Can You Afford a Pet?

I'm an animal lover, and it breaks my heart when animals are neglected or given away because their owners couldn't afford them.  Quality food and veterinary care are expensive, so please consider the costs before bringing home a new pet.  Speaking of which, have you ever been surprised by how much it costs to care for a pet?  I sure have!

i have to tell you that i have a cat and they aren`t so expensive to take care of it.you just have to know that your pet needs not what the "specialists" say because if you`d be listening to them you`d probably sell your house so that the pet would be happy.when you have a pet you have to love it and take good care of it .Things will be much easyer like that because this way it`ll never get sick.

We have 5 cats plus the wife has adopted two strays who drop by every night for their meal. It is kind of funny to see the two non-live ins looking in the patio door to see if the nice lady with the food is home. You are right about the expense involved with veterinary care. We use the Vet-to-Pet service so the call costs us an extra fee but it beats driving eight miles to the vet's office.

Anyway, the darned things are family so the cost is secondary. Although, if we could divert some of that cat food money into chocolat chip cookies, I'd be a happy camper <g>.

I have a german shepherd dog. He's a big boy and he eats a lot. If I bought him tinned food and dried kibble then I'm sure he'd cost me a fortune. But I don't.

I buy pet mince and mix it with rice, vegetables and gravy. I freeze it in meal sized portions for him once a week. It's healthy for him, no additives, no filler/cereal junk and it's cheap to make.

I also get lamb offcuts from the local butcher for $2 per bag. They last my dog a week (I give him only 1-2 pieces each day).

The vet bill is dearer than I would like, but because I keep him fit and healthy and feed him good food, he's a healthy dog with no real problems.

We've had expensive bills when cats have become ill. On one occasion, it cost about $1,200 to learn that our 8 or 9 year old cat wouldn't survive the week, due to FIP.

More recently we spent about that much to save one who had a kidney infection, and unfortunately lost another younger one to kidney failure.

It's good to see the good people taking good care of their pets here.

My cat costs me like $30 a month but I had a $400 vet bill because the previous owner really neglected the poor thing

I couldn't afford my pitbull but for some reason I still decided to uy one. I never really knew or took into consideration that taking care of a pet could cost me so much extra money. It was like taking care of a child but I tend to manage better than I thought I could.

Our money issues started long after the pets. At this point we can't bear to part with then since they're our family. It would be like giving one of the kids away. It does get extremely difficult when one needs medical care and preventive services but we always seem manage somehow.

I breed and show dogs - schnauzers and pharaoh hounds. I used to feed my dogs a low grade dog food because that's what I could afford. I've since realised that feeding a higher grade of dog food gives me happier, healthier dogs with heaps of energy and shiny coats. Lots of people feed cheaper kibble and add meat and other things - pasta, rice and so on. I believe that by the time you factor in everything, it's a false economy - always remember - your time is valuable.

If you love doing the extra work, sure go for it, and I like the idea of preparing a weeks worth and freezing it, but I just don't have the inclination for that myself. My dogs would rather I played with them in the back yard, not played with heir food in the kitchen.

I guess most of us know how beneficial having a pet can be. There have been studies to show that they can help you relax, etc.

I think having pets is something worth budgeting for.