To think that poor people shouldn't be able to afford pets?

[tellmesomethingtrue]

Why do people who claim to be poor or say moneys tight, then buy pets? I genuinely can't understand this logic.
AIBU to think that if you can't afford a basic house DIY or to buy your kids uniform, then you therefore can't afford pets?

I've been recently working on this sector and the biggest percentage I've seen is up to a third, and that's everyone on the spectrum, not additional aid adults.

This has nothing to do with people and pets. Especially when you're saying they shouldn't have any.

If you think they can't have pets, how will you pay for them not working?

Because how do you expect them to look after themselves if they can't look after pets?

Interesting about you saying a third.

The problem is that autism as a diagnosis covers such a lot of levels. Could you break down the prevalence by.level at all? (Not at all that I disbelieve you, just interested in a professional way).

But that’s exactly the point, if someone can afford to that’s presumably not the people OP is talking about. Animals can be great for mental health, no argument there, but if the choice financially is

a) kitten for mental health
b) money to buy meals and clothes for child

then yes, it is baffling to think anybody would choose a, and it’s equally baffling that anyone would disagree with that.

If you have children, no pets and have no money to feed, clothe and take care of your child then of course spending the money you DO have on anything else is not a good idea.

If the choice genuinely is getting a pet OR feeding/clothing your child, there should absolutely be no question.

I got my dog before I lost my job. Being suddenly unemployed threw me into a state of depression and that dog helped me stay on earth. Take a break from judging people and realise things can change very quickly and most people are doing the best they can.

When you say you've "seen" that, I presume you mean estimates?

All the estimates over 5% are I've come across are based entirely on extrapolations from the boom in diagnoses, and are mathematically flawed because they fail to account for the fact that we're experiencing a correction at the moment whereby multiple generations of adults are receiving late diagnoses; those extrapolations fail to account for the fact that it's a one-off correction.

Working in a vet I see a lot of this.

Im sick of seeing animals suffering and in pain because of poor choices. Things like multiple animals, no money for treatment, no money for transport to get them to a vet. Breeding them to make money and then not having the money to sort it out when it goes wrong. Animals suffering with horrible skin or infections for years untreated. Not neutering so they die young of preventable disease. Horrible dental disease that’s gone on for years. Covered in fleas can’t afford flea treatment. That’s not including the animals that are unwell and could be treated yet aren’t because of finances.

It’s sad for those who can’t afford pets but realistically if you can’t afford it then it’s not fair on the animal regardless of anything else.

Its draining the mental health of the veterinary profession too. You want to help but you can’t and it’s only going to get worse. We’ve seen a decline in neutering for example as costs have risen.

As soon as you attribute a specific item to the notion of financial responsibility you lose the battle on MN, in my experience and it’s immediately ‘why shouldn’t poor people buy pets/cars/holidays or have 3 kids’ the fact they can’t afford them or aren’t able to provide for them somehow becomes societies problem and a secondary issue to seemingly universal right for everyone to have and do all of those things.

Personally I think it’s easier to just umbrella the logic and say ‘people should make appropriate financial decisions for the situation they are in and be held fully accountable when they fail to do so’. To be clear that does not imply anyone need to ‘wealthy’ or ‘rich’ to do these things as there is a very big difference between not having much but getting by (I grew up very low income) but with a roof over your head, food in the cupboards and the bills just about getting paid vs not actually able to sustain yourself and your choices.

Equally someone may make a choice and then circumstances change dramatically and it’s important to remember none of us have crystal balls. There are a lot of people who simply make awful irresponsible choices though and don’t want to take any responsibility.

Very easily, actually. I have plenty of people in my circle who ended up in this position. A friend discovered after 10 years of marriage that her husband was a gambler. Everything had to be sold to pay the debt. Another friend made a bad investment on a stock market and ended up virtually bankrupt overnight. A couple lost their small business in lockdown and could no longer afford a mortgage and didn’t have a lot of equity at that time. My ex very nearly lost his business in lockdown, sold his house and moved into a rental. This was followed by a trade dispute where he had to settle out of court which decimated his equity. We kept our dog though.

If your kitten gets hit by a car or gets a kidney infection can you afford to get them pain medication, antibiotics and surgeries if they need them?

If the answer is no then no you shouldn't have a kitten.

It's not all about you. When you take on responsibility for another human or animal you should do so on the basis that you are capable of providing for them to be fed, homed and medically cared for. Love is powerful but it's not the be all end all of what you need to deliver.

