Why do families who are poor, have pets

It’s the dreaded racket of pet insurance that has made pet ownership so expensive.
I’m nearly 60, and although we were poor when I was a child (single mum) we always had a cat and most people had pets on our council estate. Both my grannies, on their state pensions, had much loved and well looked after dogs. Pet ownership was common for people of all financial backgrounds. But back then vets were small businesses and “pay as you go”. A trip to the vet was not financially crippling.

Now everyone is expected to have insurance, and the vets charge through the nose because the insurers pay. And insurers charge hugely to cover this. I didn’t bother with insurance and a vet visit and some basic medication cost me £130 recently. DDog is at the end of his life but has been healthy for most of it so I think we’ve been better off by not having insurance.

Having kids is a want also, are we saying poor people shouldn’t have children because they can’t afford to feed and care for them or don’t have time.

But on the "time-poor" point: that's very situation specific isn't it?

If you have a Great Dane or an Alsatian then you will need to walk it a lot and it's probably not an appropriate pet if you have a family where both partners work full time out of home.

But there's no reason you have to have someone at home around the clock if you have a cat or a rodent.

I've previously been turned down by animal shelters when trying to adopt a cat on the basis that they wouldn't rehome a cat to someone who worked out of home at all (I work in an office two days a week). A mature cat is perfectly capable of fending for itself in a house for a few hours a couple of times a week. It's ridiculous to claim that you need to be in the house 24/7 to have any kind of pet.

There is a higher chance of being poor if you are also stupid.

Good insurance is expensive in itself.

Owning a pet isn’t a ‘need’, it’s a ‘want’. If you can’t afford the animal’s needs (food, medical care, shelter), you shouldn’t own a pet. I would add that some people can provide food, medical costs and shelter but don’t have ‘time’ to spend with their pet. In the same way, therefore, time-poor people should not own a pet. What we (humans) ‘want’ shouldn’t come into the mix.

Why don’t poor people just become lemmings and please everyone else?

Because a lot of people aren't great at sorting their priorities out.

It's probably also got a lot to do with the fact that peoples circumstances can and do change over time.

If you are living on the breadline and get a pet you might be able to manage the initial cost but it doesn't take much in your life to go wrong or for the pet to get ill to push the pet into unaffordable territory. The same probably goes for anything, including houses and cars.

TBH I find the whole let's get a dog and pay someone to walk it a lot weirder. Surely the whole point of owning a dog is that you walk it.

Why do wools who are poor have children?

Because poor people are allowed to have nice things….

Are pets things?

It's a question of degree isn't it? Pets are hugely life-enhancing and provide many benefits for mental health and wellbeing. I don't think pet-owning should be the preserve of the affluent only. Provided you have pet insurance and can afford the pet food each week it shouldn't be prohibitive.

I think also think some people are absurdly precious about pet welfare. Some of the animal rescue places put prospective adopters through absurd hoops to prove they are worthy of owning an animal.

But I have to say getting something like a large dog when you're on benefits or homeless is just daft. Anyone who is living in a state of being one paycheque away from financial crisis shouldn't be making living creatures dependent on them for their welfare.

Haha when I posted advice on debt repayment I was told I should sell my TV because watching TV is a privilege.

Oh Jog on
Perhaps its the only company they have !

Because I didn't expect my child to suddenly become disabled and to have to give up my job when he was in hospital.

Sometimes life happens.

DD was shocked to discover that a lot of insurance companies will only reimburse you and not the vet, so the vet has to charge you and you have to make a claim with your insurance company, so read the small print! She has had a few clients left distraught when told they would have to find the money to pay their bill and take it up with their insurers.

It is a common theme that people poverty often do not make "sensible" financial choices. It is the human condition, we are not good at denying ourselves simple pleasures to save money for tomorrow. Furthermore life in poverty can be hard. Cold, stressful, lacking enjoyment. This drives people to seek out small pleasures even if they can barely afford them. This is why you will often see that people on low incomes will often spend money on "small luxuries/pleasures" - cigarettes, alcohol, junk food, pets, entertainment".

Because poor people are allowed to have nice things….

My cats lived to 15 and 16. Do you think someone's financial status couldnt change over that period?

A friend of mine stopped paying insurance because it was so high but instead puts aside what she can afford into a savings account each month. She intends this to be money she can use if/when the pet needs a vet appointment.

I have a cat, she's 5 soon. I got her when our old family cat died in traumatic circumstances during lockdown when I couldnt get her the help as quickly as i could. It was traumatising for me and my DD. We were doing fine financially to afford and we got a kitten some time after.
Now my circumstances have changed, I had to move out with my DD and I am getting Universal Credit although I do work full time.
Its got tough financially but i always make sure I have enough food and litter for her and she is insured.
I just worry about affording expensive vet fees now, even with her being insurance.

It never used to cost much at all to own a pet. I have always had cats and none of them have ever been insured. The one we have now is 18 and last went to the vet when she was a kitten.

These days its big business, vets, insurance, dog walkers etc. never mind the outlay to buy a specific breed of pet in the first place. I'm really not convinced you need all of that

Honestly, it’s disgusting the moral high horse people think they get to be on when talking about poor people. They can do what they want, they can prioritise what they have and have a pet and not have to have people commenting on whether they should be allowed them, or how silly of them when they have no money.

If it were up to mumsnet poor people would be childless, petless, only allowed a Nokia 3310 and forget about having a TV. They wouldn’t be allowed to eat any treats, drink alcohol and smoking would be punishable by death

Do they not get financial help from the government when they have kids, even down to free school meals and grants for school uniforms. Pretty basic stuff food and clothing.

I’ve often thought the same …..
Particularly those that acquire animals that require expensive living conditions - reptiles / bearded dragons etc !

Several people near me have a menagerie of animals and moan that there is no PDSA where we live .

I don’t dispute that they bring pleasure but you have what you can afford . These people have not recently found themselves in hardship either .

I remember reading that healthy animals are being abandoned or PTS unnecessarily too as people can’t afford treatment

@hostleg Are you coming back? Were you hoping for a discussion or are you just here to shit stir?