How much do you spend on your pets?

It's up to them. I'm sure people spend similar amounts (or more) on things I'd find totally frivolous or useless, but if it's their money, who am I to judge? I know a woman who remortgaged her house to pay for chemotherapy treatment for her dog after it developed cancer. What may seem like just a pet to you may be that person's only companion. A pet is just as much a member of the family as any other to many people.

I pay monthly insurance, so I don't get stuck with huge bills (hopefully), but I chose to have quite a big excess to try to keep the cost down.

As you say we all chose how we spend our available cash. I don’t eat out I don’t smoke I don’t drink but my dogs are my luxury in life. Some people spend £50 on a round of golf for example. I’m lucky to be able to afford their insurance though. I also donate to charities when I can.

Cabbie21 Would you have had the same reaction if your friend had spent the same amount of money on a new car or a holiday? I have spent thousands of pounds over the years on my animals and they have given me huge pleasure. One of my dogs ruptured a cruciate ligament, the overall bill was well in excess of £4K but he made a good recovery and lived a healthy happy life for another eleven years . It was worth every single penny. I don't insure any of my animals and I've had dogs, cats and horses (all at the same time) but I've never regretted paying the vet they are much more important to me than holidays, clothes, cars or anything else I could spend my money on.

I agree - as much as you have to really. I believe cigarettes are £10 or more for 20 now and a friends ex gets through 40 a day - his choice. We all choose what to spend our money on. Obviously there’s an awful decision to make if prolonged treatment is not in the animal’s best interest. Having 10 dogs on occasions, we didn't bother with insurance and paid up as and when.
I believe The PDSA will treat animals for those on certain benefits.

My rescue dog is my luxury. She’s not insured and we’ve had some hefty vet bills since we adopted her plus medication for life. We knew what we were getting into. Few would have done it. And I spend more on her food (special diet) than I care to admit. Yes I feel guilty when I know how little some people have to manage on, but she’s my one indulgence, I don’t take holidays and very rarely eat out or buy clothes. I donate a fair bit to charity every month. I try to square giving her the life she didn’t have before, and deserves, with my conscience.

Responsible pet owners care for their pets Cabbie21 and pay whatever bills need paying. This doesn't mean they care less about people who are suffering or stop giving to charity.
As you say it's entirely up to your acquaintance how she spends her money.

I spend about £2000 per year for vet's bills, food and litter. One cat has an overactive thyroid, needing regular blood tests and medication. The second cat is now showing similar symptoms, so vet costs may be doubling from next week. I have never paid for insurance for them, apart from a VIP scheme which covers flea and worm treatments and gives discount on consultations.
I live alone and the cats have brought me years of pleasure, so I don't begrudge the cost at all. I don't drink, eat out or holiday so they are my only luxury and worth every penny.
I can still afford to give to charity, are you saying that you give thousands of pounds to the causes you mention Cabbie? You are obviously not a pet lover.

foxie48

Cabbie21 Would you have had the same reaction if your friend had spent the same amount of money on a new car or a holiday? I have spent thousands of pounds over the years on my animals and they have given me huge pleasure. One of my dogs ruptured a cruciate ligament, the overall bill was well in excess of £4K but he made a good recovery and lived a healthy happy life for another eleven years . It was worth every single penny. I don't insure any of my animals and I've had dogs, cats and horses (all at the same time) but I've never regretted paying the vet they are much more important to me than holidays, clothes, cars or anything else I could spend my money on.

Same here foxie. One of my dogs ruptured a cruciate ligament and it was a very expensive procedure but so worthwhile. We’ve never insured our animals either - some vets have had bad experiences with some insurers and are reluctant to deal with them and I don’t want to compromise the standard of care my animals get. Also we usually adopt older animals, often with existing conditions, which wouldn’t be cheap to insure. I’m lucky that I don’t have to consider the cost but that luck comes courtesy of many years of hard graft, not via a silver spoon.

We have always had rescues, that all lived very long lives, and never needed expensive treatment. We had all of them pts at home, in peace, and that is the only money we spent on them apart from good quality food. Never had insurance.

If anything happened to our new rescue, we have savings that will cover cost- much cheaper than insurance to put moeny aside every month.

We don't have pets but I do understand that people love their pets. My brother has recently spent over £4000 on a poorly dog and buys his dogs expensive food. It wouldn't be my choice but he loves his dogs and it's his money.

They presumably have their annual injections and check ups though? Quite expensive but not covered by insurance.

We spend what is necessary.

Of course, all injections and passports, and travel cost (driving back and forth). One dog, the only pure bred we had, rescued from a family member- became diabetic, so insulin, and at a later stage, a pram (yes! He loved it)- and in the end, pts at home- no car travel and stress of vet. Money so very well spent.

