Pets are so expensive

[Astatine]

For the most part he is a healthy, happy dog, and the Prozac had a LOT to do with that.

Generic Prozac is dirt cheap too.  My vet gave me a prescription for 60 10mg pills and it less than $9 from CVS.  I'm sure it would be even cheaper from Walmart or Target.  Of course, I do not recommend drugging up pets willy nilly and in place of behavioral modification.  But sometimes, after doing all you can and your pet is still suffering--some chemical assistance is needed.  I separated my cats for 5 months after one of them went nuts (redirected aggression due to seeing another cat outside) and repeatedly attacked her sister. I don't mean the regular sibling slapping episodes, I mean full on psychotic tantrums--they left me in tears.  I didn't want to rehome one of the cats nor did I want to live forever in a small 1 bedroom apartment while separating the cats from each other.

The vet recommended 5mg daily but I eventually settled on 2.5mg every other day.  Just enough to take the edge off but not zombify my skittish cat.  I paid under $18 for 120 pills last fall and I expect the purchase to last for a couple of years.

I hear you. Completely. We have 2 cats in a small 2 bedroom place. We adopted them together 2 years ago when they were both 3 years old. They were best of friends (slept together, played together etc) until we had to get one of them shaved a few months ago due to matting we couldn't get under control. We ended up cat non-recognition syndrome. argh. Worst our vet practice has ever seen by a long long way (and it has quite a few vets) .

We were making good progress (as in, they were fine with mild supervision and separated at night and whenever we went out), but Shaved Cat then had an ultrasound due to severely abnormal blood test results. He's only 5 years old - the decision would have been different if he was, say, 15yo. Then the non-recognition thing went many steps backwards (to the point where we thought we'd have to rehome one of them, as the Unshaved Cat still hissed at the other one through the door, despite being separated. Ultrasound showed genetic kidney disease, which may have exacerbated the aggro from the other cat - illness can make cats smell wrong.

So Unshaved Cat has been on kitty Xanax for a couple of months (very low dose), will be reviewed in a couple of months. Both cats are now on renal cat food. Cats can sometimes relax in the same room now (we've worked SO hard on enrichment, love, praise etc etc which Unshaved Cat is medicated) so there's progress. But wow. It's been a rough time. kitty Xanax has taken the edge off to the point where we can keep both of them, albeit under very constrained awkward circumstances in such a small house.

tl;dr sometimes anti-anxiety drugs are needed in severe situations.

[zinnie]

I have been thinking about this a lot recently. My 11-year-old dog who is acting extremely happy and healthy had a blood test that indicated something was pretty wrong, then some follow up tests narrowed down to likely some cancer. Then, after a few thousand in tests over a couple of months, as she is about to get the last test that should diagnose her blood work comes back completely normal again.

So now I am left wondering if there was ever anything wrong with her, and what my policy going forward should be about getting the dogs blood tests. We did for her because it had been a long time and she was getting older. If something easily treatable is going on in one of my dogs I would want to know about it and treat it, but I don't think I want to go down this path of "the animal is acting healthy but something looks off so let's do a lot of tests to figure out what it might be" again. 

Anyways, I have been enjoying reading others' philosophies about medical care and pets, as this isn't something I have had to put much thought into until now. I love my dogs more than is prudent considering how short their lifespans are, so it would be good to have some guidelines before I have to deal with a real medical issue again.

[Miss Prim]

I had a dog that supposedly tested positive for heartworm at the age of 4 years.  We were thinking about having her put down anyway due to her being too aggressive and actually biting 2 people (for some reason she didn't like my daughter's boyfriends!).  We opted not to treat her and she lived a totally normal life until the age of 11 when she developed what they thought was probably mammary cancer.  When she was too bad, I had her put down. 

I have another dog, a Westie that was given to me.  She is fed just regular dog food, groomed about 3 times a year and I give her baths myself in between.  She only gets the rabies shot and nothing else except a flea and tick collar in the summer. 

Pets don't have to be expensive, but if you treat them like people, than I suppose they would be more expensive. 

                                                                    Miss Prim

[I'm a red panda]

Our dog isn't that expensive.  She is a 35 pound mutt.

About $15 a month for food.
Maybe $250-350 a year on vet + medicine. She takes heartwarm and flea/tick 9 months a year. Vet doesn't have her take them in the winter months.


We have had 2 emergency vet bills- one about $300 the other about $600.

[kiblebuka]

I have a 6 pound, 11 or 12 year old cat that I probably spend $50 a month on, if that. Since she's so small, I can get 2 or 3 meals out of the wet food. She's also prone to eating too fast and barfing it back up, so she doesn't get wet food every day. She's only been to the vet twice since I got her - yearly checkup, then she had runny everythings (stopped giving her human food as treats and this cleared up). She may have a skin condition, but the vet didn't think it was an issue.

On the other hand, I have two rats as well. Overall I've owned four - the first one I spent upwards of $500 treating her for a stroke. Both in the first pair I had cremated as well, $150 each. Monthly in general I spend much more on their living space than their food. But when food runs out, it's a big grocery bill to make a new batch (I mix raw grains and cereals with their actual lab blocks)

[Jamcas]

Yeah, they are expensive. What saved me so far is that I am home very little and since I'm single the pet would be alone most of the time.
But if I had the time, I'd get a bird. Not expensive, absolutely lovely and easy to take care of.

[kiblebuka]

Yeah, they are expensive. What saved me so far is that I am home very little and since I'm single the pet would be alone most of the time.

Especially true if it's a dog or animal that's more social like that. Reasons why a few of my friends won't get dogs.
But I do like coming home to my cat being all excited to see me :3 I hear her yelling even before I get the door open.

[dodojojo]

I hear you. Completely. We have 2 cats in a small 2 bedroom place. We adopted them together 2 years ago when they were both 3 years old. They were best of friends (slept together, played together etc) until we had to get one of them shaved a few months ago due to matting we couldn't get under control. We ended up cat non-recognition syndrome. argh. Worst our vet practice has ever seen by a long long way (and it has quite a few vets) .

We were making good progress (as in, they were fine with mild supervision and separated at night and whenever we went out), but Shaved Cat then had an ultrasound due to severely abnormal blood test results. He's only 5 years old - the decision would have been different if he was, say, 15yo. Then the non-recognition thing went many steps backwards (to the point where we thought we'd have to rehome one of them, as the Unshaved Cat still hissed at the other one through the door, despite being separated. Ultrasound showed genetic kidney disease, which may have exacerbated the aggro from the other cat - illness can make cats smell wrong.

So Unshaved Cat has been on kitty Xanax for a couple of months (very low dose), will be reviewed in a couple of months. Both cats are now on renal cat food. Cats can sometimes relax in the same room now (we've worked SO hard on enrichment, love, praise etc etc which Unshaved Cat is medicated) so there's progress. But wow. It's been a rough time. kitty Xanax has taken the edge off to the point where we can keep both of them, albeit under very constrained awkward circumstances in such a small house.

tl;dr sometimes anti-anxiety drugs are needed in severe situations.

Oh, how I empathize with you.  It'll take a novel to cover the last 15 months.  I will say that this is the 2nd time around for my cats on prozac.  I weaned them off of it last summer when it seemed like kitty relationships was back to normal.  But a few weeks later, Skittish Cat had another breakdown after I frightened her by banging against a door she was leaning against.  So back on prozac she went and her sister, too.  Sister was traumatized by the attacks.  Vet basically said prozac for Skittish Cat may be a lifetime thing unless I move into a large home and separate my cats.  I'm not 100% convinced I want her on prozac for the rest of life.  So for now, I give a much lower dose than prescribed by the vet and augment with more 'natural' supplements (Feliway spray, theanine, calming liquids).  I'm balancing keeping the peace with prozac and not obscuring my cats' personalities with drugs.  I'm likely to wean sister of prozac soon.  The low dose probably won't prevent a breakdown if something truly spooked Skittish Cat.  What it did do was facilitate rehabbing their relationship and maintaining a peaceful existence once their relations improved. So I'm conscious of keeping the environment low stress (i.e, angling the blinds so she can see the sky but not the area near the windows where an outside cat may visit, careful not to "surprise" her, etc).

Six months into prozac part 2, the cats generally get on alright.  Unlike your cats, they were never great friends to begin with.  They still have their light skirmishes--but these were the type of silly fights they had prior to the first Skittish Cat breakdown.  As a precaution, I separate them when I'm away for long periods--working all day and out-of-town trips.  This is because I don't want Skittish Cat to have a breakdown and be unsupervised for many hours or a day before I'm home or the sitter visits.  But for day to day living, they are not separated anymore.

Finally, for vet visits, I take both my cats.  Even if only one of them needs medical attention.  This is my way of mitigating feline non-recognition syndrome.  That way they both smell like the vet office when they get home.

[veloman]

One dog is 12 and had eye abrasions or some other minor defect. Had to go to the specialist a number of times for that.

The other has poorly functioning kidneys according to lab tests. He acts 100% healthy, so it's odd. He's on meds for that.

Insurance won't cover any of this due to being pre-existing.

Both are on special diets, though that isn't the bulk of the cost.

Both are adopted from the local shelter. We don't spend money on any frivolous services for them.

[Cassie]

WE have 4 dogs ages 9-15. WE never intended to have this many but life happens & sometimes you can't say no. In the past 12 years we have spent about $24,000 on vet bill for them. No clue about food & meds, etc .  WE exercise them daily & feed a high quality food. We have had a few expensive surgeries but the dogs were young then & we felt like it would be worth it.  Now that they are old I am more careful about what I spend. I would not do chemo for an animal.  Through natural attrition we plan to only have 1 in the future. Vet care on the west coast is crazy expensive. I have friends in other parts of the country that pay half of what we do.  Our children are grown & they bring us a ton of value for the $. With that being said we also don't think it is fair to burden our kids with this manypets if something happens to us which is another good reason to downsize the # eventually.

[Prepube]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

[Tabaxus]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

Good god those are gigantic dogs.  I wish I lived somewhere that I could have them!  As it stands, all we can have is a single (comparatively frugal) cat.

[caliq]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

Good god those are gigantic dogs.  I wish I lived somewhere that I could have them!  As it stands, all we can have is a single (comparatively frugal) cat.

