Saving Money On Your Petsby Nicole Humphrey | More from this Blogger 11 Aug 2006 09:01 AM
While there is no such thing as a free pet, there are ways to save when it comes to having a pet. Shelters Adopt your new pet from a shelter, rather than a pet store. The difference in cost between the two is unbelievable, as well as the fact that the pet is just as wonderful. Also beware of "free kittens" or "free puppies". Nothing in life is free, and when you get a free pet more than likely they have not been spayed or neutered, nor have they had their shots. Typically the cost for those two services will be over $100 or more. With a shelter animal, the typical adoption is between $25-$60 depending on pet and age, and it usually includes a neuter or spay as well as their shots. Not to mention that you often get a free check up through a local veterinarian too! Limit How Many You don't need to own three or four dogs and/or cats just because your city ordinance allows you too. In fact, you'll get just as much satisfaction from one or two, than you would three or four. Plus, imagine the $1000+ a year you spend on an average pet, then multiply that times the number of pets you think you need. Not a pretty figure is it? Generic Pet Food Just like a human, a dog or cat, or any other type of pet will survive just as beautifully on a generic pet food, than it would on a pricier designer name brand. Plus if you pay careful attention you can find more coupons for the cheaper brands and they are found at any discount chain. Fido is not that picky. Groom Your Pet Yourself Honestly, you can bathe your dog (or yes even cat, but be careful!) yourself. You do not need to take them to the pet groomer. Even if you have a high maintenance pet, you can do most of the grooming yourself, or at least teach yourself how to do it all. There is no reason that you need to pay someone to bathe and brush your dog. Take Care Of Your Pet This goes without saying, but a pet with a healthy diet, frequent exercise and regular check ups with the veterinarian are going to live longer and healthier lives. Take care of your pet, and your costs will stay down and your pet will be around much longer! Have some tips on how to save on your canine or feline friend? Please share with us in the comments field below! Related Articles: Learn To Be Frugal With Pet Health Care Precious Pets For The Perfect Price More Frugal Ideas For Pet Care Learn more about Nicole Humphrey  Nicole Humphrey is a freelance writer, consultant for CTMH and a Sr. Blogger for families.com. She resides in St. Charles, Missouri with Mike and their five children and two furbabies. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  mama_rhapsody (405) 28 Aug 2006 02:36 PMThanks for posting this, I particularly love that you mentioned grooming your pets at home! I've done that for years and can't imagine why anyone would begin to pay someone else to do this. Maybe I should start up my own grooming business haha.  Nicole Humphrey (15757) 02 Sep 2006 06:45 AMI agree totally - why don't people try to do more things at home to save money. Grooming your pets is one of those things. I'm glad you liked the ideas and hope you can use them on your own pets! :)  Aimee Amodio (12134) 02 Sep 2006 09:45 AMOne drawback to using generic/store brand pet food is that while it may have some of the same ingredients of a more expensive brand, it may have more "fillers" -- which is how they save money on production. Look at the ingredients list: watch for things like "by-products", and make sure there are actual meats/protein sources listed in the first three ingredients. Nicole Humphrey (15757) 11 Sep 2006 06:36 PMUsing coupons is a good way to get better pet foods for less too. Check out the deals section here on families for ways to get some really good deals on pet foods. Community Tags cats, dogs, frugal, pets, save money, saving money on pets Discuss this article
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Having a pet is never cheap. In fact, according to recent statistics an average pet owner of a domesticated cat or dog, with absolutely no illnesses during the course of a year, will spend upwards of $1000 on maintenance alone. That's a lot of money!
