I have three cats and one dog, and the cost of all them combined was maybe a thousand dollars, and that was with one major medical expense. In other years it is half that amount. I used store brand clumping cat liter, and they eat a basic diet of basic Purina cat food. They are well cared for, get played with a lot, and have four kids to sleep with. You can give an animal a good life for not too much money.
I just looked and I spent almost exactly $2000 on my dog in 2010 and 2011.
She is both a big dog (more expensive meds, more food) and a princess (new toys when she destroys old ones, new toys for fun, new beds, new bowls, higher quality food), plus she is older (glucosamine), has allergies (anti-histimine) and is prone to fatty tumors (which I have tested when they crop up) so I wouldn’t say my experience is run-of-the-mill.
But for every me-type-situation there is someone paying $250/year for their dog and we even out the stats.
Food, heartworm remedy, and one vet visit a year are easily going to reach $300 for even a small dog. My Lab Sampson may eat that much Pro Plan in a year. I might shave it to $100 on Old Roy. Many dogs are going to need a flea remedy for another $100 a year. Go to a grain free, organic dog food and it could add $300.
He doesn’t chew toys much except when visiting other dogs. By mostly sticking to Nylabones, we keep the expense down for the puppies too. I don’t keep track, but several combo and other shots add up.
Since I never paid for a dog in my life, I allowed nothing for acquisition. That can be anything from free to a good home to thousands.
Non routine health care can add up too. Most pets should have a one time only spay/neuter for $100+.
We’ve got our dogs on a medical plan through Banfield (Petsmart) which is $25 a month for each dog. That alone has mitigated a lot of costs (rabies, checkups, health concerns etc) and that alone is $300. That doesn’t include food, toys, treats, poop bags, leashes and harnesses, and the all important outfits.
Depends on what you believe your ethical obligations to a pet are. If you beleive that your obligations include non required vet care, then it probably isn’t ethical to take on a pet unless you are ready to expend that money. If the cat eats Christmas ribbon and it’s “well, it either passes or the cat dies” than it isn’t.
My cat required surgery twice for things she ate, and had a tumor removed, all in her first year of life. She’s an expensive cat and she isn’t three yet. But we could have just let her die. The dog needed hip surgery. That was more optional, but the dog was in pain.
Dog costs seem reasonable–hundred bucks for shots and checkup, sixty to a hundred for heartworm prevention, and that’s before you buy kibble, fight fleas and ticks, provide any toys or treats, buy a license, or deal with any illness or injury. Cat costs seem rather high, though.
I have two dogs and one cat. In a normal year, I spend about $600 year on food (including supplements for the older dog), about $500 a year on vet visits, and between $500 and $750 on kennel care when I travel. Add on another $300 or so for litter and toys. So between $1900 and $2150 per year. That’s for all three of them.
However, there have been times when an emergency vet procedure/visit has cost more. Also, the dogs were probably more expensive in their puppy days before I had them trained not to destroy things, and my last dog (died at 15), got a lot more expensive in her last year or so.
A lot of the elderly animal care expenses depend on how much an individual will do to keep an older pet going. We all have our limits on what we’ll spend and how much we’ll put the humans and animals through.
Well, I was not exactly a rich person when I was spending $1000 a year on The World’s Most Accident-Prone Pooch. What this meant was that there was something else I did not get, and probably things my kids didn’t get.
But there are vets here that will fix up your pet no matter how little money you make. They will take payments, they will try to get grants. They won’t turn you away for making too little, only for making too much (and I believe they will neuter even if you’re above their income level).
But if you would have to choose between paying your rent and getting your pet some medical care, then yeah. You probably shouldn’t get a pet. 'Cuz being homeless isn’t pleasant for people or their pets.
About $400-450/yr for food ( ultra-premium canned, every fourth can free ). Add in vet bills, which include three expensive emergency trips ( one with a lengthy follow-up ), a couple of tooth cleanings and annual check-ups & vaccinations. I’d say even averaged out $700 is currently on the low end. For me. They go a few more years without more emergency trips and that should go down ;).
