China's consumer market related to pets is expected to rise to 170.8 billion yuan in 2018

The number of pet owners in China's cities and towns now totals 73.55 million, White Paper on China's Pet Industry says. Among them 33.9 million are dog owners and 22.58 million cat owners.

It shows that 87.5% of dog owners were women, half of them with a bachelor's degree 

or above and the majority employees in companies. The cat-owning group is mainly white-collar workers and students, with young people more inclined to have cats.

Owners are prepared to lavish money on pets, with the estimated annual spending 5,016 yuan for each animal in 2018, up 15% from the previous year.

About 53% of pet owners said they are not satisfied with veterinary services. Leading   reasons were the lack of supervision over medical fees and qualified veterinarians.