Prepube is right though -- there are all kinds of unexpected costs with big dogs.  I had 3 puppies (all <1.5 yrs), not even that big for awhile (2 @ 100lbs and 1 75 lbs) and they DESTROYED my house and yard.  When they get playing inside and slam into a wall...the spackling over the drywall screws falls off...or they literally dent the wall...going to have to replace two carpets before we try to sell the house, etc etc etc.

But we still love them <3

[Rural]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

Good god those are gigantic dogs.  I wish I lived somewhere that I could have them!  As it stands, all we can have is a single (comparatively frugal) cat.

Prepube is right though -- there are all kinds of unexpected costs with big dogs.  I had 3 puppies (all <1.5 yrs), not even that big for awhile (2 @ 100lbs and 1 75 lbs) and they DESTROYED my house and yard.  When they get playing inside and slam into a wall...the spackling over the drywall screws falls off...or they literally dent the wall...going to have to replace two carpets before we try to sell the house, etc etc etc.

But we still love them <3

Your drywall wasn't done right. Our two play really rough, and they are 170 and 150 pounds, and that's never happened.


Carpet on the other hand… That's why ours live on a concrete floor!

[caliq]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

Good god those are gigantic dogs.  I wish I lived somewhere that I could have them!  As it stands, all we can have is a single (comparatively frugal) cat.

Prepube is right though -- there are all kinds of unexpected costs with big dogs.  I had 3 puppies (all <1.5 yrs), not even that big for awhile (2 @ 100lbs and 1 75 lbs) and they DESTROYED my house and yard.  When they get playing inside and slam into a wall...the spackling over the drywall screws falls off...or they literally dent the wall...going to have to replace two carpets before we try to sell the house, etc etc etc.

But we still love them <3

Your drywall wasn't done right. Our two play really rough, and they are 170 and 150 pounds, and that's never happened.


Carpet on the other hand… That's why ours live on a concrete floor!

That is very possible -- it's only ever happened in our handyman special finished basement.  We bought the house a year ago and have done zero work (just made more work by getting big dogs apparently!), so I have no idea how the previous owner did things. 

I have a dream of building a house and designing it kind of around my dogs...it involves concrete floors for sure :D

[Rural]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

Good god those are gigantic dogs.  I wish I lived somewhere that I could have them!  As it stands, all we can have is a single (comparatively frugal) cat.

Prepube is right though -- there are all kinds of unexpected costs with big dogs.  I had 3 puppies (all <1.5 yrs), not even that big for awhile (2 @ 100lbs and 1 75 lbs) and they DESTROYED my house and yard.  When they get playing inside and slam into a wall...the spackling over the drywall screws falls off...or they literally dent the wall...going to have to replace two carpets before we try to sell the house, etc etc etc.

But we still love them <3

Your drywall wasn't done right. Our two play really rough, and they are 170 and 150 pounds, and that's never happened.


Carpet on the other hand… That's why ours live on a concrete floor!

That is very possible -- it's only ever happened in our handyman special finished basement.  We bought the house a year ago and have done zero work (just made more work by getting big dogs apparently!), so I have no idea how the previous owner did things. 

I have a dream of building a house and designing it kind of around my dogs...it involves concrete floors for sure :D

That's exactly what we did. No regrets. Concrete floor and an inset drain.


I'm sure you know this, but with giant breeds, be sure they have some sort of padding on the concrete. Ours have a big carpet remainder in their bedroom (to be thrown out and repaced with a different free remainder when it gets too nasty, though so far hosing it off in the summer has worked). Plus they have an assortment of swap meet bathmats that can be thrown in the washer. As they age, I've started adding garage floor mats under the carpet remainder.

[caliq]

3 dogs.  195 (he lost some weight), 150, and 120.  Newf, Saint, Leonberger, respectively.  About 175 per month food, at this point in their lives, about 100 per year in vet bills each, maybe 200 per year total repairs to my house, 350 last year to replace a piece of carpet, about 150 to repair a fence, Oticlean for their ears is about 40 per year, nasty worm medication was 50.00 from the feed store (I need the cow size bottle), replaced pair of tennis shoes was 30.00, grass seed is about 20.00 per year, and I am sure there are other costs incurred in my home as a result of having large, healthy dogs.   One broke a toe the other day, X-ray was was 45.00. My cats, by the way, are much cheaper and one of them has never been to a vet.

So, OP, why did you think that having dogs would be cheap, and why the heck did you get a second one?  Seems like you should have asked these questions before you opted to have this responsibility.

Good god those are gigantic dogs.  I wish I lived somewhere that I could have them!  As it stands, all we can have is a single (comparatively frugal) cat.

Prepube is right though -- there are all kinds of unexpected costs with big dogs.  I had 3 puppies (all <1.5 yrs), not even that big for awhile (2 @ 100lbs and 1 75 lbs) and they DESTROYED my house and yard.  When they get playing inside and slam into a wall...the spackling over the drywall screws falls off...or they literally dent the wall...going to have to replace two carpets before we try to sell the house, etc etc etc.

But we still love them <3

Your drywall wasn't done right. Our two play really rough, and they are 170 and 150 pounds, and that's never happened.


Carpet on the other hand… That's why ours live on a concrete floor!

That is very possible -- it's only ever happened in our handyman special finished basement.  We bought the house a year ago and have done zero work (just made more work by getting big dogs apparently!), so I have no idea how the previous owner did things. 

