Fully Vetted

I was saddened to see a cat returned to a rescue centre today.  After rehoming it became ill.  The new owner hadn’t been aware that the cat had any medical problems and wasn’t happy with the thought of more vets bills so handed it back. 

Whilst I can sympathise with the situation, I would like to climb upon my soap-box . A pet should be regarded as a financial commitment for 15-20 years.  The commitment can be reasonably well predicted to a degree if insurance is taken out to cover any unexpected vets bills.

Take a look at the following calculations per annum:

Pedigree Labrador Puppy:

•  
  • Purchase price £400
  • Initial injections £50
  • Deworming/Defleaing - £96
  • Microchip £12.50
  • Neutering £120-£200
  • Insurance Premiums £15-30 per month - £250
  • Food £250 (plus add another £50 for treats)
  • Training Classes £60
  • Vets Bills £75 (remember that although insured, you often need to pay the first £50 per medical condition)
  • Kenneling/Dogsitting for 2 weeks away £210

Total = £1573

Moggy Cat (ie not pedigree)

• Purchase Price £40  ( though don’t spend a lot here - you can get them for free)
• Initial Injections £55
• Deworming/Defleaing - £75
• Insurance £80-120
• Neutering £50
• Microchip £12.50
• Food £100
• Cattery for 2 weeks away £210
• Vets Bills £50

Total = £712

I understand that these prices will vary to some degree, based on location, choice of food etc. These prices are based on taking good care of a pet. I believe that’s the only way to do things after all a living creature  deserves to be kept in the best of health (they’ll be more rewarding to own that way too!)  My life is spent seeing the consequences of people that have taken short-cuts on caring for them eg. flea ridden cats with eczma, a rabbit crawling with maggots and a worm-infested puppy. All could be avoided if proper parasite prevention was on-board.

I know there will be the odd lucky person that won’t do any of this and still have a healthy pet however I don’t believe it’s sensible to assume that you’ll be lucky.

Take out the one-off costs, the annual maintenance of the Labrador is around £1000 and the Moggy is £500.  So over a lifetime, you could pay £15 000 for a dog and £10 000 for a cat

I firmly believe they are worth every penny, but if you don’t hopefully I can put you off before you go ahead.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007 at 11:22 pm and is filed under pet care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.