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.

Two dogs and two horses here……I don’t even want to start to work out the cost!!!

Dog per month = £139.50
£90 pet insurance
£35 food
£14.50 vet health plan (covers vaccines and flea/worm treatment)

Cat = £62
£32 insurance
£30 food/flea/worming treatment/litter

Those are just the basics. On top of that are treats, toys, poo bags, boarding costs, vet fees etc. I've paid over £350 in vets fees for my dog this year. She is insured but each time she's needed treatment it hasn't been above the excess.

8yo dog:

£50 insurance
£60 food wet and dry
£40 dental chews, treats, other chews etc
Say £20 per month averaged out on toys, bowls, bedding, leads etc, but obvs these don't happen every month
£50 secure field fees (she's reactive)
Say £10 per month average for flea and worming treatments
Plus the occasional vet trip for minor things that are under the excess on our insurance, say an average of £30 per month
Sitters £50 (no family nearby so we use a sitter if we need to go out for more than an hour or two)
Jabs we have a lifetime programme for £99 so no ongoing annual cost

Added all up the little furball casts about £300 per month on average, if you'd asked me I'd have guessed about £150!

Also we definitely get through more cheese and peanut butter than we used to!

Dcat costs approximately £75 per month I guess.

Petplan is £27
Food is £35 ish
Cat litter about £10
Flea and worming treatment about £10
Incidental costs for vaccinations, toys etc are additional but ad hoc.

She is adorable and we wouldn’t swap her for the world but she isn’t cheap.

2 cats, about £60 a month
One only eats dry and they're both indoor so unvaccinated, no flea treatment etc.

2 snakes, around £40 including insurance and electric for their heat sources.

It's the vet bills that come up to sting you. My smallest snake has cost me the better part of £200 this month for a respiratory infection. The consultation alone was £60 (exotic vet) but I should be able to claim some of it back through my insurance once they've processed my claim

Four cats.

Insurance around £60
Vet health care plan (boosters, worming, fleas, claws etc) £56
Food £160
Litter £30

so in total just over £300 monthly for all four

German shepherd dog 11 years old 60 pound a month for food another 10 for treats etc..

I stopped insuring 4/5 years ago as insurance was more than my car insurance and the terms were getting tighter and more ludicrous.

I havent vacinatted since covid either but this was about 70 i think including flea and worming treatment.

In the last 4 years ive had 1 big vets bills at 500 as she split her paw pad open and spent another few hundred on arthritis checks and medication

I would also be reluctant to get another due to bills mainly vet bills as i know I can afford food and everything else that comes with

Insurance £25
Vet plan £17 (thinking of cancelling as I mainly joined for the spay discount)
Food and chews etc. £30 (maximum)
Doggy daycare £50-100 depending on work travel
Contingency for vet/meds £50-75

So...nearly £250 for 6kgs of pure delight!

2 older cats
Insurance is £135 for both,
Food about 15-20, they have IAMS dry food
Litter 10-15
just had to start new courses of vaccinations, due to shortages 190
Boarding kennels, about 130 per week
They are indoor cats, so no regular flea or worming treatments, but I keep a close eye when they come home from the kennels
So far, they have both been healthy....
Scary when you add it up !!!

We currently have 4 rescue dogs and 3 cats, one of which is a pedigree.

Monthly Lifetime Insurance for Dogs: £87
Monthly Lifetime Insurance for cats: £36
Cat Litter: £20 per month
Food for all: £100 per month (ish)

We also pay a monthly vet subscription for flea, worming and annual boosters which is £130 per month.

Grand Total just under £400 per month if you allow for a few additional extras here and there such as treats etc.

Bernese Mountain dog - £300 per month (insurance and food)

4 goldfish in the pond. About 50 pence for pellets.

We have 1 dog.

Food about £20pm
Inoculation once a year around £50
Flea & worming treatment from Internet £50pa

No insurance as we have substantial savings.

@ILikeHotWaterBottles yea! Horse costs live in the part of my brain where there's nothing to see. Or hear because the constant noise is la la la la.

My two Persians cost about £200 a month. Mainly due to their astronomical insurance premium. Worth it though!

Hundreds of pounds a month per pet here - we have a middle aged dog who has had some health issues, needs a special diet, we pay monthly to the vet for healthy pet club for vaccinations/check ups, then there's the cost of occasional boarding for holidays etc.

