It’s hard to resist showering our pets with love, treats and home comforts.
But new figures have shed light on how pampering a pet could be significantly contributing to energy bills.
Research carried out Confused.com has found that cat and dog owners can spend up to 10% of the average annual energy bill on their pets.
It turns out that powering up the heating to ensure our four-legged friends are toasty or running a warm bath for them can be costing owners as much as £120 per year (which is the equivalent to 10% of the average annual household energy bill).
However, this number has been calculated for those who own both cats and dogs. For sole cat owners it’s estimated to be around £54 per year, while for dog owners it’s a little less, at £52.
It seems switching on an electric heater or radiator for pets is the most expensive luxury, costing around £4.31 per day. But, it’s worth pointing out that swapping this to the central heating would only cost around 59p for a 12-hour day – saving almost £4 a day and £33.16 a year.
The second most expensive energy cost was running a bath for a pet, which costs around 72p per bathtime. But the study revealed that this was a less common occurrence, with dog owners doing this an average of five times a year and cat owners just three times a year.
The research also found that pet owners in Oxford were the worst offenders, spending an average of £296 per year on their pets. Whereas, those in Plymouth spent just £34 per year, on average.
But it seems owners giving their pets extremely comfortable lifestyles is having a knock-on effect on other areas. A recent study also found that dogs are picking up allergies because humans are pampering them too much.
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