This is a country of animal lovers, it’s a fact that cannot be refuted, with 93.6 million spent a week on pets. Just using cats and dogs as an example, a dog will set you back 9,000 over the span of its life, a cat 7,200.
Ever heard of the phrase “a dog is for life, not just for Christmas”, well this applies to all animals. Many people buy pets without fully understanding the cost of keeping it. With vet’s fees continually on the increase and the staggering amount involved in keeping pets, the level of abandoned animals has soared. Between 23rd and 27th December 2010, the RSPCA investigated 329 reports of abandoned pets. However, there are various ways you can cut the cost of your pet care during these tough economic times. Here are just a few examples.
Pet insurance: Sadly, 300,000 dogs and cats are put down as vet fees and medical expenses too much for the owners to afford. Looking over a longer period, 1.6 million pets had to be put down between 2003 and 2008 because of vet’s costs; it goes without saying that pet insurance can help avert having to fork out for unexpected veterinary bills which you might not be able to meet.
Pet insurance is easily obtainable and starts from only a couple of pounds monthly, just paying this small sum could save you having to pay thousands in bills for emergency surgery or medical treatment, it’s a worthwhile investment.
Use pet sitting services: One of the often forgotten about costs when you go on holiday is boarding kennels, the average price is around 10 a night per animal so the cost can soon rise rapidly to make arrangements for your pets.
So why not consider the growing trend of hiring a pet sitter? Don’t worry, they won’t stay at your house for the duration of you holiday, instead they will visit the house either once or twice a day (as many times a day as you want) to feed the pet, let them out, clean the cage or whatever needs doing. Pet sitters will charge by visit instead of day, so if you have more than one pet it could end up being a cheaper option.
Make your own toys: Animals usually aren’t fussy when it comes to their toys, treats and play things. You could spend over the odds on a high gadget toy, only for your pet to prefer your old pair of slippers! So, instead of forking out, how about you give them a pair of your old socks, or an old fleece perhaps? These types of fabrics are ideal as they are easy to wash and don’t rip or fray easily, limiting the amount of mess made. Animals tend to like brightly coloured objects too, or those that make a noise; an old rubber duck could give your pet hours of fun, or any unused children’s toys. Make sure there are no sharp bits or bits that can break off and be a choking hazard.
Don’t over feed your pets: Like with toys, people also spoil and over indulge their pets when it comes to food, but there are important reason for trying to cut this down and not just purely financial motives. One of the major supermarkets in 2008 released a report with findings showing that 43% of pets are a bit porky said vets who were interviewed. On top of that, 47% of dogs were overweight and 26% classed as obese, compared with 19% of cats that were considered obese.
You’d be surprised at how many medical conditions are related to a pet being a bit porky. Sainsbury’s pet insurance manager Neal Devine highlights how “people often think they are being kind to their pet by giving it treats, but being overweight can influence and worsen many medical conditions in pets, such as osteoarthritis and respiratory disorders”. So to reduce your vet bills, reduce the amount of food you give your animal to the normal amount.
Food – concentrate on quality not quantity: Buying cheap pet food might be the easiest visible way of cutting pet costs, but this above all other cost cutting measures can actually do more damage in the long run. The better the food is (which means the more expensive sadly) the more filling it will be for the animal and more nutritious than the cheap stuff. The more nutritious obviously means the healthier the animal will be, with that in mind another tip is that dry food mix is normally more balanced than tinned meat or other wet food for almost all types of animals.
Debi writes for Just Life Insurance, the UK’ No1 site for life insurance advice, and over 50′s life insurance information.
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