Why do families who are poor, have pets

[hostleg]

They are expensive to feed, look after and to recover from illness and injuries.

Hear people who have a dog who swallowed something they shouldn’t have - £900 at vets. I’m sure these poor families don’t have £900.

Nothing, it was in response to op's comment about irresponsible people getting pets and not being prepared for their care and upkeep. I think this should be more to the point of this thread, bc in my opinion simply being poor should not preclude you from having a pet (although costs should of course be a consideration).

People can have whatever they can afford. A pet is not a basic human right.

Often the answer though if people don't have insurance and the treatment would be expensive their answer is just to kill the pet.

You know loads of working people claim benefits, right? And more still claim Child Benefit, not to mention the state pension?

We know that only too well. It is outrageous.

Just because someone is poor that doesn't mean they don't look after their pets. And having a pet is not a privilege in the sense you mean though it is in the sense that you have an animal in your life that totally depends on you and you must treat him/her well because they love you.
Animals make excellent companions. They are company for the lonely.

I abominate pet insurance btw - it has caused vet prices to go much higher than many can afford because it's assumed a pet is insured. Very wrong.

A pet should be insured. Just like a having a car it should be a legal requirement.

@Bumblebee72 what about small rodents , they can cost a lot and I’ve never seen anyone offering insurance for pets like guinea pigs which can cost a fair amount to treat . My sisters piggy has been at the vets this week after having blood in her urine and it cost us £250 for a scan ( checking for bladder stones) , pain killers and antibiotics . My definition of poor is people who can’t just hand out that kind of money .

A simple google shows a number of suppliers of guinea pig insurance.

As pets get older, insurance gets very expensive, and you find you are covered for less and less.
My dog is no longer insured as she is very old and I would not put her through anything expensive or invasive.

Fair enough but I doubt many people insure piggies and if you ar going to insure one I again doubt you are ‘poor’ as pet insurance especially for older animals , which are the ones that tend to have the biggest bills , is expensive .

I have pet plan insurance for one healthy 10 year old cat.

Nearly 90 quid a month.

Then his healthcare package at the vets. Nearly 30 pounds a month covers his flea, worm, vaccinations, and a twice yearly full day check up.

Then there's his food, litter liners, litter, water fountain filters, cattery fees etc

Owning a pet is expensive these days.

People are too fond of saying what should be a legal requirement. Car insurance of course is a legal requirement. Insuring your mortgage ought to be but many do not bother! Pet insurance has just boosted the cost of going to a vet, IMHO.

I don’t disagree, I cancelled my pet insurance when it reached frankly astronomical levels. I do however have enough money to pay for whatever they might need, which as a responsible owner, you really should. If I did not have that money, or access to it, I would not have animals. If you cannot pay for medical care for your own animal, who do you think should?

They have to become legal requirements otherwise the irresponsible don't bother. If they didn't get car insurance the other party could be out of pocket financially, if they don't get pet insurance the other party could be killed.

Well I am on disability payments and I have a pet. I can afford it and I don't think I am doing anything wrong.

The legal minimum requirement for motor insurance is third party, and that is to protect other road users, not your own vehicle.

Just like you can't force people to have more comprehensive car insurance that covers repairs to their own car... you can't force pet owners that have insurance to cover vet bills. And unlike motor insurance, once you claim for one particular thing on pet insurance, you can't claim again. I someone who use their pet insurance to cover corn surgery for their dog. Now, they can't claim again for anything foot related.

You can get third party only pet insurance that covers injuries caused by your pet. £25 per year with Dogs Trust.

You don't need insurance when you have places like pdsa and gofundme to cover you.

The blue cross enables families from poorer background to treat their pet, through donations and affordable payment options.

Vets, like Doctor's, at times put their patients care above profit, thanks to those kind medical staff volunteering, poor people can have pets, these medics understand that it is beneficial for a pet to be loved, even by the poorer people in society.

You have to be in the catchment area for PDSA (I am not). And no one is forced to donate to GoFundMe.

Until your pet gets old. Then you may pay a hefty monthly sum and your excess will likely go up and the yearly amount you can claim will go down.

Our last quote for our dog insurance when she turned 10 was £200 per month (so practically £2500 per year) with a total payout to us of £5K. The previous year it was £120 per month and an £10K payout.

Mine got to £110pm at 9/10. She is 15 now. I dread to think what it would be now.
And when they get old, they see the vets more often for niggly things that will be less than the excess anyway. And at a very old age, you would not put them through anything invasive or something that has a long recovery.

Or just get the pet put to sleep when it needs treatment you can't afford and get a new one.

Yes, because all "poor" people do that.
Some well off people do that too. Assholes do that. But sometimes an expensive treatment is not in the best interest of the animal, particularly if they are elderly or have lots of other issues too.

Sadly you are right as we have just had to make that exact decision for our 12 year old Frenchie. He is pottering about the garden right now and happy in himself, and will be going for a walk soon. If you saw him you wouldn't think there is anything amiss. But that aggressive cancer in his tummy is causing problems and we reckon he has about 10 days of pottering left before it tips the balance.

It's very sad and will take him before his time. We could have investigated surgery, but it would have been very invasive and the recovery would have been tricky to manage, and with no guarantee that it wouldn't come straight back.

We have opted for sunshine and pottering and let him go at his peak before arthritis or other joint pain comes along.