Cost of Pets

[jodi]

My cat costs us next to nothing. We take her to the vet once a year for vaccinations - maybe $30? I don't remember. Other than getting fixed and one illness, she has never been to vet except for regular check-ups. We buy a 21 lb. bag of Dad's cat food from BJs for $7.99 (occasionally with a $3 rebate). It lasts for months as our cat is a very light eater. Plus, I have fed her for the last three months off food given to us or gotten free with coupons. We also get cat litter at BJ's - 35 lb. box for $7.99. That too will last us for weeks. I probably don't spend much more than $100-150 per year on her.

[Ima saver]

My Holly is worth whatever she costs. However, she does not cost that much. I cannot give her any medication, she just won't take it. She won't eat either, unless it is people food. I take her on every trip. I only get her shots once in a while. It does cost us about $300 to get her groomed every year, but she is clean and does not shed.

[cschin4]

For $60/month, that is $700 per year! I can easily pay for one or two vet visits per year plus occassional shots, etc. No I don't use any monthly pills for my dogs. Personally, I think they overdo these things. I love my pet but no he is "not worth whatever it costs". That is an easy tug at the heart strings so people willing pay for overpriced things. My pet is my pet but I am not going to take him to the Mayo clinic for experimental surgery. But, I suppose that is easy to say because my pets are healthy.
And, there is nothing wrong with Purina. But, if someone tells you your pet will get some dreaded disease and die if you don't feed them the Deluxe food, then I would look for a new vet. The biggest problem with some cheaper pet food is that they are not well digested. So, supposedly less "waste piles" with better food.

[shengmei]

I have five cats. The first two years I spent probably $2000 on spay/neuter, vaccinations, check-up, toys,food, equipments....etc....etc....

Now their health conditions are stabilized, all I have to do is to buy Purina ONE kitten food (the large 20 pound bag for $20 at PetsMart) once a month.

Purina ONE kitten food is about the same as Drs. Foster and Smith food, which was $3 per pound. I used to spend $$$ on Drs. Foster and Smith food until I found Purina ONE kitten food. However, PetsMart is the only one that carries the kitten food in 20 pound bags. Kitten food is much more nutritious than adult food, so before we had a PetsMart in our area I had to order Drs. Foster and Smith food online.

Oh on second thought, one of my cats chewed up a pair of $400 eyeglasses. I still have to find out which one did the damage. GRRRR....

[cschin4]

Often, the greatest cost of pets is not the health care of them but the damage that can be caused to furniture, household items, etc.

[PrincessPerky]

But then there are the wonderful 'presents' they leave on the doorstep....

nearly tripped over a dead rodent on my way out today!

[Ima saver]

I have never had any damage done by my dog. She was such a tiny puppy that she couldn't really chew up anything.
My outside dog is Lucy. When we found her, we got her spayed. We have never taken her to the vet since and she is over the age of 16. We do buy her an electric blanket every few years.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I spent a small fortune putting in hardwood because my dog got ill all the time and threw up, so the new carpet was a goner. And cschin your lucky if you dog can eat purina and not get kidney stones. Mine eats anything other than eukanuba, i'll be running around with the steam cleaner and mop. I've tried everything, it depends ont he pet.

[tabbycat31]

I have a 13 year old cat. I spend about $25 a month on food (I always buy high quality...... it's so much better than say Purina or Friskies), and due to his age, I also give him a multivitamin supplement (about $10 for a 3 month supply).

He's indoor/outdoor, so he does his business outside (And buries it).

And he goes to the vet about twice a year at $100 a pop.

However it's like a Mastercard commercial, because unconditional love is priceless.

[abowers]

1 dog -- We spend $28-30 on food every 6-7 weeks or so, $2/month on treats for training
She gets Hartgard? once a month, which was something like $50/for a year supply. That's about it.
The initial costs though... $230 to adopt a greyhound, $90 for the giant crate, $25 for the dog bed, $20 for a comforter, $10 for food/water bowls, $5 for a brush.

[fairy74]

One thing that can save money on dogs (or cats) is to have you vet show you how to give an injection---you can order shots from Dr. Fosters Smith and other websites for very cheap and they are very easy to give. They have a serial number on the vaccination and this is what is recorded in the animals records. My vet is fine with me giving the shots at home. Saves a lot of money.

[Dido]

I keep track of my spending, so I can tell you that I've spent well over $6000 on my pets this year--most of that the dog. In fact, I've spent so much on the dog and his vet bills that I've let the cats' vet visit slide for a while since they are indoor kitties and healthy.

I wouldn't have adopted this dog if I'd known that he was going to develop medical problems so soon (I've had him since March, and I did have him checked out by a vet beforehand). But that said, he's the center of my universe. I don't regret the money I've spent on him but worry about being able to afford him should I lose my job--now that he's been diagnosed with 3 chronic conditions, his monthly meds (for life) cost $43/month and his monthly vet prescription food about $150...way more than I'd planned to spend. But he's my heart and soul, so what can I do?

[Dido]

Ha. No sooner do I say my kitties are healthy than my female kitty lands in the hospital overnight. Sheesh. Yearly pet spending is now up to over $7000.