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.

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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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• Resolved: Questions and doubts about Spain’s new animal welfare law