We have two young cats. Pepper is 2 and Cecelia is 4. Both have been to the vet this year, received their vaccinations, and are up to date on all care. The vet cost are 50 dollars for an office visit, and 35 for each vaccination they may need. They are not due until December 2014 or beginning of January.
They are messy things with their cat litter. I clean the cat box and always find tons of litter on the floor. After scooping out their ummmm, MUCK, I end up sweeping up the cat litter on the floor, and putting it all back into the cat box. I figure since it's not used, and all over the floor, it's OK to be put back in, instead of throwing it out.
I was looking at the cat litter I have upstairs. We have one 22 lb "box" that is half full, and one jug 18lb that hasn't been opened yet. I'm hoping to hold on to these and get through the month of April with what we have on hand. The kids have been told to use about 2 inches of liter for the cat box, and no more.
Our cats are eating generic cat food. I found a huge 18 lb bag at Sharp Shopper in February, and March was an experiment in brand name food, with coupons. I have 1/4 bag of cat food left form the 18 lb bag, and another 8 lb bag that is not opened yet. They get one cup of food a day (going by the directions on the bag). I'm hoping that this will get us through the rest of the month.
Dogs: The vet visits are 50 dollars each. We have two dogs (Sadie, she's 12 and Jackson, he's 1 1/2), and they are up to date on their vaccinations. The dogs are eating an expensive prescription diet from the vet. It's a 22 lb bag that cost 58 dollars. OUCH!! My one hound dog has a prescription for her heart pill that cost 44 dollars a month to fill. The vet will give the prescription to me when I call. No reason to get to an actual pharmacy. I did get them tested for heartworm, and decided to try and get some preventive heartworm meds into them. What I didn't think about was the cost of the meds for heartworm. We will be finishing this 6 month doses, and since they are not outside much (only to do their business and walks), I will be rethinking this cost.
Jackson will be getting neutered Monday. I prepaid SPAY VA last week for this procedure, and budgeted this for the month of March. He will get an overnight stay at one of the local clinics from through the SCPA. It was only 50 dollars to get him snipped, verses the 350 the vet was going to charge.
What are your pet expenses and how do you budget for them??
I budget $75/month ($25 for food and supplies + $50 for the Vet). This is based on using generic scoopable litter, one cat being on generic "cereal" while the other requires $$ from vet "cereal." I have already decided that when the next time comes to get a new pet (when these 2 are no longer with us), I will drop down to a one pet home. Gets too expensive otherwise. We always rescue from a shelter program that does the spay/neutering and first year's shots as part of the "donation" fee.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried ordering your RX on line such as Pet meds? rather than from the Vet?
I have to agree with the one pet deal. It does get expensive and costly. I looked online for Pet Meds, it's the same price per pill, and I would have to pay for shipping. The spay neuter place is in Harrisonburg VA, about 70 miles from my home. I will drop my hound dog off Monday morning at the SPCA 6:30 AM, and pick him up Tuesday at 8:00 AM. The total cost was 90 dollars, but the SPCA gave me a certificate for 45 dollars off. I paid 45 dollars and a 5 dollar crate fee, since I didn't have a crate for him to transport.
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