To be nosy and ask how much your pet costs you per month?

[phoneybaloney]

We very sadly lost our dog recently and we are all really missing having a pet.

I am currently very torn about getting another pet in the future, purely due to the rising costs of living. This feels sad to me as we definitely feel all the benefits of having a pet. My old dog was such a boost to my mental health, and I think I'd sacrifice other things like TV subscriptions etc to prioritise having a pet BUT I am thinking cautiously about it from a finances point of view.

If you have a dog, a cat (we may go cat instead of dog, it's a current family debate), or any other pet and are happy to tell me your monthly costs I'd really appreciate it.

Food, insurance, flea and worm treatment, vaccinations, vets, etc. It all adds up doesn't it and I want to be aware of costs. Even since my dog passed with everything going up it's definitely my main thing to consider.

For 2 cats it's about £120 I think, with insurance. But they are fussy with food.

Older large dog (10y) - 60pm insurance, 45pm food, 70 for salon (paws, fur maintenance) every 2m, roughly 750 per year dog-sitting for holidays, plus boosters/parasite/flea treatments - about 300py. So that comes at around £2750 per year or £230pm.

Cat - 10pm insurance, 30pm food, 250py boosters/parasite/flea treatments. No costs when on holiday as my in-laws take them (we have 2) in. No salon either. So around £730 per year per cat or around £61per month.

2 dogs, 12kgs each, corgi size.

Food is £3.15 a tin currently (grain-free and hypoallergenic which is non-negotiable for my two) and they go through a tin a day between them so £94.50 a month, or less as I tend to buy in bulk when discounted.

They get plenty of dog treats, probably £5 a week for the two of them.

And for vets I budget £50 a month which sounds crazy but they're not insured so it goes into a savings account to spend as and when needed.

Wormer and flea/tick treatments I buy online from petdrugsonline and don't worm or flea-treat them unless they've caught and killed some wild animal so costs are minimal.

So I guess £150+ pcm for the two of them.

I have two cats now over the age of ten.
Litter - £30/month
Healthy Pet Club (flea/tick/worm etc treatments, annual vaccinations & annual checkup) - £22/month (£11 each)
Food - I buy grain free food, which is better for cats £75/month
I’ve just cancelled pet insurance as it’s just ridiculous now they’re over ten despite the fact they are clinically healthy. They wanted £800 a year plus an excess of £200 each time, plus an additional 20% of full treatment cost on top. I’ll be putting money aside where I can but if something happens I will have to make some difficult decisions. I just cannot afford that mount of money now.
When they’re gone I won’t be getting another pet.

We have an 18 month old boxer. She's £88 a month insurance (had meningitis, considering cancelling) about £30 a month for food, say a tenner on toys/treats per month, no grooming costs.

We budget £2000 a year for the dog. It's not food, of course, it's medical, jabs, boosters, kennel cough etc. plus extras especially now she is getting on and has arthritus. That also covers a few emergency days in kennels when neither of us can work from home. She is worth every penny, but we couldn't do it again, or take on another.

Cat:
£20 insurance month
£60 food month
yearly vet check up is £150 not covered by insurance. Put another £100 on that for the flea/dewormers
£20 litter (she goes in and outside)

the costs mount when they’re ill - we have already gone above our insurance this year as she’s ailing

pet sitting/cattery - £100-200 per year

I’d say cats are relatively cheap until they get ill or have bad teeth!

small dog costs

food £30 a month, I feed her raw but would be cheaper if I didn’t!

groom £40 every 6 weeks

insurance £40 a month

flea and wormer £50 every 3 months

i do a pack walk which includes a coffee break most days so when it’s my turn to pay that’s also a tenner!

plus petrol to drive to the woods where we walk daily

Two cats, insurance for one of them (fancy breed) is £33 a month, and the other £25 a month. Both were rescues so only cost £150 each adoption fees.

Probably about £50 a month in total for food, treats and litter (we buy a box or a few sachets of food with every weekly shop and add them to a big plastic storage box with all different packets of wet food we’ve amassed - they seem to like the variety - and we treat them to to expensive Encore/Applaws tins a few times a month).

And then another £10 a month for Zylkene for the nervous fancy breed. Fancy breed boy also goes to the groomers at a cost of £60ish every 8-12 weeks.

It wasn't till both my old girls cats were gone (RIP my loves) that I realised how much money I was spending a month.

Vet plan
Additional vet and medication costs not covered in plan
Special diets
Litter and other litter tray stuff
'Sundries' like Indorex spray because fleas in house

Then there was the time off work for vet trips (more frequent with age), the endless washing of pet bedding and sofa throws, and the cat proofing of the garden to keep next door's bastard half-Bengal out.

