how much $ do you spend on your animals?

[Chilli]

I'm not even certain on how much we spend!
I know that last month, when we bought 2 months or so of frontline for all the dogs and cats, it cost well over $100.
A few months ago, when Skylar first came, he kept coming up will illness to show, and the vet bills were getting pretty high. He had some type of worms, intestinal infection, and mange... and a few other things.
Not to mention five rats that LOVE food, I need to find food that is still good for them but in a bigger bag, I get tired of going to the petstore every two weeks just for rat food! Hmm.. and I'm about to spend $100+ on a new cage for the boy ratties.
In the past few months here is a few things I, myself, have bought for my pets:
$80 rat cage
$30+ on rats and rat supplies
$25 for getting an abcess removed from a rat
$40+ on guinea pigs and supplies
$25+ on parakeet toys and food
$30+ on goldfish and tank setup.
$20+ on cat supplies
$30+ on dog supplies
And that adds up to 280+, and its not even including the vet bills and food for the dogs and cats..... good thing I have alot of money saved!
Plus I'm going to Petco in a few days to pick up a few more things!
I'm not old enough to have an actual job, but I do pay for everything that goes toward all the pets except the dogs. And once I am able to get a job, the dogs will be my full responsibility, also.

[wolfsoul]

This is all of the money I've spent on my pets this month:

Dog:
~$200 on food/supplements (she's on a raw diet and I buy her all the best)
~$200 for hip and elbow X-rays
~$20 on treats
~$30 for herding
~$130 for agility
~$20 for CGN test
~$30 on cream (she cut her hock)

Foster kitten:
~$20 on food
~$50 on medications and Lysine supplement

Rats:
They eat the dog's food so that's included in the $200 above
~$25 for shampoo
~$10 for parasite shampoo (they had lice)

Mice:
~$50 initial cost

Betta:
~$6 on food

[ashleycat]

Actually it's probably more around 700.

Thats

vet
grooming
adoption fee
crate
doggie dooley
a few toys
grooming supplies for at home
I've gotten 2 big bags of food.

That price is just what so far. But after this it will be just grooming every now and then, food and health care.

[Zippy]

I have a feeling this topic was best left unposted LOL.I try to get the sales at the petstores for Zippy's treat and Sweet P.'s toys.Zippy needs some new toys as a lot of her's got lost in the move.Today we got Sweet P.some great toys for 2 dollars 3 nice ones

[dogzr#1]

Around $200/month. That's only on dogs. Let's see. Here are my other expenses:

Fish:
Food-$25( includes pellets, flakes, and bloodworms)
Betta Food- $7

Birds:
Toys: $10
Food- $20
Accessories- $15

Hermit Crabs:
Sponge: $5
New Shells: $7

Dogs:
Food- $50
Grooming Supplies- $20
Toys- $15
Treats- $10
Other Necessities(sp?)- $30

That's only for about a month. Now add all that together and multiply it by 12 and add around $200 for vet bills and medication(ie. frontline and heartguard) and you will have how much I spend on my pets.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Well I'm not the best check-book balancer so I couldn't tell you to the dollar how much I spend. On dog food & cat food, I spend about $60 a month, plus maybe another $25 on treats. I like to buy them toys and stuff a lot, and I guess that adds up quite a bit too. Luckily they are all quite healthy and usually only see the vet rarely (well, at least once a year of course!), but Vallis had a $300 emergency vet bill in April, and I bought all of their flea and heartworm preventative last month too which was around $250.

In terms of initial cost, they were quite expensive! Marta cost $650, and she was a puppy so I had to pay for all her shots, and getting her spayed. Adele was a puppy too, her adoption fee was $150, plus those costs, and Seine's adoption fee was $90, plus spaying, etc. Vallis's adoption fee was $250, but he had all but one of his vaccinations.

I'm guessing I spend around $150-200 per month on them overall on care, but who cares, really? As long as I have enough money, they are what I like to spend it on.

[lute]

hmmm....anywhere between $20 and $50 a week.

i understand your frustration. my mom is not an animal person. she thinks all these trips to the vet for the kittens is a waist of time and money. i've heard her say on multiple occations that "cats are disposable. they are something you get for free out of the newspaper." i love my mom to death, but we have have more argumens about this than anything else.