I have a dream of building a house and designing it kind of around my dogs...it involves concrete floors for sure :D

That's exactly what we did. No regrets. Concrete floor and an inset drain.


I'm sure you know this, but with giant breeds, be sure they have some sort of padding on the concrete. Ours have a big carpet remainder in their bedroom (to be thrown out and repaced with a different free remainder when it gets too nasty, though so far hosing it off in the summer has worked). Plus they have an assortment of swap meet bathmats that can be thrown in the washer. As they age, I've started adding garage floor mats under the carpet remainder.

The carpet remainder is a great idea!  Our 'little' rescue puppy had a rough life and came with an elbow hygroma about the size of a tennis ball (at ~9 weeks old and 20 lbs!) so we've always been very conscious of padding.  The vet/medical websites will tell you that you need orthopedic foam beds for dogs that get hygromas, but we went through a million of them in his destructive puppy stage (pre-MMM ofc!).  Nothing helped until the rescue we got him from bought us these little overall padded thingies that velcroed on around both his front legs and up and over his shoulders -- he looked hilarious (hubby called him RoboDog) but it only took three weeks for the hygroma to go down!  We're still really careful though because you can tell he has expanded sacs on both elbows just waiting to fill back up...

But we let them on the furniture and he's stopped destroying dog beds so my future concrete-floored dream house will probably operate under the same type of rules xD

[irishbear99]

350 last year to replace a piece of carpet

Ooh, apologies for getting off topic, but is there a way to repair/replace a hole in wall-to-wall carpeting, or do you have to replace the whole carpeting? After 7 years, my dog has taken a liking to a spot in our hallway and has chewed a hole into the carpeting. :(

[Sibley]

I'm a cat person, and have 2 cats. I fall into the category of treatment when it's reasonable. Animals do not think the same way as humans, and we can't communicate with them. So minor injury or illness, sure I'll get it treated. Chronic illness requiring a pill and the animal is ok taking it - sure. Cancer - palliative care.

Mine also go outside, and there are coyotes around here. I've come to terms with the fact that a cat may not come home. There's some precautions I can take, but one of my cats would be miserable if I made her stay in. Quality of life matters, sometimes more than quantity of life.

I also like to find a vet and stay with them. I had a vet I was going to in CA, loved her and the only reason I don't go to her is I don't live there anymore. Now getting to know a new vet, so we'll see how that goes.

Typically annual checkup/shots for each cat, plus additional trips if there's a problem.

[Prairie Gal]

I have an 11 yr old dog and a 15 yr old cat. They have only gotten expensive in the last couple of years. The dog has kidney failure and is on pills and special food. The cat has numerous cysts and has had a couple of UTI's. Both have had dental work. It's hard to know when enough is enough.

[pagoconcheques]

So if my pets develop conditions I put them to sleep, no expensive vet bills for me. It would be insane in my mind to put $1000 into an unhealthy cat when you can adopt a new cat for $50 from a shelter.

THIS.

Also, after your current pet passes away, take the time and effort to live pet free for 6-12 months.  This may be difficult at first, especially if you've always had pets, but you will get over it and realize you not only can have a great life without pets but gain lots of independence and flexibility. You'll also save money. 

[Emilyngh]

We have had two dogs and IME, they are expensive their first year and last year, and not so much in-between.

I have spent around $1000 the first year we had each of our dogs to get them set on adoption fees, shots, dog training, boarding her before we were comfortable bringing her to people's houses, equipment, etc.   

But, then, I only take them to the vet once every 3 years for rabies and whatever other shots I deem needed.   I decline to do any of the blood tests or other tests unless they're having a problem.   We just do required shots and a checkup for around $200 every 3 years.   I order their flea/tick meds and heartworm stuff online, buy the xlarge flea stuff and give the exact proper dose using a syringe, only give it to them for the required months ( see ,http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/billion-dollar-heartworm-scam.html to determine when this is for where you live) and wind up spending about $50 total for the year on that stuff.   So, for most of the dogs life I'm spending a total of $350 every 3 years for vet stuff, so not much more than $100 a year.   We buy the tractor supply 50lb food for less than $20 a month for a large dog, and give small bits of people food (eg., cheese) for treats.

The last year of life for our last dog was a bit more expensive.   He had congestive heart failure, and while we opted not to put him on drugs (which might have prolonged the life of a 16 yr old incontinent dog another year), we did pay for xrays etc to diagnose the problem.   If I had another dog his age, now that I saw how useless the diagnosis was, I probably wouldn't opt for the xrays again.   But, between the xrays, getting his teeth cleaned and a growth removed while he was under for them, and the final cost to put him down, we spent around another $1000 his last year.

I love having dogs and to me, the total cost of owning of, say $500-600 a year (adding up vet bills and averaging over the years, total start-up and end year costs, food, etc), or about $40-50 a mo, is absolutely worth it.

[Marian]

I have a small (8lb) dog and two guinea pigs.  Surprisingly, I think I spend as much money feeding the pigs as I do the dog.  They go through a $20 bag of food every month at least, plus plenty of hay and the occasional vegetable or fruit treat.  My dog is a little more difficult to calculate, since I've started cooking for him. A batch of food made with mostly organic ingredients will run me about $30, but he eats such a small amount at a time that it can last him upwards of 6-8 weeks. 

