Novelties and innovations in the pet accessory industry

Pets and their accessories

Pets are family. A sharp rise in the fashion accessory market for pets reflects the trend amongst owners to treat their pets as important family members. As usual, dogs dominate the market: 63.4 million US households own a dog, 42.7 million own a cat, and 5.4 million own other small animals.

Looking at novel accessories for cats, the latest include a phone-controlled cat toy that you can pilot around your home using the linked app, thereby enticing your feline friend to indoor activity. This is ideal for cat owners working outside the home or for indoor cats who otherwise get insufficient exercise.

It is not only cats that stand to benefit from another novelty: pet cams. Such cams often include remote control treat dispensers with microphones, enabling the owner to talk to the pet.

Of course, taking pictures of your pet is nothing new, but now high-quality photos are perfect for posting on social media platforms such as Instagram. Phone accessories help you take that perfect photo of your pet while looking into the camera. For instance: phone attachments into which you can clip a ball or treat at a variety of angles, or with a sticker so that you can attach your phone to the wall for a hands-free shot!

Toys and treats

As for activity toys: the choice in products is huge. Take the iDig by Fetch: a multi-layered dog toy with removable, washable fabric layers, for hiding toys and treats. This practical innovation also has a folding version for smaller modern homes.

Novel treat food ideas include customisable cookies for dogs (organic, gluten free, dairy free), and gourmet treats in all shapes and sizes, with beautiful icing designed for humans to show their love (to a pet who probably doesn’t care!). Probiotic treats are also in line with the human desire for health – goat milk and even yak milk feature as new ingredients. Or why not try out home baking pet biscuit and birthday cake mixes? They guarantee an even closer bonding experience!

Almost human

Controversially, since they really are unnecessary, new pet ‘dress up’ outfits resemble popular licensed characters, such as Marvel heroes or Pokémon. Welfare-diminishing aspects of pet clothing may be clear, humans seem to look at aesthetics only. And their pets are forced to adapt.

Along with the growing interest in pet services, comes more ‘end of life’ care, including palliative services for terminally ill pets. And when the much-adored family pet passes away, there is a choice of private pet cemeteries and bespoke cremation services (including grief consulting).

But, pets as social enablers come up trumps: a US-based ‘dog dating’ app now allows like-minded owners to reach one another and plan dog-friendly dates.