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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think having a pet is not affordable these days?

198 replies

cadburyegg · 29/05/2019 21:59

So as not to drip feed, I completely believe that once you have a pet you are 100% responsible. I grew up with pets and had many animals over the years. We don’t have pets anymore but when we had rabbits, one of them had long term health problems and we were often at the vets with her, until she died.

We had insurance, but the cost of that plus yearly vaccinations, vet check ups, other appointments that the insurance didn’t cover - it all added up. So we haven’t had animals since our last bunny died.

I think my DH would quite like a cat but I can’t see us being able to afford to pay out for everything that it would need.

So, AIBU? How do people manage the cost of a pet?

OP posts:
SaltedCaramelEverything · 30/05/2019 22:27

I agree OP. Can’t believe how cheap people are saying it is. Our cat is £50 a month in insurance (this jumped from £20 when he got a heart condition). Food was £35 a month as he was on a sensitive one but after a year I’ve switched back to a normal £15 one. Then the pet plan is £12 a month with the vets that covers 2 appointments, flea and working meds and yearly jabs so that’s quite good. So we’re at nearly £80 a month now!

AlaskanOilBaron · 30/05/2019 22:27

We've had weirdly good luck in claiming on our dog insurance (PetPlan). I claimed back 2 of my 3 vet visits last year.

Weird.

Orangeballon · 30/05/2019 22:30

I had dogs all my life but don’t have any pets now. I value my freedom now as I am often out or on holiday. Kennels cost a fortune now.

madcatladyforever · 30/05/2019 22:33

Generally they only get expensive when they are old.

DinosApple · 30/05/2019 22:57

For someone that's never had furry pets it's really interesting to see the costs involved.

We have fish in a pond and feed the birds in the garden so probably costs less than £30 per year for both, so in comparison it sounds much more expensive. But fish aren't as cuddly as cats Grin.

Diamondbean · 30/05/2019 22:57

We have a dog, he’s 11. We certainly aren’t well off as a family (earn under £30k a year between us) but we know what we can afford and what we can’t. We are a family of 5, 6 including him!
Eg we can afford to pay for all of our essentials, pop a bit into savings. We can’t afford yearly holidays abroad, maybe every other.

Our dog has had medical insurance since birth, and it’s about £25 a month now which will pay for itself if we need it (claimed on it once and saved us over £2000). His vaccinations are only £30 a year, and flea and worming treatments really aren’t that much either.

I think if you want to have a pet, you need to look at the costs first to know that you can afford it. They deserve the same treatment and care as a human in my eyes. We checked we could afford children before we had them so don’t know why having a pet wouldn’t involve the same?!
We worked out we could afford a dog and his associated healthcare, food etc. Dd1 asked for a horse; we know we can’t afford that so we aren’t going to get one!

Darbs76 · 30/05/2019 23:03

It is cheaper without insurance. Until something goes wrong. My puppy got sick on day 15 of the policy, one day after the 14 day exclusion. Total vets bill was £6000. I don’t have that kind of money lying around so for me insurance is essential. My policy went from £16 a month to £46. I wasn’t expecting that to be honest. I guess I naively thought puppies can’t cost much.
I know many who say they put the cash aside in a pot every month. That’s all very well as long as your pet doesn’t get sick for a good few years. And if you’re putting away the kind of money each month that would pay bills that can be thousands. It builds up very quickly

DENMAN03 · 30/05/2019 23:12

Yes they are expensive but so worth it. I prioritise my animals above new clothes/shoes etc. I have three cats (two are pedigree Sphynx cats) and I spend around £220 a month on fussy eaters food, litter, insurance etc. The horse on the other hand at full livery costs around £1000 a month. Having said that, the horse is also my hobby so I get my monies worth from him. It's about sacrificing stuff for what makes you happy I guess. I also don't have a family of humans to feed which helps.

BestZebbie · 30/05/2019 23:16

It depends on the pet - hamsters are pretty cheap to buy and run, especially if you give them off-cuts of veg from your own dinner prep to supplement their diet. The cage could be £50-£100 to get a properly sized one upfront, but one cage will last you several consecutive hamsters.

missminagrindlay · 30/05/2019 23:19

I agree about Syrian hamsters. They're WONDERFUL pets. They don't live very long, usually about 2.5 years, but once you invest in a quality cage they're so much fun and cheap and easy to keep and we just enjoy playing with ours so much. We're on 5th one, he's a little over 1 year old and he's so lively and inquisitive and such a little bundle of fur.

missminagrindlay · 30/05/2019 23:25

We built our hammy cage from a storage crate and parts - YouTube is your friend here! It was about £50 in total but is spacious enough for pedigree hammies.

DuchessSybilVimes · 30/05/2019 23:30

I think a lot of what we are encouraged to see as 'essential' pet costs these days just aren't. We are encouraged to view them as people. They are not. Doggy day care? Load of balls. Didn't exist ten years ago, maybe not even 5 years ago in a lot of places. We've been convinced that a dog can't be left alone for more than an hour at a time, in spite of fecking centuries of humans keeping dogs and shoving them out in a kennel/barn/whatever whenever it suited them.