I've probably spent more on the dog for vet bills, but the pigs are not exactly negligible in this category.  A check-up visit is about the same price for all of them, then my dog had his teeth cleaned on top of the usual shots/bloodwork/etc... around $600 when all was said and done.  One of my pigs had parasites when I first got them, so they both had to be put on meds for a bit.  Then one of them got an abscess on his nose (not fun).  All told, about $300.

The pigs are more high-maintenance creatures, too.  I have them in what's known as a C&C cage, which is about 6'x2'. I do spot cleaning everyday (those two poop a LOT) and wash the fleece bedding once a week.  They need Vitamin C supplements everyday, and occasional toe nail clippings.  The dog only poops once a day and gives me plenty of affection to let me know my efforts are worthwhile! Haha.

Moral of the story, guinea pigs are worthless, high maintenance pets that are more expensive than you'd think, and I would set them free in the wild if they weren't so darn cute.

[Retire-Canada]

I've had a few cats over the years. I probably spent less than $1K/cat over their lives for vet bills. I keep my cats indoors which eliminates most problems.

I just get cats from friends or SPCA....nothing fancy.

Everyone I know with pure-bred pets has tons of vet bills.

I do buy my cat premium food, but that's about $0.50 - $0.75/day. Cat litter is $25/month.

So yearly costs = $600 which is well worth the value added of a sweet cat.

-- Vik

[Cassie]

For pet lovers the cost is worth every dime. If you don't want to spend $ don't get a pet.  Also pets are not easily replaceable-they all have unique personalities like people do.  To the poster that said just put it down when it costs $ & get another one-you are the type of person that should not have a pet.  They require a commitment in many ways. Pets are not for everyone.

[Retire-Canada]

They require a commitment in many ways. Pets are not for everyone.

+1 - a cat is easily a 20yr commitment. Not everyone can handle that.

-- Vik

[pagoconcheques]

To the poster that said just put it down when it costs $ & get another one-you are the type of person that should not have a pet. 

Some "pet"s are working animals, and the referenced poster may have had animals that were somewhere between pets and workers. 

Many owners keep dogs  for the added security and alarm functions they provide and cats for rodent control; when those animals are old and infirm the owners typically get a younger companion for the old pet who can take over those responsibilities.  In these cases, for these relatively unsentimental owners, it makes sense to put the old animal down when health care becomes unreasonably expensive and it is no longer serving its intended purpose.  To the animal lover this seems harsh, but it is the difference between having an animal that functions as an asset with an ongoing maintenance cost versus an animal that is a discretionary entertainment expense. 

[Marian]

For pet lovers the cost is worth every dime. If you don't want to spend $ don't get a pet.  Also pets are not easily replaceable-they all have unique personalities like people do.  To the poster that said just put it down when it costs $ & get another one-you are the type of person that should not have a pet.  They require a commitment in many ways. Pets are not for everyone.

I would like to clarify that in my last post on this thread, when I said my guinea pigs are worthless money leeches that I wish I could set free in the wild, I really do not mean it!  They're little pains in the @$$, but I give them the best care and love possible.  Before getting them, I did my research, scoured the gpig forums for info you don't get from those short brochures at PetSmart.  Guinea pigs have a lifespan of 5-8 years, and I am ready and committed to caring for them for the rest of their lives.  My dog, as a small breed, has a lifespan expectancy of upwards of 20 years!  Even as an almost "senior" dog (~6 years) when I adopted him, he's going to be spending some time with me.

I am the sort of person that TV shows make fun of- I pamper my pets and try to give them the best of everything.  That means special "good" hay and pellets ordered online for the pigs, cooking for the pup, and plenty of love, attention, and training where needed.  I'm trying to give my animals long, happy lives that are true to the needs of their respective species.

As such, I really have to bite my lip to keep from going into a rant when I hear how some of the people I know treat their animals.  Especially one of my coworkers- he keeps talking about getting animals "for his children".  NEVER GET AN ANIMAL IF IT'S ONLY FOR A CHILD!  My favorite story from this guy is how he adopted a dog from the shelter, then separated from his wife so he had to return it.  Because the dog was "for the kids", and neither he nor the woman wanted to shuttle the dog between them or take full responsibility for it.  Way to teach your children that animals are commodities, to bought and dumped off on a whim!  This same guy's daughter owned a guinea pig, which she thankfully never got bored with (too many of those creatures end up on Craigslist: "got this animal for my kid, they're not interested in it anymore, need it gone"), but it was kept alone in a way too small cage.  She even had a little leash and harness for it which is a big no-no for guinea pigs.  And then my coworker didn't know why the thing up and died during their cross-country move... I'm sure the girl loved her pet, but she really could have used some guidance in caring for it better.

TL;DR: It makes me mad when people don't do their research before getting a pet and treat the poor animal like a disposable commodity.  Sorry for the rant.

