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Everyone really wants a furry friend to keep them company. Whether it be because you work from home and want the companion to you just want a roommate who doesn’t eat your food, the reasons are endless.
However, people sometimes forget the financial obligation that comes with owning a pet.
I see countless posts on social media of people begging for money via GoFundMe’s, or having to give up their animals due to financial reasons. When it is something extreme I understand it – we want the best life for our pets. But I am seeing this more and more, way too often, where people didn’t realize how much having a pet would be.
According to Market Watch, “More than one in four Americans (28%) have savings below $1,000. This is the case for 32% of Gen Zers, followed by Millennials at 31%, Gen X at 27% and Baby Boomers at 20%.” $1,000 in savings is not a lot of money when you have a pet and need an emergency fun. Now, this post isn’t about savings and knocking people for their savings, or lack there of. But it is to draw attention to how much having a pet actually may cost by sharing some of my personal finances with my cat. I’m just going to share a few examples of the kind of expenses that you may incur with a pet.
Starting off big!
Vet Visits
The biggest expenses I usually have as a singular payout are vet visits and boarding when we travel. Our vet visits are a bit more expensive as we have a vet come to our home due to having a reactive cat, but the ball park is about similar. Vet visits should be yearly but additional tests may not be done every year. The price we paid this year, for our healthy cat for her checkup, blood tests and vaccines was: $562.08. A few years ago, without the tests it was $336.80, so vet visits can range easily up from $200+.
Boarding
Boarding can be very expensive, or even in home care when you travel. We don’t personally utilize in home care due to it not being as well vetted most of the time and not liking the thought of letting a stranger into our home. Therefore we choose to board the animal with a local cat only boarding location which is slightly cheaper than some in city locations. Prices will vary, but for a recent 2 week boarding stay, the price was $579.00. That was for the most basic of rooms for the cat. If you have larger spaces, or more cats, it will easily go up to well over $1,000. That price includes food and litter.
A previous 4 week stay was $837.00. A lot of places provide discounts if you are there for more than 30 days. But even a week stay for a basic room can run you $200+. And while you may say, just put then in a kennel, that is cheaper – it is not any cheaper, it can be more traumatic because there are cats and dogs, and the quality of care is not any better.
Keep in mind, this is the price for a cat which is a small creature. If you have a large dog, the price can be even more!
Right there, between these first two expenses is more than $1,000. If I only had $1,000 in savings and an average paycheck, this would be a struggle.
Our late cat Merlin.
Ongoing expenses!
Ongoing expenses are things that you will always have to pay for – food, litter, new toys.
We pay a little bit more for things for our pet because we avoid scented products (future post on this coming) which can be cheaper and try and get decent quality cat food as we can. So while you will be able to cut down a little bit on the costs, this is about an average because what we buy also is not the most expensive by far.
My last order for cat food was $55.88. This was just cat food and that will last approximately 1 month.
Our last litter order was $68.74 which will last approximately 2 months. We do a litter order every 2-3 months approximately.
We stock up on treats every couple months and they sit between $10-20.
Toys are ad hoc as needed and are usually around $10-20. But if a new scratching post or a tower is needed (maybe every other year) that can be $50+, or well over $100 for a tower.
Total potential outlay.
Now this is just an approximate cost, but assuming you have about 1 vet visit a year, and at least one vacation a year (which I will assume as a lot of American specifically have one vacation a year), you could easily have a pet bill of: $1500-$2000 a year.
Now this is the price for a healthy cat and based on average food. If you treat your pet with different food, or they eat more food than average, or god forbid they get sick, you can be looking at thousands of dollars a year. Pets who need ongoing treatments for things can drastically push prices up. For example, cat asthma treatments can be “$250 for diagnostics and between $10 – $250 for the medication.” (Source) And an asthma attack emergency treatment can cost between $800 and $1,500. I’m using this as an example as it’s something that cats can commonly get.
And while no one wants to think about it, losing a pet is not free either. Sometimes we are lucky and they go in their sleep, but sometimes something happens and euthanasia is required. In a clinic it can range between $100-300 and at home $250-450. (Source)
People then like to say “well pet insurance, I got that, I’m fine.” That is not true. The amount of people with stories of having insurance but it not actually covering anything is crazy. Insurance never wants to pay – whether it be for humans or animals. They will find every excuse and while in some cases you can argue it, that is time and energy on your part.
According to Forbes, “The average cost of pet insurance for a dog is $51 a month and $27 a month for a cat (for a policy with $5,000 of annual coverage, a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level).” So that is an addition $300+ a year on expenses. Hopefully you never have to use it but you may, and there’s no guarantee whatever your situation is the insurance will cover it based on semantics and just insurance companies being insurance companies.
Our current cat Mimi
Before you adopt!
Now first off, remember, adopt don’t shop. While cat breeding will always exist, the best way to cause difficulties to it is to not put money into it. Sometimes the cat distribution system drops one in your lap while you are out and about. But the shelters have so many wonderful cats – from kittens to senior cats. But don’t be afraid to say no to a cat who is sick and needs more care. While you may want to help you need to be prepared for the potential financial burdern.
A few books to potentially look into to get a strong understanding of owning a cat:
Complete Cat Care Manual: The Essential, Practical Guide to All Aspects of Caring for Your Cat