Dogs, cats, fish, reptiles - pets of all stripes - will be living large in the next millennium, or so the pet industry believes. Products for the care, feeding and entertainment of Fido or Fluffy now make up a $25 billion market in the United States, and are expected to leap off the shelves with increasing frequency as the 21st century rolls around. About 56 percent of American households are currently scraping some variety of fur off the couch. That percentage is expected to remain more or less steady. It’s not that we’ll own more pets; it’s that we’re expected to spoil the heck out of the ones we’ve got, in ever more lavish ways. Among offerings to be exhibited at the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association trade show in Philadelphia next month are microwavable dog chews, cat hammocks, heated doggie water beds and organic veggie burgers for discriminating iguanas.
Little old ladies have long been famous for pampering their pets. But why would anybody else feel the urge to shell out for, say, a Victorian Kitty Cottage? Social scientists are busy predicting that we’ll increasingly retreat from the rat race into hybrid home/office spaces, or ““hoffices,’’ from which computer and telecommunications gear will let us live our professional and personal lives via wire. Efficient? Yes. Warm and cuddly? Not exactly. That’s where pets come in. ““When you can do everything you need to do in your life through your computer, you need to compensate for all the high tech with some “high touch’,’’ says Vreij Kolandjian, a vice president of Kal Kan, a pet-food maker. ““More and more, we will be getting our high touch from our pets.’’ The increasingly intimate human-pet bond will not only prompt greater levels of pet indulgence, but also presumably boost sales of canine breath mints.
Actually, animal-health products of all descriptions are likely to flourish. Organic pet food is already on its way to becoming a significant niche in the animal-feed market. In time, you’ll be able to buy food custom blended to your individual pet’s dietary needs. Running a special card encoded with Rover’s own recipe through a machine at your grocery store will yield a gourmet blend chock-full of cancer-fighting antioxidants. Should your dog or cat get sick anyway, it’ll benefit from many of the same medical procedures available to humans. CAT scans (no pun intended), organ transplants, pacemakers, kidney dialysis, even therapy for behavioral problems - all these are available now, but our will to pay for them is expected to increase. Getting the prescription right will be easier for vets in the future. ID chips inserted under pets’ skin will allow caregivers to scan an animal’s medical history and treat it accordingly. If veterinary science fails altogether, you might avail yourself of what’s expected to be a growing market for pet-bereavement counseling.
Popping up to service the demand for all this stuff has been the pet superstore - sort of a canine Kmart, where animals are encouraged to browse the aisles with their owners. Some stores have even been known to place enticing chew-toy displays at muzzle height, a tactic guaranteed to generate sales (““you gnawed it, you bought it’’). Eventually, the superstores are expected to become full-service pet-care centers, offering one-stop grooming, obedience training, kennels, pet insurance, mortuary services and cemetery-plot sales. Assuming this all comes to pass, dogs will truly have it made. And so will those who sell things to their owners.
