Shock and gnaw as our pets cause £1.2bn of damage

UNRULY pets drive owners wild by destroying property worth £1.2billion every year.

Dogs, cats, rabbits and rodents chew up floorboards, skirting boards, doors, table and chair legs and carpets.

Electricals are a target too, plus family heirlooms, clothing and just about anything else the critters can get at.

Researchers say 8.9million dogs in the UK destroy items worth £860million.

Cats aren’t purrfect either – destroying £340million of goods.

Rabbits – there are one million of them – leave owners hopping mad with a bill of £57million.

Even rodents are in a scurry to get in on the destruction. The niggling nibblers – over a million pet guinea pigs, half a million hamsters and 100,000 gerbils – are responsible for the best part of £20million damage. And caged birds have owners in a flap by adding to the bill when let loose.

Around three-quarters of dog owners fork out £90 a year on repairs. Rabbit owners typically pay £65 and cat lovers £50.

But because Brits love pets so much, one in five owners said they blamed damage on someone else. The study was for furniture retailers Thomas

Sanderson. Spokesman Richard Petrie said: “Pets are akin to our family – and for some people they are the only family they have. It’s why we allow them to get away with so much.”

A second poll of 1,145 dog owners, for food brand Pet Munchies, found eight out of 10 said their pets helped them stay sane and ward off mental health problems during lockdown.

When they weren’t chewing away at the furniture, that is...

Like family, we allow them to get away with so much RICHARD PETRIE ON PET DAMAGE SURVEY