Arclo
Arclo
Research
52% of U.S. dog and cat owners skipped or declined recommended veterinary care in the past year; 94% of veterinarians say client finances often or sometimes prevent recommended treatment; and only 23% of owners recall ever being offered a payment plan. All figures from the PetSmart Charities-Gallup State of Pet Care study, 2025 and 2026 waves.
Two surveys, one year apart, asked the same question from opposite sides of the exam table. This page puts their findings side by side, with field dates and sample sizes, and explains what can and cannot be compared. It is built for people who cite: practice managers, journalists, lenders, and anyone else who needs the number and the source in the same sentence.
52% of U.S. dog and cat owners skipped a veterinary visit or declined recommended care in the past year: 37% visited but declined one or more recommendations, and 15% did not bring their pet in at all because of barriers such as financial considerations.
Source: PetSmart Charities-Gallup pet owner wave. Fielded November 13, 2024 to January 9, 2025. 2,498 U.S. dog and cat owners, probability-based Gallup Panel.
Among owners who skipped or declined, 71% cite cost as the key factor, whether they could not afford it, did not think it was worth the cost, or both. 29% say the care was impractical or too stressful for their pet. Across income levels, at least two-thirds of those who declined care report financial limitations, and one in three owners in households earning $90,000 or more who skipped or declined say they could not afford it.
Source: same wave. Denominator is owners who skipped or declined, not all owners.
94% of practicing veterinarians say clients' financial considerations often (38%) or sometimes (56%) prevent them from providing recommended treatment. Cost is cited as a reason clients decline more than twice as often as any other factor. 81% say they often or always recommend an alternative treatment plan when care is declined for cost.
Source: PetSmart Charities-Gallup veterinarian wave. Fielded September 9 to October 5, 2025. 933 practicing U.S. companion-animal veterinarians, opt-in professional panel, not probability-based. Gallup reports a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.3 points. Published January 20, 2026.
Among owners who declined care because of cost, 73% say their veterinarian did not offer a more affordable option, and 46% were not given a treatment plan that better fit their pet's practical needs. Fewer than one in four owners (23%) recall ever being offered a payment plan. Asked about lifesaving treatment, 66% say they could pay $1,000 or less, and 64% say that with a one-year, interest-free payment plan they could at least double that amount.
Source: pet owner wave. The 64% finding is a stated intention in a survey, not an observed outcome.
The waves used different sampling methods and different populations, so they are not a trend and cannot be subtracted from each other. What they share is direction: owners say cost is the main reason they decline, and veterinarians say cost is the main reason clients decline. Veterinarians report recommending alternative treatment plans far more often (81%) than owners report being offered a more affordable option (27%, the inverse of the 73% who say they were not). These come from different questions asked of different populations, not a computed gap. Read them as two data points about the same disconnect, not as two measurements of one thing.
Name the wave, the field dates, and the sample. "In the past year" refers to the twelve months before each survey's field period, so roughly 2024 for owners and roughly late 2024 to 2025 for veterinarians. The 71% and 73% figures are shares of the 52% who skipped or declined, not shares of all owners.
Arclo is not a lender and does not make credit decisions. Arclo is unaffiliated with PetSmart Charities, Gallup, and the AVMA.