But of course that is probably a close to worst case scenario. I live in an expensive area, with correspondingly pricey vet care. Not everyone will have as many pet emergencies. You don’t need to feed that expensive of food. Etc.
Agree that the cat seems a little high. I’m sure I spend less than $50/month on mine, and he gets some pretty damn fancy food made of ground up ducks and mouse tears, and I’m pretty wasteful when it comes to litter (I buy the most expensive clumping stuff I can find, at my grocery store, in a small container, so I’m sure I could save 30% on that cost if I bought cheaper stuff in bulk at BJ’s or Costco). I could easily spend less on the little monster is what I’m saying. It’s about $5 for a year’s supply of hair ties for him to play with. Spent a good $300 or so the first year to get him vaccinated/castrated etc, but that’s a one-time cost. I figure I can expect fairly smooth sailing for at least 7 years or so (although it’s probably a good idea to have a few hundred bucks on hand for emergencies).
Oops, missed the second half of my post. Here it is:
I agree that the start up costs are the most expensive part of having a fish tank, but to me they’re sort of like pool tables in that I’d never buy one new when there’s always someone on Craigslist trying desperately to get rid of one. For $50-100 you can easily find a 55-gallon tank w/accessories on Craigslist.
I have 6 large dogs. Dogfood costs for me are about $100/month. I can usually depend on one relatively catastrophic illness/surgery for about $600/year (this year will be hip surgery for Wylie, last year knee surgery for Andy and erlichiosis for 3 of the dogs, the year before congestive heart failure for Grace). Fortunately my vet is relatively cheap as these things go. Shots are about $300/year for all 6. Flea meds I buy the largest size of Frontline and dose down, and when I can get a decent deal on Advangtage, I use that too. Things l ike glucosamine, I buy horse supplies and dole it out. I’d say my cost per year for dogs is about $2500, or about $450 each.
I have 4 horses. I spend $100/mo on grain. I bought 100 bales of hay last year at $4.75 (up from $3.25 the year before). The farrier comes every other month and charges $30/ea for a trim. However, every horse doesn’t need a trim each time. Say $500/yr. The vet comes out for shots in the spring. That’s about $400 for all. Fortunately my horses are healthy and not accident-prone, so there aren’t many emergency calls. Total for the horses is about $2400, or $600 each. Which seems high. Back when I only had two, Irish ate a cheaper feed and I used much less hay.
The four cats are really cheap. They eat cat chow. They don’t often get sick. One male seems to get UTI’s about once a year. I don’t vaccinate the housecats. I’d say I spend less than $100/year per cat.
StG
how much does de-clawing cost?
Generally it is an extra $100 or so added on when the cat is spayed or neutered. IMHO, it is a needless, painful and expensive surgery. If you really want to know why you shouldn’t go here and read the articles.
I have had 3 cats, none were declawed. All three love/loved the cardboard scratchers. I currently have 4 scattered throughout the house. I regularly trim their nails, they haven’t clawed my eyes out yet.
The dog cost is about what I’m spending for two of them. One of them is allergic to life so they get a higher end food. The costs will probably even out once they get older though.
True for my cat. For the first six years I had him he was dirt cheap - maybe $300 a year. Now that he’s gotten older, he needs more regular checkups, plus I just started him on a parasite prevention medicine, and the vet told me to switch to wet cat food. I’m estimating vet expenses alone will be about $600/year.
I really would have rather not seen this thread. I don’t think I wanted to know how much money I spend. Now I won’t be able to get it out of my head. For three dogs… I pay $110 per month on food including treats. 60 dollars on flea and heartworm prevention. 20 on special shampoos and vitamins. 80 dollars per month on pet insurance. $600 per year on well checks and shots. $3700 hundred a year for my three best friends. They are lucky I love them. 
Cats can develop problems by just BREATHING. You can reduce the opportunity for problems by keeping the cats indoors all the time. Bad things happen to outside cats.
My furry beast decided to develop Diabetes about three years ago. So along with the numerous doctor visits and labwork, we’ve got the expense of insulin and syringes and Diabetic cat food.
The thing is, though, when you get a pet and you fall in love with the stupid thing, you suck it up when it comes to the expenses, because the animal owns your heart.
~VOW