I was a very heartbroken but 'quids in' woman when the last one went to the Elysian Fields. I'm still heartbroken a year on, tbh.

Cat :
Food about : £46 approx
Insurance : £12
Monthly flea / worming / 10% off vet appointments £14
= £72

Two cats, $85 per month for food and about $30 for their very posh litter. No insurance or flea treatments as they don't go outside.

Food £50/month
Insurance £40/month
Pet plan to include vaccines/flea/work £17/month

Dog walks on days I'm stuck in meeting £15/hour
Overnight boarding £30/night

Treats/toys approx £20/month although non essential

Mixed breed 25kg dog.

Petplan insurance £50
Medivet subscription £17 (Inc worming, fleas, vaxx, 6 month health check)
Food £42
Pigs ears, trotters, raw marrow bone from time to time £10

Total:
£119 per month

Cat

Petplan £19
Medivet subscription for fleas worms vaxx £13
Food £12

Total
£44

Cockapoo here. Per month -
£35 insurance
£25 grooming
£10 tick and flea treatment
£40-£50 a month on food (combination of Lily’s Kitchen kibble, cooked meat, LK or Butchers tins)
£20 -£30 on fripperies, sometimes more
£50 dog walker

DS pays for the grooming, DD pays for the worm/tick/flea stuff. They’re both working adults and he’s the family doggo.

I have a horse.

The first rule of horse ownership is NEVER EVER add up how much the horse costs you.

The second rule is that the cost of horse ownership will always exceed any disposable income you have.

16/17 year old cat here (rescue so not entirely sure of age). Costs are...

£50 pet plan (we do have the covered for life, no limit plan)
£40 month food and dreamies
£12 month vets (includes twice yearly check ups, he jabs and her frontline treatment)

Then about £25 for the cat to be fed whilst we're away on hols (a friends teen does it).

Car insurance was a lot cheaper until she got hyperthyroidism a couple of years back. We went for the iodine treatment that was about £5k The insurance covered almost all the costs, we paid a few hundred, but insurance has been a lot higher since then.

Labrador.
£80 per month on food.
£170 pm for regular daycare.
£20 pm for vet plan, which covers flea and worm treatments and an annual check up but I’m cancelling that when it’s due early next year.
£40 pm insurance.

Plus occasional toys, collars, poo bags and extra training sessions probably £25 per month spread over the year.

Good job we love her, the expensive little baggage

Mastiff owner here

£35 pet insurance

£30 on regular prescription meds plus flea treatment, he only has some doggy ibuprofen as he's getting a bit achey in his joints now at his age. He also has a heart murmur but that's not medicated just monitored.

£100 on food. (It eats a lot)

But the cuddles and snuggles are priceless 😂

I have a 2 year old ragdoll.

Insurance is £13 a month. (but I'm possibly going to change from Petplan at renewal to something cheaper.
Food is £60 per 6 months for a huge bag of Royal Canin biscuits.
I paid £60 for check up and vax last week.
Litter is £10 a week between two of them but I could save if I bought cheaper litter.
Treats, probably an extra £5 or so a month.

Total= £50 or so a month,

I have a 12 year old moggy.
Insurance £10 a month with animal friends.
He only eats one brand of wet food so this costs £30-£40 a month.

Vet costs have been huge since he developed stomach problems a few months ago. I have had to pay 2 years worth of excess at £200 each (policy changeover to new year was in June) and buy ProKolin paste at £30 per 2 months from Amazon. I've also been trying him on different hypoallergenic food brands which he hates and they cost a fortune.

He had a dental extraction around 2 years ago which cost £300. He needs more teeth removed and the quote for this surgery was £500.

Cost= An absolute fortune!

Two rescues:

£18pm insurance for younger one, old one we just would pay from our savings
£60pm on food
£20pm on flea/worm
£35 every 3 months for a groom
£120 every year for vaccines / health check

However, I also buy mine yellowfin tuna from the waitrose fish counter because doggo 1 loves it. They also like sockeye salmon so i buy them a fillet every week. In reality, I spend hundreds but above is the actual necessary costs.

Just remembered older doggo who we got when she was 6, now 9, has bad teeth. She had 13 removed when we got her (thousands...) and now needs proper cleaning which will be £300.

Raw food = £50 a month
Insurance = £45 a month
Dog walker = £300 a month
Treats/poo bags = £5 a month

= £4800 a year. Absolutely ridiculous and luckily the dog walker is only a temporary measure until December

Feel a bit of a bad dog owner reading this.

Food £30-40 odd.
Insurance £35

That's it really. He doesn't need doggy day care and his breed isn't allowed there anyway. He doesn't need grooming, though he could do with a wash. He resource guards treats so I don't buy them for him.