The truth is, demanding that you bring your pet in once a year for unnecessary vaccinations is a ploy to get people in for an unnecessary annual exam, which costs a lot more than the shots themselves and gives chain veterinary clinics an opportunity to sell you a few products you could buy cheaper elsewhere and that you probably don’t need. Most pet owners can recognize if their animal is healthy or under the weather. Take your pet to a shot clinic and skip unneeded exams!

I can’t stand the thought of puppy mills when excellent dogs like ours were sitting at the SPCA for months.

As far as costs are concerned: Definitely plan for them, but don’t be one of those people who sets a maximum to spend before you euthanize your dog. Pets aren’t big screen TVs, you don’t just dispose of them when you get tired of them.

Here in Minnesota, the Animal Humane Society spays/neuters and microchips every animal prior to adoption, plus they also receive a lot of their vaccinations. This saves you a lot of money upfront while also helping a great cause.

PLUS – a lot of shelter animals come from homes where their owners could no longer afford to care for them, family moving, children’s allergies, etc. These animals come to the shelter already trained and well behaved – saving you from having to take training classes or deal with an unruly pet!!

I already had one large dog at home(Shepherd/Collie mix) and three cats. My dog was just passing his one-year birthday and was the center of my universe. At a routine vet visit one of the vet assistants mentioned that they just had a call from another client. This client had a purebred Shepherd puppy but needed to find a home for her because her husband had fallen ill and she didn’t have time for it anymore. Long story short, I got myself a beautiful second puppy for free (a $1800 value!).

The initial costs were expected, as I had paid them all for my first puppy the year before. $100 for a kennel, and $500 for the “puppy wellness” plan with my vet. The ongoing costs are about $70 in food a month, and $30 a month for the “sentinel” pill that protects against some parasites and such.

Tika is now ten months old, I’ve had her for five months. I had noticed that she almost always has diarrhea, so I took her in to “talk” to the vet. Well, when I walked out of the vet I was $345 lighter! Stool tests, blood tests, a special food, probiotics, and medicine all added up within minutes. To top it all off, I still don’t know if there’s actually anything wrong with her!

I should have been smarter, I should have had an emergency fund for animal care. Just to pay for this I had to take $200 off of my line of credit, and the rest will be deducted from my Christmas present fund.

I love my dog.

In states where outdoor cats are required to have a rabies shot every year, they usually get the same dosage as in states where cats have to have them every other, or every third year. The rabies shots were effective for many more years in testing than the testing lasted (as least four), but weren’t as profitable if not prescribed more frequently.

Over-vaccination of cats has been exposed. Good for the vet’s bottom line to have the yearly shots, not so good for the pet.

Buying high-quality food saves money in the long run, just as eating healthy food does for us. My cats do like dry food, but I mix it with wet food, and add filtered water. Cats are desert-adapted animals that didn’t evolve to rehydrate their food during digestion. Also, dry food usually has more grains, and cats are not really meant to eat much corn. The contents of prey’s stomachs is enough vegetables/carbs for them. Avoid pet foods that contain by-products.

The surgery to remove the polyp was $2100 – because there are so many nerves in the area and high risk of complication, the vet invited a specialist to do it. If I add other expenses including X-ray, spaying, and all the months of mis-diagnosis, it’d be close to $3000.

In case you are wondering if a shelter gave me a coupon for free spay – yes, but it was to the first vet. Initially we postponed it because she was sick, by the time she was healthy I no longer trusted the first vet, so I choose to pay $170 and donate the coupon back to the shelter.

Now, I was fortunate that I could afford the expenses without any need for any kind of special “pet emergency fund”. People who couldn’t would’ve had a choice to make – how much their cat is worth to them.
After all, if a cat stays in the shelter, it’ll likely to either be killed or spend its life in a cage. If someone with less money takes it, the cat may not survive a rare illness that requires large expenses, but it’s likely to still be better off. To me the expenses are worth it because of all the joy and companionship I get.

A few things I’d like to add in terms of cost control:
1. Keeping a cat indoors is safer for the cat, but it also saves money. You don’t need to worry about fleas and such, the cat is likely to be healthier, and the number of recommended vaccination is smaller.
2. Brush your cat’s teeth. I didn’t. It was OK for the first few years, but after a few years my cat got dental disease. Dentals and extractions (when needed) are expensive.
3. Depending on how up-to-date your vet is, he may suggest more vaccinations than are recommended, especially for indoor cats. Also, the current guidelines recommend vaccinating less often than once a year. With rabis you need to also follow the requirements of the place you live, but with other vaccinations check the guidelines of AAFP (American Association of Feline Practictitioners) yourself (also check recommendations for vaccine-associated feline sarcoma task force). After the guidelines were relaxed to recommend once/three years for some vaccines, not every vet agreed and there was some controversy. If your vet is one of those who disagreed, look up the guidelines yourself.

If you are looking for a pet, consider adopting an older pet. I like kittens – but I’m glad not to have to go through the kitten stage again!

And yes to the financial concerns – set up a line item in your budget for the routine things and also set up “emergency funds” for the non-routine events that may happen. Buying bulk is also very good way to get a better price.

I’ve looked at pet insurance and haven’t found a policy that is a good deal. Mostly they limit what they pay for so much that its not really worth it. I think having a decent pet emergency fund and self insuring is the better bet.

Coverage was capped at $1000, the annual premiums were around $180 and they didn’t cover a dog over the age of 11. Maybe it’s gotten better of late, but it was a weak deal at best when we looked into it.

Also, the advice on shopping for a vet is excellent. We have a vet around the corner, but we drive 10 miles to one that charges, on average, about 30% less for services. This really adds up with boarding fees in particular, so it definately pays to shop.