Pet inflation rose to 3.2% year-over-year in August, primarily driven by a 1.1% monthly increase in veterinary costs, while pet food and supplies prices fell during the month despite higher annual rates.
- Petflation reached 3.2% in August, up from 3.0% in July, exceeding the national inflation rate of 3.4%
- Veterinary costs surged 1.1% monthly, becoming the main driver of pet price increases while pet food fell 0.1%
- Pet services inflation climbed to 4.8% annually, up from 4.5% in July, showing accelerating cost pressures
- Cumulative pet prices are 32.5% higher than 2019 levels and 27.7% higher than 2021, with only pet supplies remaining below 24.5% cumulative inflation
- Pet food prices hit record highs in July while total pet prices reached new records in August despite monthly food price declines
Petflation rose to 3.2% year-over-year in August, up from 3.0% in July, according to John Gibbons, president of Pet Business Professor, who tracks monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the pet industry.
Overall pet prices increased 0.05% from July to August, driven primarily by a 1.1% monthly rise in veterinary costs, Gibbons said. Other pet segments moved in the opposite direction: pet food prices fell 0.1%, pet supplies fell 0.4% and pet services fell 0.4% for the month.
Despite the monthly food price dip, pet food's year-over-year inflation rate rose to 1.6% in August, up from 1.3% in July, Gibbons said. Pet food prices reached a new record high in July, and total pet prices hit a new record high in August.
The broader U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% from July to August, with the year-over-year rate holding steady at 3.4%, matching July's rate, Gibbons said. That national rate remains more than 70% above the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target, though well below the 9.1% peak reached in June 2022.
Grocery prices fell 0.04% from July to August, and grocery inflation slowed to 2.2% year-over-year, down from 2.7%, according to the report. Gas prices remained elevated, up 36.6% since February.
Within pet categories, the services segment carried an annual inflation rate of 4.8% in August, up from 4.5% in July, while the pet products segment rose to 1.9%, up from 1.7%, Gibbons said. Nationally, the services category, which accounts for 63.5% of the Consumer Price Index, held at a 3.1% annual rate, while commodities inflation rose to 4.0% from 3.9%.
Year-to-date figures show cumulative gains
Year-to-date figures show total pet inflation at 3.4%, up 62% from the same period in 2025, Gibbons said. Year-to-date pet food inflation stood at 1.7%, matching June and July but down from 1.8% in May. The year-to-date national CPI rate was 3.3%, up 27% from the 2024-25 period.
Cumulative pet prices are now 32.5% higher than in 2019 and 27.7% higher than in 2021, according to the data. Pet supplies remain the only category with cumulative inflation below 24.5% since 2019, at 13.7%.
Gibbons' firm publishes monthly petflation reports tracking a rolling 24-month comparison of pet segment pricing against the national Consumer Price Index, using December 2019 as a baseline.
Data sourced from the latest Petflation report by John Gibbons at PetBusinessProfessor.com, tracking Consumer Price Index data for pet industry segments compared to national inflation trends.
