This is our old Undercover Mouse. We are getting an updated version for @NutmegTorby for Christmas. Shhhh! Don't tell her.
What Humans Are Buying For Pets
“Our hottest items that sold out were our Nina Ottosson Dog Toys, which are interactive puzzle games for dogs,” said Salina, @BabyPatches’ mom and proprietor of Nip and Bones.
“For cats this year the hottest item (but we are lucky we did not sell out) has been the Undercover Mouse electronic cat toy. One customer just purchased one yesterday and asked for 2-Day Air to make sure it would arrive in time.”
@BorisKitty, whose human also works in pet toys, said Undercover Mouse also topped Boris’s list for cats. Cats will also be finding Yeoww! Candy Cane, Holiday Eeeks, Play-n-Squeak Mouse and Da Bird in their holiday packages. Boris found talking toys to be the hottest sellers for dogs this year, along with Fleecy Reindeer, Bottle Buddies, Santa and elf hats and Fat Cat Terrible Nasty Scaries.
Who Is Buying Gifts For Pets
AP-Petside surveyed the U.S. humans this holiday season and found that more than half of pet guardians give holiday gifts to their furry friends. The number of pet gifters in this year’s survey is pretty similar to last year, just over half (52 percent in 2009 and 53 percent this year).
When the pollsters look at responses from only those who have lost a job recently, the percent of humans giving pets gifts goes up to 56 percent. Nip and Bones backs up this finding. Salina said, “Even people with financial trouble have found a way to purchase a little something for their pets, hoping they can buy more in the future. I think it’s a sense of joy for people to see their pets getting a present, too, for the holiday season.”
“Our holiday season has been exceeding our expectations, as this year has seemed to be especially difficult for a lot of people,” Salina said. “On the other hand, this past year has been better for others, we have been told.”
The survey revealed that two thirds of renters give holiday presents to pets while only about half of those who own homes give to their pets at the holidays, again suggesting that giving gifts to pets helps humans find stability in their lives.
The most dramatic change from last year comes in who buys the gifts. Last year, almost a third more women than men (27 percent) purchased a pet gift. This year, men and women admit to gifting at 56 percent for women and 49 percent for men who responded to the survey. Nip and Bones has seen orders from humans with all sorts of relationships to pets.
“Interestingly enough we found that a lot of people were actually purchasing Christmas gifts for their friends’ pets as well as their own,” Salina said. “It would seem that people want to make their pets and their friends’ pets happy to have something new during the holidays.” Salina also reported that holiday merchandise wasn’t as popular this year as it was last year. Instead, humans are buying the good stuff, like the interactive puzzle toys for dogs and Undercover Mouse for cats.
@Katieboocat reported that her human, who spent several hours in PetSmart this week, saw lots of humans letting their dogs pick their own treats and toys, so perhaps the trend is in even greater flux.
Dogs Versus Cats
@BrutustheDane spies Kong Wubbas under the tree from Nip and bones
Dogs are most likely to receive gifts, but cats aren’t far behind. The American Pet Products Association has statistics that are a little less up-to-date but more comprehensive, the Contra Costa Times reported. In 2008, the most recent year the APPA has data for, 51 percent of dog guardians bought gifts for their pups, but only 43 percent of cats’ humans bought gifts. (Hmpf). Some birds, reptiles, horses and fish also received holiday presents that year.
The buying season this year at Nip and Bones suggests that this difference may be disappearing.
“It is interesting that you read dog owners are more likely to purchase holiday gifts than cat owners are,” Salina said. ”I have always spoiled my cats at Christmas time ever since I adopted my first two, and since a large portion of our customers are cat owners, we got a ton of orders for cats this holiday season. We have gotten an equal amount of dog holiday gift purchases.”
As The Anipal Times has reported, the pet industry is one of few that has remained relatively healthy during the recession. Anipals’ humans are doing their part to help out.
Anipals’ Holiday Gift Giving
An informal survey of our anipals revealed that most of them will be getting gifts this year. Our Twitter community has at least two international Secret Santa groups sending gifts to pets in the Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States. (I can’t wait to get my gift from Santa!)
Others among us get a lot of spoiling, although their humans don’t buy especially for holidays. For example, @Staffpurrson gives Mulder and Scully toys and treats all year long but doesn’t do anything special for Hannukah for the kitties.
@Picturesofmycat said, “They get new toys every time I go to a pet store. Every. Single. Time. But if I called them ‘presents,’ I’d have to wrap them… I don’t give gifts to my pets, but other people do give my pets gifts. Those gifts warm me to my toes.”
Some humans celebrate the close relationships they have with companion animals by giving gifts at the holidays. As @joeybeancat said, “Makes us feel like a family, u know?”
@SmokeyPoodle’s dad has a similar experience. “Dad likes buying stuff for us because he doesn’t have any other family to buy for,” SmokeyPoodle said. “And we get so much fun from him. He’s bought stuff for friends and their kids in the past, and they were always like ‘meh.’ But Ody and I always get excited with anything Dad gives us. Makes him feel appreciated.”
@Understandblue will be giving her kitties a cat tunnel this year. Giving holiday gifts to the kitties gives this cat-loving human a lot of pleasure. “I think the same things we all enjoy about giving a gift to a child,” she said. “The pure innocent joy they show, the play, the abandon that we all felt when we were little and got a new toy. Then there’s just that need we all have as animal lovers to try to show them we love them as much as we love our humans.”
If you don’t know what to get for your human, I highly recommend my book, Please Send Money, by Cheshire Kitten. ; )
{ 6 comments }
Saylor and his sibling felines definitely get presents at Christmas time along with many other times during the year.
That undercover mouse thingy looks cool! Great pic of you and Brutus.
I has the undercover mousie, and it is fun!!
This is another lovely article, Cheshire. I love the action shot! *katiekisses*
OMC! Momma finally read dis article, it is pawsome! Thanks you so much for interviewing momma for it, we really appreciates and glad we could be a part of it.
Purrrrrrrrrrrrs & Nosetaps
Interesting article, Cheshie! I think that humans may even enjoy giving us anipals gifts more than they enjoy getting them themselves. One year when my humans were very poor, I was the only one who got a gift. It was my beloved drinking fountain.
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