Many pharmaceutical companies in China are finding a new fast-growing sector for their business: pet medicine. It is driven by China's new love for furry friends, with more than 91 million domestic cats and dogs in the country – second only to the US.

Now average medical and disease expenses for a pet can run around 2,000 yuan (about 290 U.S. dollars) a year. An industry insider commented that business has been getting better over the past few years since people are now more aware of the need for animal health.

"In the past, we only got people coming when their pets were sick. But now more and more people come in to ask or call us to learn about disease prevention. They want to know when they should send their pets for vaccinations, and when they should use parasite repellents," said Yang Qiqing, chief veterinary officer of Shanghai Companion Animal Hospital.

What impresses Yang most is that the younger generation of pet owners, especially those born after 1990, is willing to spend more money on their pets. More than 70 percent of the dogs and cats going to pet hospitals get vaccine shots and more than 55 percent of them are treated with parasite repellents. That's a big increase from a decade ago, and that means a huge market for pharma companies making these pet medicines.

Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim said that pet medicine sales are the fastest-growing of its animal health sectors in China, expanding even faster than 27 percent at which the entire pet industry is growing. In fact, the company has launched an online store to better communicate with its consumers. 

"What's driving the potential is the rising wealth. It has a direct correlation with increasing GDP. We see pet ownership increasing as well… Nowadays it is more integrated to become part of the family members in China," said Bradley Kaegi, head of Pets China at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.

Meanwhile, Zoetis, one of the world's biggest animal health product makers, said in its financial report for 2018 that sales in China reached 211 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 27 percent in just two years.

Boehringer Ingelheim estimated that the pet medicine market in China could reach eight billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the next five years.