10 Ways to Save on Pet Costs

MSNBC has a piece listing 10 ways to save on pet costs. Their suggestions:

1. One way to save money right out of the gate is to adopt a dog or cat from the pound. Pets from animal shelters cost much less money than purebred animals, and they often have been spayed or neutered and have received their shots.

2. Research breeds ahead of time. If you know you want a purebred animal for whatever reason, do some homework ahead of time so you can know whether to expect any specific health conditions or issues. It’s also a good idea to know what you’re getting into when it comes to grooming. It can cost $40 to $100 every six weeks or so to keep some high-maintenance breeds well-groomed.

3. Spay or neuter your pet for less. If your pet hasn’t been spayed or neutered yet and you plan to have this done, look into cost-effective programs run by your local Humane Society or branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

4. Comparison shop before choosing a vet.

5. Seek out discounts. Veterinarians sometimes offer discounts to senior citizens and people with three or more pets, and Humane Society and SPCA offices sometimes provide a wide variety of free or reduced-price services to low-income pet owners and seniors.

6. Don’t get stuck when it comes to shots. Contact your city’s or county’s animal control office and ask about free or low-cost rabies shots and other vaccines. You also can ask your vet about the feasibility of giving your pet booster shots every three years instead of once a year.

7. If your vet recommends an extremely expensive procedure, don’t simply say yes. Get a second opinion.

8. Strike mutually beneficial pet-sitting deals. Skip the potentially sky-high expense of boarding your pet or hiring a pet sitter by trading pet care with a friend or neighbor when you go out of town. If you must board your animal for more than two weeks or so, ask about long-term boarding discounts.

9. Focus on diet and exercise. Be sure your pet gets enough exercise on a regular basis and eats the right kind of food. Ask your vet for dietary recommendations, and don’t get carried away with too many treats or human-food handouts.

10. Should you buy pet insurance? More and more people are buying pet policies, which can cost $500 or more per year. If you’re convinced you need such coverage because of your pet’s breed or health history, try opting for a catastrophic policy only so you don’t pay too much.

Many of these tips are the same you'd use for yourself to keep health costs low -- eat well, exercise, shop around for doctors, get second opinions, etc. With pet health care becoming more and more expensive, we all need to employ the same sort of tactics we do with our own health to limit potential costs and make sure our pets live healthy, happy lives.

Comments

[Emily @ Taking Charge]

I actually did a guest post for Kacie at Sense to Save on the same topic shortly before this article came out...it offers a few additional tips.

[Jim]

#10, I looked at pet insurance myself recently. From what I found I don't believe it is worth the cost.

Heres a Consumer REports article on the topic:
http://www.consumerreports.org/pets/0307vet2.html

Key problem with the pet insurance policies I found is that they have fairly low limits on what they pay for any procedure. VPI has an example of benefits they would pay for a claim:
http://www.petinsurance.com/coverage/minimumcoverage.aspx
Getting $755 from your insurance for a $1450 procedure isn't very good coverage to pay $100-200 a year for.

Pet insurance still seems like a good idea so maybe there are better policies out there. I'd be interested to know if anyone fines one. But pay very close attention to the fine print on what they actually pay.

Jim

[Benjamin Metzler]

A week after I got two puppies from the same litter (I won't make that mistake again), one ended up in the Vet ER and racked up $700 in vet bills. It convinced me to get pet insurance.

Seven years later, I'm not as sure about that decision. Two dogs at roughly $20 each a month comes out to $3360 so far. I haven't gotten about a third of that back in payouts, even with a broken leg, back problems, and other issues big and small. It's nice to know that I have insurance, but I have to wonder how much of a return I would have made on 3K.

One thing to note is that unlike most insurance for humans, you end up paying the full cost of the pets procedure up front and then submitting a claim that they then evaluate to see how much to pay out. This should be taken into account when evaluating getting pet insurance.

Ben

[Sean]

"all need to employ the same sort of tactics we do with our own health"

Hehe... are you sure about that? Compared to our ideal tactics, maybe.

(Picturing my dog with a membership to CostCo...)