 

[PatStab]

I have a found cat and an abandoned dog.  Black the cat is 19 years old.  They said she wouldn't
live a year, she has kidney issues still.  Her urine is almost clear and she drinks water by the pan
full and eats like a horse, she is very skinny.  She also has a class 4 heart murmur.  But still
this little cat keeps going, she travels with us, sleeps with me each night and has only been left
with a friend or vet 3 or 4 times in her life.  I used to have a tenant that watched out for her
when I travel.  She has never been sick but an eye infection.  Since she is strictly indoors I've
only used flea treatment a few times when she somehow got them.  I spend a lot off good food
for her anymore, she used to eat dry only but the vet said she needed more moist.  Her fur was
getting dry and she had dandruff, it cleared it.  I order from Chewy.com. Other then food, occasional
nail trims, I try to do them, but the vet can do better.  She is not friendly to others.  I'm not taking
extraordinary means to keep her alive.  I love her to pieces but not going to make her suffer because
I want her to be with me.  When the time comes I will have her put to sleep, she will be greatly missed.

My dog BJ is going on 12.  He is the best and smartest dog I've ever had.  I love him too.
He has what they think is a couple of fatty tumors, I have a good vet that says lets wait and
see.  Again when his time comes, well.

He costs more as he needs heart worm and flea treatment.  I get him groomed every couple of
months and get his nails trimmed.  BJ weighs about 60 pounds and has beautiful markings, they
are both a lot of company.  But animals are a lot of responsibility and I doubt I get more. I have
to get MIL to keep him, tenant used to and he is not used to this cold weather so he wants to live
in our heated basement.  Also I take animals seriously and when you take them you take them for
life. 

[BooksAreNerdy]

How come I can't take some tick medicine so I don't have to worry about ticks in the summer?

Because it isn't a systemic drug. The top spot drops are an oil that spreads around their skin and isn't absorbed. Humans don't have the same hair/oil spreading system.

[frugalmom]

So here's my take.  I am generally not in favor of getting my pets better care than was available to my grandparents.  Would I spring for an antibiotic for my pet, absolutely.  Heart/lung bypass or exploratory surgery?  Not going to happen.  We also found going out of the suburbs to a more rural area got us a vet more in line with our ideas.  Think American 1950's medical care is basically my standard.

Now that said, I strongly believe---junk in junk out.  I always fed my cats Royal Canin.  I had great luck with healthy cats.

Our last cat just died.  We are not planning to replace him at this point, mostly due to family situations.  I miss my cats, they were shelter kittens who lived with us more than 18 years each.

We now have 4 fish for my daughter.  I think their food and filters are about $3 a month, plus cost of running the filter on their 10 gallon tank.  I am not a great fan of the fish tank, but my daughter is at an age where she enjoys a pet, and it helped with the cats deaths. 

[Cassie]

I am  not a big fan of having an animal that just works but does not get plenty of love & attention. Animals like to have a job & I am fine with working pets as long as they get the attention too.  We tend to spend more on our pets if they are younger. For instance our 2 1/2 month old Maltese needed a $4000 heart surgery in 2004 or she would not have lived a year.  We did it & now she is 10 & healthy. I wouldn't spend that much $ on an old dog.  We just spent $1000 on a 9 yo big dog for surgery because he probably has 3-4 years left & is healthy otherwise.  I would not do cancer treatment for a dog/cat because you spend a fortune & they still die within a year or 2. However, I think some people won't spend any $ beyond basic preventive care & that I think is wrong.  I think there is a happy medium regarding this issue.

[Astatine]

Thanks to this thread, DH and I have had some good discussions about how much vet care we would do for our cats. They're only 5 years old, but one has a genetic kidney disease (the people we adopted them from did NOT do any due diligence when buying them - one was from a petshop and another was from a breeder who clearly did not do any genetic screening). He might die of something else in old age, or he might go rapidly downhill any time from now on. So it's less hypothetical for us now (only discovered the genetic kidney issues a couple of months ago).

Our conclusion is absolutely no heroics. Things like a daily pill or injection, sure. Standard tests for renal cats, sure. Straightforward surgeries with a high chance of success, sure. Ditto antibiotics. But no high risk surgeries with low chance of success, no chemo or anything that will have a long painful recovery time with minimal chance of long term quality of life. It's not about the money; it's about what is fair and reasonable for the animal and to minimise their suffering.

[Cassie]

I agree that what you are planning is reasonable & the reasons behind it.

[Lyssa]

Thanks to this thread, DH and I have had some good discussions about how much vet care we would do for our cats. They're only 5 years old, but one has a genetic kidney disease (the people we adopted them from did NOT do any due diligence when buying them - one was from a petshop and another was from a breeder who clearly did not do any genetic screening). He might die of something else in old age, or he might go rapidly downhill any time from now on. So it's less hypothetical for us now (only discovered the genetic kidney issues a couple of months ago).

Our conclusion is absolutely no heroics. Things like a daily pill or injection, sure. Standard tests for renal cats, sure. Straightforward surgeries with a high chance of success, sure. Ditto antibiotics. But no high risk surgeries with low chance of success, no chemo or anything that will have a long painful recovery time with minimal chance of long term quality of life. It's not about the money; it's about what is fair and reasonable for the animal and to minimise their suffering.

That's pretty much our plan for our recently adopted two kittens. We chose pedigree cats to at least be reasonably certain that they don't have any genetic conditions.

