When people plan to bring a human baby into the world they generally start adding up how much the kid is going to cost. They make mental and often times physical calculations from short term costs like formula, diapers and the crib to long term expenses like a car, college and maybe a wedding. Whether the bundle of joy was planned or not, people know to expect all kinds of money will be spent throughout the baby’s life.
It’s not the same with furry kids. I’m not arguing that having a pet is as expensive or as difficult as raising a human child. But I am saying that parents of furry kids probably don’t plan ahead monetarily for furbabies like they do human ones.
Whether a new furry family member is a planned choice or something that just kind of happens, a few ways you’ll spend money as pet parent are immediately obvious. They need food, food and water bowls and a leash and collar at the bare minimum. Depending on the situation, your new furkid may have to visit the vet for a standard check-up and shots. Maybe there is a greater need for medical care other than routine procedures, but this is probably considered a one-time thing. If you get a dog and you already have another dog, you probably have a lot of the necessities like toys and treats. You might need to get another dog bed or a crate or if it’s a puppy you’ll get puppy appropriate supplies (hopefull). But these are the more obvious and sometimes short term expenses.
If someone had told me that I would end up spending hundreds of dollars on a regular basis for my furry kids before I got them I would have laughed. How could little furballs be so expensive? Well over the past couple years I’ve found out why anyone planning to get a pet should plan for the expenses early on.
Generally speaking, all the pennies you spend on your furballs probably don’t add up like mine do. We happen to be just so lucky to collect furbabies with special issues. And that is something I never saw coming.
Piper has had recurring urinary tract infections and crystals in her bladder. It’s not uncommon for cats but it’s not cheap to treat or fun for the kitty and also requires them to be on a special (expensive) diet if they continue to happen. As a 11 years young lady, she will also need bi-yearly check-ups for her kidney, living and heart function.
Ares, the genetic bomb as we lovingly refer to him, developed demodectic manage as a puppy and also had a bout of worms. The treatment themselves weren’t too costly but several visits to the vet, tests and multiple courses of treatment for the mange added up. We also paid for his neutering and his cherry eye surgery. Surgery costs include anesthesia which depends on the weight of the dog and how long he will be under and a blood test prior to the procedure is optional. Of course we paid the extra charge both times to ensure he was fit to be put to sleep. Our genetic bomb has also had ear infections, urinary tract infections and had to be seen for a luxating patella. And he only just turned 2.
Chaos is actually the biggest pocket picker of them all. We discovered his horrible allergies when he was just 4 months old. Over the past year we’ve dished out the dough for regular vet visits, doggie dermatologist visits, allergy testing, several different allergy medications and steroids and a couple visits to the pet ER for after-hours allergic reactions (triple the cost of a regular vet). We continue to pay monthly for his current medication as well as blood work and a check up every 3 months to ensure his liver remains functioning normally with the medication. He also was neutered with pre-screening blood test and has been on painkillers and antibiotics for the various infections he’s had in his short 1 ½ of life.
Little O is the only one who so far, hasn’t cost us in vet bills. He was neutered when we got him and has been healthy to this point, but he costs us in other ways. Little O has pica. Essentially he tries to eat things that aren’t food. And I don’t mean like dogs eating poop or socks. I mean he gnaws on almost anything plastic, blinds, boxes, table corners, anything hard he can chew on. And there is nothing we can do about it aside from moving things around if we can and being careful not to leave things out when we are gone.
Other than medical bills and household items that have fallen victim to the furballs, we’ve spent money on training, training supplies and countless toys, blankets and clothing. While these may not be necessary, we are the kind of people who treat our pets like family. Clearly. So we also feed them the best food and even buy tubs of yogurt weekly to add to their diet. We have an entire doggie medicine cabinet including a topical flea, tick & heartworm medication that gets applied monthly to the dogs. We buy these in bulk to save on the total cost but it’s still more than a month’s worth of human food.
Sure, when you plan to have a human baby you probably don’t plan for possible problems like allergies, infections or genetic conditions you didn’t know about. But you do plan for pretty much everything else. Adding up the pennies spent on my furbabies makes my head spin and feel a little sick to my stomach. I do wish I would have thought harder about the costs and looked past just the daily necessities. Would I have still gotten them if I’d known ahead of time? You can bet your life on that. They are worth every penny. All the pennies could never add up to what they’ve given me. Not all the pennies in the world.
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