In view of National Cat Day on 17 February, Confartigianato data photograph a structural boom: 10 million families with pets, 25.5 million pets and a boom in artisan businesses
There pet economy in Italy runs faster than household consumption in Italy. In view of February 17, National Cat Daythe data released by Confartigianato illustrate a sector which has recorded a growth of 76% in the last ten years, bringing the overall expenditure for products and services for pets to 6.7 billion euros. Numbers that tell of a social transformation, over one in three families lives with a pet, and a structural economic phenomenon that generates employment and new entrepreneurship spread throughout the country
Pet economy in Italy: record spending of 6.7 billion and +76% in ten years
In 2024, Italians’ spending on pets has reached 6,747 million euroswith an increase of 76% compared to ten years ago. A sobering figure, if compared with the trend in household consumption which, in the same decade, grew by 9.4%. The pet economy is now a stable and significant item in family budgets. It focuses above all on the products: the80.3% of the totalwhich means 5,415 million euros, is intended for food, veterinary drugs, grooming articles and accessories. The remainder 19.7% (1,332 million euros) instead it concerns services, including veterinary care, grooming, training and hospitality.
Today I am 10 million Italian families37.7% of the total (ten years ago they were 36.2%), who have at least one pet. In the homes of Italians they live together 25.5 million pets.
Craft businesses and employment: 3,440 businesses active in the sector
More pets in homes and more spending by families simultaneously mean entrepreneurial and employment development. According to Confartigianato they are There are 3,440 artisan businesses active in pet care servicesover half (59%) of the total 5,826 companies in the sector. These realities provide work to 4,231 workersover half of the sector’s employees (53.9% out of a total of 7,848).
And beyond the numbers, the pace of expansion is significant. On an annual basis, artisan businesses grow by 5.2%, while if you look at the last decade they have almost doubled (+ 92.3%). And in some regions the phenomenon is even more marked. Piedmont, Puglia and Lazio recorded increases higher than the national average. At the provincial level there are examples well beyond that national +5.2%. This is the case of Bergamo (+13.8%), Turin (+13.6%), Verona (+8.9%), Lecce (+8.0%) and Brescia (+7.9%), while Bologna (-1.5%) and Vicenza (-4.0%) are in decline. And over the ten years there are even triple-digit growths such as Brescia (+186.8%), Venice (+184.2%), Bergamo (+182.9%), Naples (+139.1%) and Verona (+132.4%).
The regions where you spend the most and how much it costs to keep a dog or cat
The spending map for the pet economy is headed by Lombardywith 1,396 million euros (20.7% of the national total), followed by Lazio with 882 million (13.1%), from Veneto with 652 million (9.7%), fromEmilia-Romagna with 629 million (9.3%), from Piedmont with 616 million (9.1%) and from Tuscany with 552 million (8.2%). These six regions together account for 70.1% of national spending. Looking at the provinces, Rome dominates (662 million euros, almost 10% of the total), followed by Milan (481 million, 7.1% of the total) and Turin (325 million, 4.8%).
But how much does it cost to keep a pet today? A recent survey by Facile.it estimates that in 2025 maintaining a cat means spending 767 euros per yearwhile for a dog you go up to 1,263 euros. Over the last twelve months, costs have increased on average by 149 euros per animal, also due to unexpected veterinary expenses which involved around 4.1 million owners, with disbursements exceeding 500 euros.