High vet bills pedigree pets are mostly breeds that have developed certain problems because of or linked to required characteristics of such breed (e.g. hip dysplasia in German shepherds). If one picks a healthy breed a pedigree animal is less likely to have and develop health issues than a pet shop animal or a household mishmash. Second most predictable would be a pet from a shelter (from a good one, obviously) since they are examined upon entry and monitored during their stay. Obviously this is no judgement on the value of any individual pet, just my assessment on the predictability of a subset of possible health issues.b

[Sibley]

Thanks to this thread, DH and I have had some good discussions about how much vet care we would do for our cats. They're only 5 years old, but one has a genetic kidney disease (the people we adopted them from did NOT do any due diligence when buying them - one was from a petshop and another was from a breeder who clearly did not do any genetic screening). He might die of something else in old age, or he might go rapidly downhill any time from now on. So it's less hypothetical for us now (only discovered the genetic kidney issues a couple of months ago).

Our conclusion is absolutely no heroics. Things like a daily pill or injection, sure. Standard tests for renal cats, sure. Straightforward surgeries with a high chance of success, sure. Ditto antibiotics. But no high risk surgeries with low chance of success, no chemo or anything that will have a long painful recovery time with minimal chance of long term quality of life. It's not about the money; it's about what is fair and reasonable for the animal and to minimise their suffering.

Thanks for thinking things through. Sounds like your cats are set for a happy life!

[caliq]

Welp...time to put my money where my mouth is.

My 10 month old Weimaraner/Basset Hound mutt just got diagnosed with a partial ACL tear after an acute severe lameness.  We have a week to see if the lameness goes away but the vet doesn't think it's likely.  He's 70+ lbs and very active; everything I'm reading about alternatives to surgery is geared towards smaller, older, less active dogs. 

I can't doom my puppy to an entire life of joint pain that would prevent him from doing the stuff he loves or hurt him while he's doing it, despite the fact that the surgery is anywhere from 1.5k to 3.5k and I'm still trying to dig out of a negative net worth :/

[sandandsun]

Welp...time to put my money where my mouth is.

My 10 month old Weimaraner/Basset Hound mutt just got diagnosed with a partial ACL tear after an acute severe lameness.  We have a week to see if the lameness goes away but the vet doesn't think it's likely.  He's 70+ lbs and very active; everything I'm reading about alternatives to surgery is geared towards smaller, older, less active dogs. 

I can't doom my puppy to an entire life of joint pain that would prevent him from doing the stuff he loves or hurt him while he's doing it, despite the fact that the surgery is anywhere from 1.5k to 3.5k and I'm still trying to dig out of a negative net worth :/

Sorry to hear that- it's hard when you are digging out to drop that kind of cash on something you didn't see coming.  I will say though, that I've never hesitated to take card of my pets medical needs... I pack my lunch everyday, never buy coffee out, really HATE to spend money- yet I didn't hesitate to say yes to a 7k life saving surgery for my dog last year.  We can easily afford it now, but I did the same thing when I was in grad school making minimum wage - it was the only time I ever used a credit card to actually pay for something because I didn't have the money...  And Ive never regretted it. 
good luck- hope all goes well!

[Cassie]

With our first dog that needed surgery at 2 1/2 months we had to charge it-$4000.  10 years later we are glad we did.  Also now we could pay cash.  For some issues laser treatment works really well but may not work for an actual tear. Might not hurt to ask the vet about it.  We did it with our old Maltese & it worked but she only weighs 8lbs.

[caliq]

Thanks guys :) I know it sucks financially, but honestly given his age, size, and activity level I don't really see any other option.  Truly I never even considered not doing it or not paying whatever it took...I did ask the vet to give me a ballpark of the cost, but she's not the surgeon so I won't really know any more details for at least another week.

  We have more than enough savings to cover it; negative net worth is due to student loans, car loan and 0% consumer debt -- no crazy interest rates that would have curbed EFund growth.  Thank goodness for that, but I was really hoping to meet my 2015 goals of paying off the cards, car loan, and my one private student loan...don't think that's going to happen anymore (it was a biiiiig stretch goal anyways tbh lol).  But I am using this as leverage to get my non-mustachian hubby to start applying some more mustachian principles (selling the car and getting out from under that loan vs. just paying it off -- it's a Ford Fusion Sport AWD and gets like 19 mpg& slashing the cable package to at least very minimal channels if not just internet).  Maybe that's a bit manipulative...kinda feel bad buuuuut...the ends justify the means?

[Bracken_Joy]

Welp...time to put my money where my mouth is.

My 10 month old Weimaraner/Basset Hound mutt just got diagnosed with a partial ACL tear after an acute severe lameness.  We have a week to see if the lameness goes away but the vet doesn't think it's likely.  He's 70+ lbs and very active; everything I'm reading about alternatives to surgery is geared towards smaller, older, less active dogs. 

I can't doom my puppy to an entire life of joint pain that would prevent him from doing the stuff he loves or hurt him while he's doing it, despite the fact that the surgery is anywhere from 1.5k to 3.5k and I'm still trying to dig out of a negative net worth :/

Hard place to be in. FWIW, we had the same situation with our boxer growing up- she needed a full joint replacement though. Totally worth it though. It's held up well, no further problems, she's a happy and healthy 11 year old now. To me, there's no question on something like that though. My pets are my family. I realize a lot of people don't agree though.

[Rural]

You've just discovered one of the best reasons for this "money" thing in the first place. Poor baby doesn't know what's wrong and you get to make it all better. What the hell good is money compared to that?


