Naturally, the weekly costs of keeping pets depend on the pets that you keep; it is considerably more expensive to keep a horse than it is to keep a guinea pig, so if you want a pet that doesn’t cost too much money the choice is obvious. But for now, we will concentrate on the kinds of pets that can be expensive; namely dogs, cats and horses. We will also ignore the costs of purchasing the animal, which can range from nothing to tens of thousands of pounds.
Food
Food is a necessary expense, but there are many options.
Dogs – Large dogs eat a lot of food while small dogs eat much less. You can feed your dog on low cost dog foods that you can buy in bulk at a supermarket or pet food supplier, or premium dog food that can cost more on a weight for weight basis than human food or you can make your own.
A number of surveys on how much it costs to feed a dog have been published, but they generally give an average price which is fairly meaningless, and you can generally get a better idea from the various pet blogs. Taking a straw poll, £25 a week isn’t at all unusual.
Cats – While there isn’t the same diversity as dogs in terms of quantity, there is even more diversity in terms of quality. However again taking a straw poll of the cat blogs £3 to £5 a week isn’t unusual.
Horses – Hay, straw and food supplements can be expensive, so budget for around £40 a week.
Pet insurance
Today vets bills can be very expensive, and for some people this can be a dilemma should they find that they are faced with a possible vet’s bill of thousands of pounds, more than they can afford. For most people it makes sense to take out pet insurance.
Dogs – The cost depends on a number of factors which include the breed of the dog and its age. Typically you can expect to pay around £7 a week.
Cats – While some breeds are more expensive than others, a typical cost is £3.50 a week.
Horses – typically expect to pay around £10 a week.
Other costs
There are many other costs that you need to consider, and these depend on your situation. For instance, in the case of a horse, if you have a field with a shelter then you can avoid livery fees which could cost you from £30 to £85 a week. With a cat you might need to spend money on cat litter unless it has access to the outside through a cat flap; cat litter costs around £4 to £5 a week. In the case of a dog, grooming can be a significant cost; you could groom your dog yourself or have it groomed professionally which would typically average out at around £5 a week. However, there are also some great deals to be had online, check out Time for Paws which has a great selection for all your pets’ needs.
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