Large, young adult dog & large crossbreed adult cat in middle-age. Both neutered. Costs rounded, around £300 a month for the pair.

Dog

Insurance - £55
Food - £100 (we do buy expensive food)
Supplements & treats - £10
Vet care plan (flea, vaccs, worms) - £13
Home boarding (only used for holidays costs averaged out over the year) - £25

Cat

Insurance - £30
Food - £30
Vet care plan - £10
Home boarding (only used for holidays costs averaged out over the year) - £25

Get the vet to switch from frontline (which fleas are becoming resistant to) to something like bravecto.

2 x dogs

dog 1 is 11 and we pay no insurance on her anymore

dog 2 insurance is around £35 per month

food is £70 per bag and lasts around 4 weeks

I bulk buy flea and working stuff so maybe £10 a month for them both

total £115

4 x cats

cat 1 - not insured (9)
cat 2 - not insured (8)
cat 3 - insured at £19 per month (4)
cat 4 - not insured (6)

food is Lilly kitchen and quite ££ I’d say £90 per month on dry food and £45 per month on wet food

again flea and worming all a bulk purchase so maybe £5 each ish so £20 a month, cat litter around £20 (again bulk buy and have delivered)

total for cats - £194

so around £300 for all of them 🤦‍♀️

all of them are at an age now where when something happens they will not be replaced.

I could spend less on food etc one of the cats suffers with their Tummy so the expensive food is worth it I could use some cheaper wet food

they are an expense we live without but we have them now so 🤷‍♀️

Dog medium size £15 vet month fee ( worming , defleeing , vaccinations ) food £25 a month
But last 2 months approx £600 on vet bills
Pet insurance - awaiting quite but about £50 now for dogs age etc

If I count insurance, flea stuff etc then our cheapest cat is about £45 and most expensive about £120. That's per month, and the main difference in cost us expensive cat only eats special food and costs more to insure.

That's a rough guess without adding in extras, treats, vaccinations, check ups etc.

Still cheaper than my horses though, and I'm not adding that up as it's far too scary 😂

Insurance £85/month (9 year old labrador)
Pet Health (flea/worm/vac) £11/month (new plan would be more expensive)
Dog Walkers 3 days a week - £180/month
Food - £60/month
Treats - £25/month

So around £360/month now for the daily stuff.

Add on all weather clothing/shoes for every person that does the walking, collars, leads, beds, towels (+ tumble dryer to dry them, unless you want 3-4 wet dog towels hanging around in the winter), brushes, toys, vet trips where you either pay or pay the insurance excess etc that can run up to quite a bit every year.

Could easily spend upwards of £5k a year just on the things needed when you have a dog. It all seemed so cheap the first year, love him to bits, but if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have got him.

Labrador age 11 you may need to factor in that costs will likely increase as they get older.

Forthglade dog dinners £104 per month approx - has IBS and this food has been a life saver.
Ear cleaner £25 a month - has recurrent infections.
Galliprant £63 a month
Tramadol £50 a month
TPLO torn knee operation £7,500 (£4K covered by insurance that went up from around £40 a month to £120 a month).
We can’t kennel him for holidays, luckily DM has him.

Grooming and nail clipping around £40 every 6 weeks.

A vet consultation is £51 here, just to walk in the door.

If you have benefits and check with the PDSA online checker you may be able to claim free treatment.

Don’t get a pedigree. 😫

My dog (largish, young) costs me around £350 pcm in regular expenditure. That includes food, insurance, 2* days per week in daycare, and a few treats. It doesn't include non-routine vet treatment that I don't claim for (for fear of premiums going up and also because of the excess). Nor does it include boarding/sitter if we go away. That is £35-40 per 24 hours and we generally go away for 10 days per year so works out at an additional £30 per month for that.

Basically, shit loads that I can ill-afford and I am looking at ways to cut costs. Think really carefully if costs are an issue. I keep thinking I could have a couple of weeks in Barbados each Christmas for what she costs me each year (or more practically, replace the clapped out money pit car) but we do love her lots and she has been great for the kids.

I do worry about circumstances changing. If I lost my job I would be up shit creek without a paddle.

@Suzi888 how much forthglade is he eating to rack up £100+ a month ?!? Sweet Mary mother of Jesus! Zooplus sometimes has special offers on (but be prepared for busted up boxes although they do refund quickly)