

  1. Cats should always have wet food everyday in addition to dry food (kibble).
    Wet food provides necessary nutrients that kibble alone does not, & most
    importantly fluids, even though a cat should always have a bowl of daily fresh
    water available. Providing both wet & dry food also provides variety, another
    element important for cats (& dogs). Finally, a diet high in dry food poses a risk for kidney stones & bladder infections.

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For members

PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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