I agree. Plus all the ridiculous posts on here from skint people saying that they’re down to their last £2.57 with payday 9 days away but they’ll feed the dog over themselves 🙄 I’d eat the dog rather than go hungry thanks. There’s loads of people on here who clearly can’t afford pets because they’re the ones whinging about vets bills when they haven’t paid for insurance.

Can’t afford insurance = Can’t afford a pet

If your kitten gets hit by a car it won’t survive, death is instant.

I had a young woman come in and ask about the cost of the pet plan, fleaing, worming, spaying and neutering, and insurance. Her poor face was getting longer, and longer, as I laid out the costs for her! At the end of it, she very quietly said, 'I can't afford that. I'm on UC. Are there any discounts for people on UC?' When I said no, she said, 'I can't afford a pet then, can I?'

The difference is that young woman did all the research before getting that little cute fluffy bundle of joy. It broke my heart, as well as hers, because that was a responsible young woman who would have given such a great home to a pet.

Then you get the ones who complain about the cost when they get their sixth cat, when the ones they already have are full of fleas, worms, and sores because they're all in a crowded one bedroom flat, and fighting each other. Those both break your heart and really do your bloody head in.

@BIossomtoes lots of cats get hit by cars and don't die, they break bones, backs, get serious internal injuries. Many survive after extensive treatment, many need to be euthanised to save them from the pain and a slow death. Those treatments cost money.

I don’t believe it. We’ve lost three cats on the road and death has been instantaneous in every case. I certainly don’t believe that any sane person would do anything other than euthanise a cat if by some miracle it was still alive. That’s pure cruelty.

I always wonder why people keep getting cats when theirs keep getting hit by cars and dying.

The making sure your pet is fed before you is different though. A pet is your responsibility so it'd be wrong to let it be hungry (ie suffer) when you have a choice - I would prioritise my dog eating in that situation and would use a food bank for me or just eat rice. However, if that happened more than once in a blue moon then I would think I couldn't care for my pet properly.

I'm a school safeguarding lead and I see this a lot, sadly. I'm not talking about people who have pets and then fall into difficulties, i'm talking about people who already struggle to meet their children's basic needs and are reliant on financial support from various agencies but keep adding more and more pets to the household. I'm not going to lie, it's somewhat frustrating when a child who were are regularly obliged to feed breakfast, buy uniform and school shoes for and fund trips so they dont miss out tells me they've just got another new puppy. IME it's rarely just fecklessness though, the parents I work with who have no money but keep getting more animals are usually people who struggle with their Mental Health, have experienced trauma, lots of difficulties with human relationships etc. The pets are often fulfilling some kind of unmet emotional need. That doesn't make it OK, the children should come first but it's not as simple as them not giving a shit.

The same reason quite a few people smoke who can ill afford to.

Pets are expensive, then more so when they're ill even if insured. I do think people need to consider that a pet can live until they're 23/24 or older depending on what it is. That's an awful lot of money.

I have insurance and a vet health plan for mine but even that for two cats is £130 a month or £1560 a year. If one then becomes ill I have to pay the excess which varies depending on age. Cat food is expensive. One cat has an issue which means the insurance won't cover any illnesses to do with the heart so if anything happens that will also be expensive.

But I've considered my options and I knew I could afford them. There was a time last year when money was really tight but I carried on with their insurance and vet plan and just made cuts elsewhere.

I honestly don't know how someone with no money can justify getting a pet.

What a load of rubbish. We treat many cats and kittens hit by cars every week.

I think people don't do a budget for a pet. Or they make mistakes with time for dog walks/vet bills etc. Also circumstances change.
We had a much loved dog for 15 + years. I made so many mistakes I could write a book Dog didn't suffer at all but my finances did.
DD brought home in an emergency a rescue cat. It wasn't supposed to stay with me, but it has. Now an integral family member. We've had a few much loved cats over the years so I wasn't worried -but- staggered that cat now costs £30+ a month in cat food before you start on flea stuff, vaccinations, cat litter etc.

Unless you work it out, who thinks a cute ball of fluff costs more than £30 pm to feed on proprietary cat food. (Yes I've tried cheaper stuff).

I don’t have strong views about pet ownership. I do think that in 21st century Britain there shouldn’t be so much poverty. But the poor aren’t to blame for this situation.

'Poor people'. 🫣

Did you tell her that there are charities like the PDSA / RSPCA / Friends of the Animals that run clinics or offer financial assistance (depending on postcode)? Or that there are products available online such as Advantage that are much cheaper than from the vet, or that written prescriptions from the vet can save pounds when the drugs are purchased elsewhere?

Plus, if she did sign up for the pet plan which is about £15 per month the flea and worming, microchip and vaccines are included in that.