Not advocating kicking ddog out into a snow storm or anything, but most dogs are adaptable. They don't need a babysitter.

Our dog sleeps if we're not there. She mostly just sleeps if we are there too. Staying at relatives' houses with other dogs leaves her knackered and she sleeps even more when she gets home, I would think shipping her off to doggy day care would finish her off for good.

No pet insurance either. Yearly check up for boosters. Unless bleeding or otherwise visibly injured - don't go to vet without giving her 48 hours to sort herself out. Learnt that one after a good three or four trips that resulted in 'just in case/ to be going on with' antibiotics and the odd xray or overnight stay, for all the tests to come back clear and, whaddya know, she's sorted herself out and the vet doesn't k ow what was wrong with her in the first place. Plus there's no way I'm putting a dog through operations to extend its life - a dog cant understand why its in pain, dragging out the life of an animal is cruel. If ddog breaks a leg or whatever, fine, credit card. I remember reading something a while back written by a vet arguing that too many pets are being put through far too much medical intervention because the insurance will pay & people don't want to feel bad, wheras the kindest thing to do would be to put them to sleep.

We flea and worm when we remember. Dog is 6, she's never had either. No grooming - she gets a proper bath about 3x a year. A hose down after a walk happens most days over winter when its muddy. A tin bath of cool water in the garden over the summer. Swims in the sea and the river whenever she gets a chance.

Buy food from pets at home and she doesn't get treats because she has a sensitive stomach.

We don't really spend much on her at all. She's 6 and living a perfectly nice life. Here she is, swimming in the river.

To think having a pet is not affordable these days?
hiyababy · 31/05/2019 00:16

I spend about £100 a month, I have a plan at the vets that covers flea & worm treatments, checkups etc, decent insurance and food for 2 small dogs and a cat. Yes the are things we could have it we didn't have the pets but I don't really miss them
Neither of us have large incomes, I'm just over min wage. We have 4 kids between us. And just to avoid judgement we don't get any benefits

LaurieFairyCake · 31/05/2019 00:19

Duchess

That's a child, not a dog Grin

(There's no dog in that photo)

SnowBrussels · 31/05/2019 04:25

Laurie, you can see the dog’s back in the water.

Whatareyoutalkingabout · 31/05/2019 06:04

I've never considered it financially an issue if you have pet insurance? Pet food isn't particularly expensive, neither is pet insurance. What costs so much? Confused

Whatareyoutalkingabout · 31/05/2019 06:05

(also I had two animals even while working part time during university, before I met DH so just one pretty small income, and never found it much of a strain, so I don't think it depends THAT much on income).

AlaskanOilBaron · 31/05/2019 06:18

My old dog was nearly killed by a pit bull at the park a few years back. Her lovely little snoot was crushed in about 14 pieces and she spent a week in hospital.

That convinced me that insurance was a good thing, mostly because I was without it at the time. If you live rurally I guess this is less of a risk, but my local park is overrun with aggressive dogs so I have insurance.

NameChangeNugget · 31/05/2019 07:01

What a weird post Hmm

It’s expensive in comparison to what? Surely it’s relative to income, type of pet and what you feed it and how you insure it?

fonxey · 31/05/2019 07:51

We have 3 cats and seen to pay an absolute fortune for them. Must be doing it wrong.

About £600-700 a year for insurances combined (they have paid out and been worth it)

£120 r just over a months worth of food especially now one is on an expensive be diet.

£60 or more to get their annual vaccination.

Good knows how much on treats. And unfortunately they know the difference between cheap and expensive treats. I have to spend £2-3 per packet of treats.

But I think that you don't have to spend a fortune on your pets, probably a way to be more economical.

However, i do think that people need to factor in cost of a pet and also know that they have to meet certain standards of care. So yes test need to be able to afford vet care. You need to afford to neuter their pet. You should preferable afford insurance especially with a dog or a cat. The amount of things I've heard of people putting their pet down or allowing them to suffer due to not being able to afford vet care.

Pets might not be in the same level as a human child but they aren't toys or throwaway things. They require a lot of responsibility which includes spending money.

So i think it also depends on are they worth it to you? If not, don't get a pet (as the sensible OP has obviously decided).

daisypond · 31/05/2019 08:02

What are the treats that are £2 or £3 a packet for a cat? Why do you have to buy them? I love my cat but she doesn’t get any treats.

batvixen123 · 31/05/2019 08:24

£120 a month on cat food??? £3 a packet on treats?? Jesus, what are you feeding your cats? Gold dust?

Snog · 31/05/2019 08:28

Our cat costs £100 a month which I think is a lot of money. I'd ideally love to have more pets but can't afford to.

Snog · 31/05/2019 08:32

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/blog/what-is-the-average-cost-of-owning-a-pet/amp

Lifetime cost for a cat or dog is £16-33k so £1-2k a year. This in inline with other figures I recall from TV programmes and other articles.

ElderMillenial · 31/05/2019 08:36

I just can't understand how people are spending so much money on cats and rabbits. My dog is over 50kg and spends 20 quid a month on food. Maybe 30.

These vet plans don't save money, that's why they advertise them so much. It's all a big spin and a constant source of income for them.