[IRescue452]

Dog: $40/year vet bill, $15/month food, maybe, $5/month toys, treats, other
my philosophy is "if it costs less than a dollar it doesn't count, so I spend lots of money on walmart's 88 cent toys and on dollar tree toys"

Cat: $2.50/month litter, $5/month food, a few replacement toys and sleeping baskets a year

Fish: Filter media and test kits $30/year, Decoration budget $50/year, Food $10/year, + camera batteries, extra tanks, nets, treatments, conditioners, water

I probably spend more on my fish than any other pets. I get a LOT of clearence items so I tend to spend more than I think.

[cyber-sibes]

I've never stopped to add it up, but I'm sure it's quite a bit more than $500/yr. each for food, heartworm & flea preventative, liscences, shots, grooming, etc., plus emergency vet trips for things like hot spots and broken toes ! It's not too bad spread out, but I know if something major happened that was going to be thousands of dollars at once, my hubby would probably not go along with it. At least, that's what he says now, he might feel different if his Star-girl had an emergency.

[ashleycat]

I probably would spend about 60 a month tho. That 500 was start up supplies, vet etc.

[cyber-sibes]

plus emergency vet trips for things like hot spots and broken toes !

And bites--- Like today; vet bill $76.00. Excuse me, I have to go back to work now...

[RobiLee]

It's not too bad spread out, but I know if something major happened that was going to be thousands of dollars at once, my hubby would probably not go along with it. At least, that's what he says now, he might feel different if his Star-girl had an emergency.

I bet he would . Katie broke her ankle and had to have surgery and 3 pins put in and the ligaments reconstructed. Since she had to have that surgery we went ahead and had her knee fixed also. The total cost was almost $2000 ! I don't regret spending that money on her at all. She was there for me through the cancer crap and I will always be there for her. Funny thing is that right before she broke her ankle we were involved in a car accident. The insurance sent us a check for the damage which turned out to be $2000 . We handed that money right over to the vet hospital. To this day the car has not been repaired and normally something like that would bother me, but when I see it I always smile because I know it was meant to be.

I don't know how much money I spend on my dogs and I would probably go into shock if I ever took the time to add it up...LOL.

[king2005]

ummm maybe 100.00/year.. I usually only need to buy food 2-3 times a year

[binka_nugget]

Mice:
~$50 initial cost

That's cause you just HAD to buy the expensive mice LOL.


For initial costs, $500 is extremely cheap. Kai alone was $500 (breeder). Then there was neutering, vaccinations, grooming supplies, crate, leashes, collars, food, etc.


This is what I've paid in the past month for just the dogs:
$150 -- Food and Supplements
$80 -- Vet
$90 -- Agility Class
$120 -- Obedience Class
$25 -- Leash
$30 -- Treats
$50 -- Herding

Sooo.. $545 this month. Next month will be another set of Agility class and agility club fees, obedience class, even more food (I've just located Rabbit which is a HUUUUGE dent in the wallet) and CKC fees.

[Kfamr]

Lets see...

Dog food for three 47-75lb dogs: $50 for ever 35lbs of food.
I haven't really payed attention how much a 35lb bag lasts us.

I've spent atleast $150 on crap they don't need while on vacation.
About $20 just on my aunt's puppy that we're staying with.
Their shampoo and conditioner is originally $10 a bottle - we pay $3 something though.
New collars every few months - anywhere from $10-$40 on collars for all three.
New toys can range from $1-$50.
New treats (because they have to try every treat on the market) $2-$50

Everytime we go to the vets it's usually $200 min. PER dog for each visit.


Gosh I could go on and on!


The fact is. We can buy the bare minimum but the joy my dogs bring in our lives they deserve the best they can get. If that includes driving 20+ miles just to purchase the more expensive, healthier food compared to up the corner buying Kibbles & Bits - SO BE IT!

I adopted them promising to take care of them

There are just so many people stuck back in the days when it comes to many thing, not just pets.


With internet, computers, cameras, televisions, good vehicles, etc.. those would be the first things to go if we needed money to pay for an emergency. A living being comes before ANYTHING in my heart.

I would sell the clothes off my back if I had to.