A surprise vet visit can end up costing thousands — and for many pet owners, the cost comes second to the care, even if it means draining an emergency fund or taking on debt.
Veterinary costs are up roughly 43% since 2021, outpacing many household budgets. Routine care alone now tops $4,000 a year on average, according to research from Money.com and Healthy Paws Pet Insurance. Over a typical 12-year lifespan, that adds up to more than $50,000 — and that’s before factoring in unpredictable expenses or chronic conditions that can push that total much higher.
Faced with those costs, many pet owners say they’d rely on credit cards, loans or financing if they couldn’t afford care upfront — 38% say they put a vet bill on a credit card, while 20% would tap savings even if it meant draining them.
That disposition remains high even for owners living off a low or fixed income. In a follow-up survey, almost 70% of adults with an annual income below $50,000 said that they would go into debt to save their pet. And more than half (56%) of people over the age of 65 said that they would do the same.
That may solve an immediate problem, but leaning on debt to pay for pet care can create lasting strain — especially when high interest rates turn a one-time vet visit into a lingering expense. And for many households, those costs aren’t one-time. About a quarter of pet owners with chronically ill animals report spending between $5,000 and $10,000 a year on care.
Many pet owners try to offset rising costs by shopping around for better prices, buying in bulk, grooming at home or switching to generic medications. But these strategies don’t address the biggest financial risk: unexpected medical bills.
“One of the biggest gaps I see in financial preparedness, especially with pet ownership, is that people plan for routine costs but not for the unexpected,” says Stacey Stark, a financial advisor and president at Aurelia Capital Advisors. “Pet owners will budget for food, grooming and basic care, but major medical events are often treated as unlikely instead of something that will probably happen over a lifetime.”
That disconnect often leads to reactive decisions in high-stress situations. “Relying on credit, savings or crowdfunding in those moments is not a plan; it’s a reaction.” Stark adds.
The cost of swiping a high-interest credit card at the vet can be steep. On average, the annual percentage rate (APR) for credit cards is around 25%, according to a 2025 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If you were to carry a $2,500 emergency vet bill balance for 12 months at that rate, the total loan cost shoots up to almost $8,000.
You can avoid overpaying by using a 0% APR credit card to defer the interest for 12 months, but this strategy only works if you pay the balance in full before the promotional period ends. Otherwise, the creditor will charge you the full interest rate — retroactively and upfront — on the entire balance you carried during those 12 months, not just the unpaid amount remaining in the account.
Experts say the best protection is to treat pet ownership like any other long-term financial responsibility and plan ahead. That means setting aside money in a pet-only emergency fund or using pet insurance to help prevent sudden medical bills from becoming major financial setbacks.
Pet insurance isn’t the perfect solution — pre-existing conditions aren’t covered, and insuring older animals can be prohibitively expensive. But many pet owners are still glad to have it. Among survey respondents with pet insurance, roughly 75% say it has significantly reduced their out-of-pocket costs, while 87% report greater peace of mind when it comes to their pet’s health.
“At the end of the day, pets are not discretionary expenses,” says Stark. “They are living family members, and financial planning should reflect that reality.”
More from Money
Is Pet Insurance Worth It in 2026? What the Data Shows
How Breed and Age Impact the Cost of Pet Insurance
Are Pet Wellness Plans Worth the Money? Here’s What the Data Shows
