Cost of living is a challenge faced by all in our current economic climate. 

In the pet ownership world, this can present additional challenges, especially when unexpected events can have you facing an unplanned expense.  Therefore, having strategies in place to ensure that we can continue care for our pets through difficult times is important.

Pets are important parts of our family units, providing mental health support, love, companionship and many smiles. However, owning pets is not the cheapest hobby to have, according to the Pets in Australia national survey (2022), the average cost of owning a dog is $3,218 and $1715 for owning a cat.  Many have more than one pet and these numbers may be a little scary, especially if assessing a budget and may lead to a review of how to manage our pet’s ongoing care. 

The bulk of the costs discussed above is in day-to-day care for our four-legged friends and some considerations as to where this can be reduced are worth considering.  Some suggested strategies:

• Keep your pet healthy with regular exercise, maintain an optimal weight and good dental health.  Just like us, this will help reduce healthcare costs throughout their life.
• Pet treats can be incredibly costly per 100g, be selective with your choices, buy in bulk when on special or consider making your own. There are heaps of great recipes available online.  Additionally, many commercial treats are like feeding high calorie sugar treats to our pets.
• Buy the best quality pet food you can afford – there are differences in quality, with many of the cheaper brands being high in fat, slat and fillers. Purchasing the best quality food you can, will help to maintain your pet’s health into the future.
• Budget for veterinary costs, both regular check-ups and the unexpected. We know these will happen at some point and knowing how we will manage this situation helps to alleviate one stress in the moment. Some options to consider for managing vet costs are: pet insurance, pet’s own bank account, monthly allowance in a budget that is kept aside. 
• For bigger procedures, talk to your vet about staging the process or payment options.
• Learn to groom your pet yourself!  Once you get the hang of it you can save yourself $80 every six to eight weeks.
• Purchase toys/jackets etc from local markets, second hand or make them yourself. 

These suggestions can help manage the cost of owning a pet and hopefully highlight that veterinary care is not the only cost, it just tends to be the unexpected one. Veterinary care accounts for 14 per cent of the cost of owning a pet, so starting to budget for some of that cost regularly, will help reduce the tricky decision when it comes time for vaccination or an unplanned check.

While times are certainly tough at the moment, the benefits of pet ownership still far outweigh the costs of having them in our lives. Some little tweaks can help manage pet care and ease the strain on the budget.