How much is too much to spend on your pet?

[EEEEEEP]

I have had pets before, but I put it down as it was too expensive!

Like, I wouldn't purposely let a dog die (or put them down), but it was seriously breaking the bank.
- $300 for general anaesthetic
- $2000 annual injections
- $2564 stress fracture
- The list goes on.. (for those who have owned pets)

In one year, I spent about ~6000-7000 for one pet and 3000- 4000 for the other pet. The cost was that bad that I had to get my parents to help me pay.....

How far and how much would you get out of your pocket to pay for your pets' bills?

(I won't judge  . )

[sudodds]

No need to go bankrupt if you have pet insurance! (in most cases)

If you can't afford pet insurance, you can't afford a pet - simple as. If anyone is thinking about getting a pet, PLEASE make sure that you get pet insurance as well - it could save you a lot of money in the long run RSCPA offer pet insurance, as does BUPA. Sometimes you can get it combined with other insurance costs as well, at a discounted rate!

Personally I would spend as much money as I could afford. If I couldn't afford it (even with pet insurance), I would look into adopting them out. Not underestimating how hard that is to do, both emotionally and on a practical level, but there are definitely people out there who take on pets with disabilities/illnesses because they have the means to do so, and wish to provide a better life for the animal, and I think you owe it to the pet to give them the best chance possible, and if that is with someone else then that is just what you have to do. I wouldn't be able to have a pet put down unless I knew that their quality of life was so poor that it wouldn't be fair keeping them alive

[Yertle the Turtle]

If you run out of money, I've heard that you can make a good cat curry...

But in all seriousness, if you can't own a pet very cheaply, (which you rarely can), then you probably can't afford a pet, and therefore shouldn't own one. Simple as that imo.

[Poet]

lol this is going to turn into the Pets thread, isn't it.
I have a cat - family owned for almost 9 years now.
(actually have a picture of her; she's cute)

Spoiler

Pet insurance is a beautiful thing, but pets are still quite expensive. You need to set aside a couple thousand every year for your pet, to cover food, council registration, shelter, vaccinations, check-ups and A&E if they're stupid. I agree with Marv - if you don't have the money, don't own an animal. It's difficult enough to look after yourself in a time of monetary hardship, let alone care for another creature.

[Yertle the Turtle]

I agree with Marv - if you don't have the money, don't own an animal. It's difficult enough to look after yourself in a time of monetary hardship, let alone care for another creature.

Who's Marv?

My family has a pet rabbit, and we have never spent a cent on it besides $5 for the cage. And before you set the RSPCA on me, it is well cared for, we don't spend money on food since we collect it off the side of the road... and it's still alive! It has also been healthy, so it's been a very cheap pet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a pet.

[owidjaja]

Personally, I don't think there's a such thing in spending too much money on your pet- this money stuff gets quite messy if you can't afford it. You hear so many stories of people spending $10,000+ because they really care about their pet. When you adopt a pet, you need to be prepared for the costs- almost like paying for a child except no expensive school fees. However, hospital fees and vet visits replace those fees. Just like everyone above said so, if you're not willing to pay for your pet, then just re-home them (when I say 'you', I'm not directing it to 'you' but in general). I know families who don't bother taking their pets to the vet or even desex them.

My cat recently had surgery for teeth extraction and boyyyy was it expensive. It was already ~$200 for anaesthesia, another $80 for X-rays if we wanted to and then $100 per tooth- the vet suggested that 10 of her teeth had to be taken out but we told them to take out the really bad ones because 10 may be too overwhelming. They took out 8- that's already $800. Was it expensive? Of course, especially how my parents just bought my sister a car right at the beginning of the year. But it's one of the things you do to sacrifice for a pet.

And since secretly_a_poet shared a picture of their cat, I wanna show off my cat too! (this is Meg post-surgery)