The real cost of having pets

lisajane8482

Costs for my two:

Salem
Harringtons Dry Food (2kg per month) £4.99
Insurance £10.90
Flea Treatment £2.63
Gizmo
Natural Instinct Raw Food (4.5kg per month) £23.50
Insurance £6.78
Flea Tratment £2.37
General Costs
Cat Litter £10.00
Cat Treats £6.00
Total Monthly Costs £67.17

Yearly vet check and boosters £62.50
Yearly Worming tablets £15.56
Total Yearly Cost £78.06

Grand Total Per Month £73.67
Grand Total Per Year £884.04

Then of course there is the extras like toys that I pick up when I see them, catnip, last year they got 2 new cat boxes (£28 for the two), a new ceiling cat tree (£79), 2 new radiator beds (£10) and 2 beds for the top of the kitchen cupboards (£10)

thorsoak

The real cost of having pets cannot be equated : the absolute heartbreak of having to let one have release, to let go when you know that you can take away the pain from them, but the pain will never leave you.

trolleyrun

krlyr wrote: »

If she's getting windy, I would wonder of her food (or treats) are quite suiting her. A bit of wind now and then is normal, but if it were a person with constant wind, you'd probably change your diet or have it checked out. My two get bad wind in lamb so I tend to avoid it - I think wind is the body's way of saying the food doesn't really agree with them, and I do worry about the potential pain of trapped wind.

She's not constantly windy. She was very windy when I first got her, as she was fed on tripe and goodness knows what. That's when I started with the charcoal biscuits. She's currently fed on Burns and only has a smelly one every so often, usually if she's had a bit of a treat, such as left-over pork. This doesn't happen very often, so I'm happy with her diet. She's healthy, happy and has a good coat. The charcoal biscuits is more of a preventative than anything else, and she really likes them.

I used to had a bad tummy before I realised I was intolerant/allergic to gluten. I've changed my diet drastically but I still get wind sometimes. Not something I worry about, as there's no pain. If Pipsqueak was in any pain or discomfort she would tell me, as she's the wimpiest dog ever!

rising_from_the_ashes

lemontart wrote: »

I do hope purchased for the furrys are done online via cashback sites such as topcashback ...........you will bank a bit of cash that way that will at least cover thier xmas pressys

I saved over £100 last year on stuff for the pets with cashback :money:

Fosterdog

OK here goes

Dogs

Skinners duck and rice £23
Raw food/eggs/sardines £10
Boything insurance £75
Girlthing insurance £84
Boything meds £10 pre existing condition, not every month but this is an average
Girlthing meds £15 again pre existing condition

total per month £217

Less frequent:
flea treatment
wormer
boosters (2-3 years)
beds
collars
shampoo

they all add up to a fair bit each year. Girlthing's insurance will not be renewed in a few months, she has been diagnosed with CDRM and as it has no cure plus we are already paying for meds on pre existing conditions, her quality of life is reducing weekly. If she has any accidents or another illness crops up now our vet agrees it would be kinder to PTS as she can never make a full recovery and is already on borrowed time. Unsure whether to renew for boy thing as again we are already covering pre existing conditions which are just going to get more and more expensive, I'd rather pay for meds he needs that pay for what may or may not happen. Not decided either way though.

Rabbits

Pellet food £2 not really sure buy a big bag for £10 that lasts ages
Hay £1 buy big bales and use loads with food and bedding
Shed fund £10 saving for a shed to replace hutch
run fund £10 extending run for new shed
Toys £5 they destroy everything
vet fund £20 our own insurance policy

Monthly £48

They don't really cost anymore, hutch and run maintenance has come out of the shed/run funds and for treats they get forage and veg/herbs which I grow anyway or have our leftovers.

Fish

New tank fund £20 saving for a huge custom 7ft tank
food £2 a variety of fresh, pellet and freeze dried foods
Maintenance £5 towards heaters/ filters/ lights etc.
Tap safe £1

Monthly £28

Overall monthly £293 :eek:
That's £3516 and only a few £100 less than our rent each year with £1908 of it just on dog insurance :eek: especially when I've only ever claimed £600 and pay for all pre existing myself

rising_from_the_ashes

Fosterdog wrote: »

£1908 of it just on dog insurance :eek: especially when I've only ever claimed £600 and pay for all pre existing myself

I think this is about to be my problem - currently with Axa (who are now totally withdrawing & looking to sell existing customers to another provider)

Archie is now apparently old (at 9!) and will demand a 20% of costs + excess with every other insurer I've found - Maisie will follow suit in a few months

Mia & Maisie already both have excluded conditions .... and I can't find another insurer coming in less then double what I currently pay


Seriously thinking of Accident / Injury insurance & putting away each month to cover other stuff (they are all of an age that I would probably have something like a broken leg fixed but wouldn't put them through anything really hard to recover from / long term IYKWIM)

Fosterdog

That's the exact problem I had when Halifax pulled out, I'd been with them since I adopted my girl and they gave just what I wanted for just £30 a month. For a rescue GSD with an unknown background and allergies as a pre existing condition and had obviously been used for breeding at some point. That was a fantastic price, I'd still be with them if they didn't pull out.

In the meantime I left them uninsured for a few months when my girl had her first symptoms of CDRM so we ended up forking out for X-rays, bloods and an MRI out of our own pocket. Now to be paying £50 a month more for her to be covered for less is rediculus. The one £600 claim would have been manageable without insurance.

I am considering putting £150 a month into savings instead and I can use the credit card if needed.

gettingready

I plan to do whatever I can with for Zara and Teddy this year before they both turn 8 - do not want to fall into the 20% trap.. grrr

gettingready

Time to resurrect the old thread.

Zara's insurance reneval being due on 28th October I called Argos just now to see what the new premiums will be as I did not get any letter from them (unusual).

I was already paying £130.00 per month for Zara so my jaw dropped to the floor when they told me the new premiums from end of October will be £172.00 per month

This , in addition to Fred being on k/d diet (very expensive) - jesssssssssssssssssssss

Will recalculate all pet related costs at some point this week, right now in total shock to be honest.

Queried this massive hike with Argos, they are going to get back to me in 3-4 days but said it is unlikely the amount would change.

:eek:

gettingready

06/03/2012 - when I started this thread:

gettingready wrote: »

Zara's insurance 47 per month

So in just about 2.5 years it jumped from £47 per month to £172.00 per month - unreal....:eek: