Demand for pet sitting and boarding services surged in Shanghai during the recent Spring Festival holiday, reflecting the growing pet care market in the city.

Pet sitter Xu Shize was overwhelmed with work during the recent holiday. With many pet owners traveling thousands of kilometers home, but unable to bring their furry friends, Xu and her colleagues were busy from dawn till dusk.
They made sure to wear shoe covers, masks, and gloves before entering each home, and live-streamed the visits for the owners.
"There were hundreds of orders for dog sitting. There were even more cats, although cat sitting orders was lower," said Xu, a pet shop owner.
Xu noted that the demand for in-home pet sitting is not limited to holidays, and she receives numerous orders even on regular days, charging 30 yuan (about four dollars) per visit.
Some pet owners opt for "full boarding" services when traveling or on business trips. At a pet shop in the city's western suburbs, four dogs that had checked in for the holiday were seen playing joyfully in the yard.
"Our boarding filled up about one to two weeks before the holiday. Because we have limited space and offer free-range boarding, we can only accept about 10 to 15 dog orders," said Zhang Siyu, the pet shop owner.
Boarding fees for these furry friends can reach up to 300 yuan per day, and some pet shops increase prices by 20 percent to 30 percent during the Spring Festival holiday. Despite the higher costs, many pet shops find their boarding services fully booked during holidays.
Pet-related spending has seen rapid growth in recent years. Statistics show that in the ten days leading up to the Spring Festival, pet grooming orders in Shanghai more than doubled, and boarding orders more than tripled.
According to the 2025 China Pet Industry White Paper, the number of pet-owning households in urban China reached 76.89 million in 2024, with the cat and dog population exceeding 120 million. The urban pet market in China surpassed 300 billion yuan in 2024 and is projected to reach 404.2 billion yuan by 2027.