How much do your pets cost you a month?

[Away4Days]

Basically what the title says... and what and how many are there?

Seriously, though, I'm very envious of everyone's animal companions. Especially wonderful horses.

Even if costing an arm and a leg to maintain. Animals give us so much joy.

Am big animal lover, but a tiny flat + being away a lot is not compatible with pet ownership.
<sigh>

Horse

750 livery
80 shoes (130 every six weeks)
70 insurance
150 lessons or professional to ride him
100 anything else (new rug, new breeches, new hat, new numnah etc)
100 dogs insurance
120 dogs food
85 dog 1 librela
120 dog 1 new medication for another illness
40 dog 2 medication

Oops!

Oh and that doesn't include dog walking when I am away

One cat.

£35 on food
£12 on vet/worming/flea treatment, averaged

He has a lot of stuff like a massive cat tree, scratching post and vertical scratchers.

No insurance, no litter tray.

AIBU to find it strange that people can spend more on dog food in one month than I do for myself? I mean £150 on dog food for one month? that's a bit crazy.

One dog.

Daycare (1 day a week): £150
Food: £45 a month
Treats: £5 a month
Vet plan: £15 a month (covers flea/worming tabs and check ups)
Insurance: £12 a month
Grooming every 8 weeks or so: £40

So, in total, around £250 a month. She's worth every penny, and if we needed to because things got tight we could cancel daycare to make it much less.

Too much…..
1 dog, 2 cats and 2 horses on loan.

About £1K a month. Horsey people are right, I feel like giving the yard owner my card some months. I just got my daughter a new pair of riding boots (for equestrian college) £300!

on another note to the poster who said they didn’t understand people throwing money at sick pets. I understand, I spent £1k on my cats leg amputation but knew he would be fine after. If the prognosis was that treatment would not give my pet a good quality life I would be devastated but wouldn’t continue to throw money at the vet.

Oh I forgot grooming ! Dog gets her hair done every 2 months, £45 a go, so yes, another £22.50 a month.

Four cats

£200 food
£80 insurance
£30 litter
£60 vet health club (for vaccinations, health checks, claw clip, flea and worming)

for one small breed dog, i pay about £75 for his food, insurance, pet health plan and treats. hes worth every penny

I work in a vet clinic. When I look at animals now, I no longer see lovable bundles of fluff. I see money pits of varying sizes and depths.

Especially bull breed dogs. And I'm afraid one smaller bull breed that is immensely popular at the moment, is the worst for it. News flash, if you need to save up £25, you cannot afford a dog. You most particularly cannot afford that kind of dog!

@mbosnz what makes this breed more expensive - do they eat more food or something?

Health problems -hips, eyes, skin, ears, breathing. . .

3 Cats:
Prescription medication - £28
Flea/wormer - £30
Food - unsure, maybe £60-70
Litter - £20
Feliways - £30-50
Random drama requiring unscheduled vet visit - £80-120 (every other month it seems!)

Small flock of chickens:
Food - £15, up to maybe £30 with treats
Bedding - less than £5. Big bag lasts months.
Disinfectants/supplements/lice and mite treatments etc - probably averages £20 per month, but usually needed suddenly and have spent £60+ this week.
Random stuff needed to upgrade and repair run/coop/entertainment - seems like at least £200 a year

Cat. £20 insurance, £50 food as she had a special diet, £10 cat litter, plus flea and worm every 3 months and annual vet checks. Probably just under £100 a month.

One dog.
£104 per month insurance (he’s old)
£12.50 per month health care plan
£30 per month food
£10 per month arthritis supplement

One smallish dog, aged 10

Insurance £51
Food £30

we’ve been very lucky with his health so hopefully he’ll carry on being so healthy!

I don’t know how I forgot my elderly cats medication, that costs £40 a month, so our total spend would be around £400/month.

when you look at it like that… 😳

It depends on your individual budget, no? Of course it would be mad to spend £150 a month on pet food if that constituted a significant % of your monthly income, or was equal or greater than what you spend on your own food. Unless of course you only spend that much on your own food because you are self sufficient or purposefully frugal, rather than doing it out of economic necessity/poverty.

@mbosnz My vet has said a few times now that dogs are a luxury item. I agree with that.
long gone are the days when we fed them on butchers scraps and left them to entertain themselves. And that’s a good thing. But you need to be prepared for the costs when you take one into your family.

£40 insurance, £45 food (butternut box and biscuits), £6 treats and £50 walker, £141 a month total. Jeepers, never added it together before!!

Dog about £270 as he has a dog walker a couple of times a week
2 x cats £60
3 x Guinea pigs maybe about £20

Everyone has different budgets and priorities though.

£150 might be huge amounts to some but to others it's a drop in the ocean. You also need to consider that some animals need specialised diets due to allergies or health conditions.

So spending £150 may seem ridiculous but it's probably than dealing with the consequences of feeding a cheaper diet.

For example, I have a cat with bladder crystals who requires a special diet. His biscuits alone cost me £50 a month.

We are also in the £600/£800 month for two ponies, depending on if are able to get a month without shoes…

Livery £300
hay £100
insurance £150
feed/supplements £50
farrier £180

Not included in this is vet call outs, dentist, clipping, rugs, tack, lesson and competition costs, PC subscriptions and the fuel you need to tow with…

Obviously we wouldn’t change it but we are pretty much skint all the time.

@vjg13 the depressing thing is mine is also prettier much retired so I don’t even ride for my £700!

Livery is around £430pcm it varies as we can add services as needed eg I was away for a weekend this month and paid more. My standard livery is to have her fed, turned out and brought in and mucked out Mon-Fri and I do her mostly myself at the weekend. Mine can’t live out in a field 24/7 as she has a health condition called EMS and so she needs really careful management. Sometimes she can only manage a few hours on grass so needs bringing in and out and her hay has to be weighed and soaked. She lives somewhere that’s a bit like an equine nursing home! 🙈

Feed and supplements £70pcm.

Farrier £45pcm

Prescription meds £45pcm

Physio/Chiro/Worming/Dentist/Jabs etc £50pcm

Vet bills - obviously vary but because I can’t insure mine now I allocate £50pcm and that usually covers us for the year. Sometimes there is a surplus, other years there is £000’s owing.

Public Liability £7ish pcm

Honest truth is I can’t afford her now, I had her when I was young and single and worked full time. But she is 25 and I love her so I sacrifice.