You're quite right Cabbie 21, it's not your business how anyone spends their money on anything, although by bringing the poor, the homeless and Ukraine into the equation you manage to sound rather judgemental about those who choose to spend on pets. We've been dog-lovers all of our adult lives, and still have two pooches, so I dread to think what we've spent on pet purchase, Vet's bills, food, kennel fees, and pet accoutrements over the years. That has been our choice, and it has not stopped us from contributing to charity, which is a point which others have already made, and which we not only do by three, separate monthly direct debits, but also contribute to specific Christmas and seasonal appeals. Not quite sure what you intended to achieve by this post. If it was to mildly annoy me, it worked...

I agree that vet costs have really increased in the last 5 years or so, but there have been many medical advances for pets, and options for treatment that we wouldn't have considered in the past. For instance, my 6 year old has early signs of cataracts, and the vet asked if we would like a referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist. I didn't even realize that there were specialties in veterinarians, and the clinics to go along with them. For us, this would involve travel to a major city, and the cost of the exams, surgery and treatment. I have no idea what the cost might be, but we said we would watch her for the next year or two to see how she progresses. In the past, it would just mean a blind dog at a fairly young age.

Many young people do not consider the expenses when they decide to get a pet, but like many, they do not realize how expensive it can be. For responsible pet owners, it is an expense we accept.

Thanks for replies. As I said, I was stunned: not having any pets, I had no idea.
Yes, my thoughts did immediately go to the many clients who are really struggling, that I have supported as a voluntary advice worker, hence my reaction. I guess my post might come across to some as judgemental, but my question was genuine, as I had no idea what the costs might be. I am sorry if it offended some people.

All I can say is- a lot. Vet bills are hideous, much more than human doctors and the food is pretty expensive, too. I don't think anyone here houses Ukrainian refugees, they don't come here as far as I've heard. Most of our refugees are from Asia and the Middle East with extended families who assist them.

Cabbie21

Thanks for replies. As I said, I was stunned: not having any pets, I had no idea.
Yes, my thoughts did immediately go to the many clients who are really struggling, that I have supported as a voluntary advice worker, hence my reaction. I guess my post might come across to some as judgemental, but my question was genuine, as I had no idea what the costs might be. I am sorry if it offended some people.

No offence from met. Since we adopted Yata 6 weeks ago, I have noticed our food bill has gone up significantly. A large bag of good quality pellets is very expensive, then I cook everyday, either small macaroni, Ebly or rice with green beans, carrots, peas, etc- none expensive. And either poached fish or chicken- a small portion added to her bowl every meal.

Then her GPS tracker and subscription, vet check and new passport (the one from Tunisia could be ackward when travelling as not from Europe). A medal for her collar with name and telephone numbers. It all adds up.

So many people are giving up the dogs they got during Covid- due to expense, and due to having to leave dog alone all day, back to work, and in unsuitable conditions (barking). So so sad.

I for one am very glad that rescues do take great care when placing dogs- obviously this was not so well done during Covid- and now the results are there to see- sadly.

If you can't feed your kids or yourself- then what about the animals?

Yes ,Fleur, to get our 2 I had to have an interview, meet them and show that we had taken to each other! They also asked many questions but our old puss lived to be 23 or 24 years old and he was a stray who wandered in one day ,so I think I passed ! I was pleased they took so much trouble.

Dogs are very expensive, preventive flea/tick/worm and annual injections just the start.
Several years ago I had vet bills of about £14,000 after my 10 year and six year old previously very healthy cross breeds became seriously sick. The insurance covered to lot. Previously, the 10 year old had 3 separate injuries needing overnight admission - all paid by insurance. She was a chaser of small furry animals, ripped her side, foot injury, thorn inside her toe - yes course recall became 100percrnt but she came to me as 4th owner in 5 months, very high prey urge

So my current two are insured. The 5 year old has hypothyroidism so life long meds. Bloods 3-6 monthly, all covered by insurance

Other than the dogs, I’m not spending much on eating iut or holidays. Like germanshepherds mum, my savings pay for my dogs. I worked hard to be able to continue to share my life with them in retirement

Someone once said to me 'Everything is relative' and think, to some degree, they were right. Who knows why people spend money on different things, including their pets? We all have our own thoughts on these types of things and I have found that I just listen if people tell me how much they spend on their animals. Where I live they are bringing in street cats from Greece and Crete? I often wonder why people don't take on local animals from the UK. My first port of call for a rescue would be Torquay or Plymouth to re-home an elderly cat but I live on a main road so it would probably get killed so I support a local cat charity and animal shelter. Each to their own.

Our house wouldn't be a home without our dogs, so we spend what we have too. When we moved here 6 years ago we discovered that our toy poodle couldn't tolerate the tap water, so buy bottled as even filtering it wasn't enough.