You'll still get there. :)

[Mrs. Frugalwoods]

Welp...time to put my money where my mouth is.

My 10 month old Weimaraner/Basset Hound mutt just got diagnosed with a partial ACL tear after an acute severe lameness.  We have a week to see if the lameness goes away but the vet doesn't think it's likely.  He's 70+ lbs and very active; everything I'm reading about alternatives to surgery is geared towards smaller, older, less active dogs. 

I can't doom my puppy to an entire life of joint pain that would prevent him from doing the stuff he loves or hurt him while he's doing it, despite the fact that the surgery is anywhere from 1.5k to 3.5k and I'm still trying to dig out of a negative net worth :/

Hard place to be in. FWIW, we had the same situation with our boxer growing up- she needed a full joint replacement though. Totally worth it though. It's held up well, no further problems, she's a happy and healthy 11 year old now. To me, there's no question on something like that though. My pets are my family. I realize a lot of people don't agree though.

Pets are definitely family. And I think you're making a wise and compassionate decision, caliq. Your pup will be eternally grateful to you :).

[ashem]

We just spent $2700 on our 8.5 year old dog this week! We are generally very practical people and we seriously considered just putting her down, but in the end we just couldn't make that decision based on the information we had. Long story short, she had been sick for a number of days and we discovered she had a very large mass on her spleen. The mass was likely to rupture and cause her to bleed to death internally, so we had to decide immediately whether to operate or euthanize. There is about a 66% chance it is cancer, 33% it is benign. The only 2 clues we had to go on were that there was no sign of metastasis on her lungs and the fine needle aspirate came back negative. It was such a hard decision to make. We asked ourselves if we were going through with it for the dog, or for our kids. Still waiting on the biopsy, but the dog is happier and more comfortable than she's been in a long time, so we feel we made the right decision no matter what the results are.

UPDATE
Woo hoo! Initial pathology report came back benign!! It's such a large tumor, they're going to keep looking, but we are so happy that she might be around a few more years.

[caliq]

So much support!  Thanks guys.  Based on the last 48 hours of trying to keep him "resting", we are in for a LONG haul...

Ashem, my thoughts are with you and your pup and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the biopsy comes back benign :)

[ashem]

Caliq, my best to your big guy too. As my friend says, "You would spend that much money on a CAR, why wouldn't you spend that much money on your pet?"

[caliq]

Caliq, my best to your big guy too. As my friend says, "You would spend that much money on a CAR, why wouldn't you spend that much money on your pet?"

So true! Also, lol @ "big guy" -- our other dog is a Great Dane and I always call Remy things like "little baby" ...I don't see smaller dogs than him much, so it's always a bit of a shock to be reminded that he is pretty big :D 

[lisahi]

My dogs are my kids, and my money means nothing if I can't help them live long, happy lives by using it. I'm of the "don't get a pet unless you're willing to put all that you can into keeping them healthy and happy" camp. And to me that includes money. I don't mean buy your dog diamond collars (because your dog doesn't care about diamonds); I mean if you're not prepared to spend money on vet bills that get a little crazy, don't get a pet.

I've got 2 small dogs-both rescues. Each has their own issues. My poodle/maltese has bad knees (luxating patellas). One knee was worse than the other and she needed knee surgery at a year and a half old. It was $1300, and I was fine paying for it because she had her whole life ahead of her. I wasn't going to let her be in pain the entire time. Luckily, with one "good" knee now, her other bad knee doesn't bother her. She'll need glucosamine supplements for the rest of her life, though.

My dachshund/min pin is obsessive compulsive. He bites his nails and, at one point, developed a lick granuloma. That's when a dog licks an area (usually on his feet or leg) so much that it causes an ulcer on the skin (his was not due to allergies). It's VERY difficult to treat. The only way to treat it is to break him of the habit of licking. He was on anxiety medication for awhile, and that helped somewhat. He also needed to be in an e-collar (a cone) for four months. Luckily it healed, but the whole process cost quite a bit too. The condition has a good chance of recurring.

But they're my babies. They're less expensive than kids (no college fund!), but it is more likely than not pets come with unexpected expenses.

[Kitsune]

Pets are expensive, but there are ways to mitigate that cost - a lot of people on this thread have it right, I think.

I currently have 2 cats, for which we budget 100$/month. This covers high-quality cat food and decent litter, with enough left over to cover annual vet exams/vaccines (emergencies come out of our emergency savings - and typically, we'll pay for 1-shot improvements that lead to a healthy cat afterwards). That said, they're indoor cats, so the vaccines they actually need are minimal. One thing that's made a big difference is, for bigger vet bills, to go to the country to the vet that sees my mom's pets when needed. In the city, the overhead costs are nuts, so the vet bills are consistently higher. A tooth cleaning in the city (blood work, anaesthetic, cleaning, and follow-up) was estimated to be 500$. The country vet did the same (blood work, etc), and extracted 2 teeth that were dubious, for 120$. And then had some recommendations for us regarding long-term care based on blood work results. Similarly, the cost of cat food is about 2/3 of the cost in the country (for the same bag, wtf).

Basically: shop around. Make sure you're getting equal care from a qualified person, obviously, but... some places are just definitely overcharging.