Anyone else notice how much pet costs have risen?

[monsterkitty]

We put our 20-year-old cat to sleep a few months ago. He had been on prescription kidney food for about 6 years. The past few years they switched him to Solensia for his arthritis from the gabapentin he refused to take. Between the food and Solensia, we were paying about $300-$350/ month for him. Totally worth it!

Our Golden Receiver (he retrieves nothing) is getting his teeth cleaned next week. It will be between $650-850 depending on the work he needs done. They're thinking the lower end because he's not yet 3 and just needs a cleaning.

We have pet insurance for both dogs and our cat. Our senior cat was too old for insurance when we looked into it for him

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Food, medicine, veterinary care, boarding, etc.

Americans Can’t Afford Their Pets Anymore

Shelters are overflowing and euthanizations are up again due to space constraints.
It’s so sad to see young, healthy dogs put to sleep because they need more room.

Why Animal Shelter Euthanasia is Rising

Have costs impacted you at all?

This is so heartbreaking. We lost our chocolate lab at the age of 16 back in 2019 and I was so heartbroken than I swore off getting another dog. I just didn’t want to go through that heartbreak again.
Fast forward a couple of years with a move to a different state and I finally decided that I didn’t want to go the rest of my life without a dog so I started following all the rescue groups in my area and every single one of them requires a 6 foot fence to adopt a dog that is or will be over 30lbs. I looked for about a year in the personal homing groups but gave up and went to a breeder.

our girl will be turning 1 year old in 2 weeks and have spent over $6,000 in her first year for her purchase price, food, numerous vet appointments, her spay, tons and tons of toys and treats. All that being said, she is worth every penny.

 

[leahgoogle]

We put our 20-year-old cat to sleep a few months ago. He had been on prescription kidney food for about 6 years. The past few years they switched him to Solensia for his arthritis from the gabapentin he refused to take. Between the food and Solensia, we were paying about $300-$350/ month for him. Totally worth it!

Our Golden Receiver (he retrieves nothing) is getting his teeth cleaned next week. It will be between $650-850 depending on the work he needs done. They're thinking the lower end because he's not yet 3 and just needs a cleaning.

We have pet insurance for both dogs and our cat. Our senior cat was too old for insurance when we looked into it for him

We had our dog neutered last month....$600! I can't imagine what it will be for our female puppy to get spayed next year. This same puppy had a collision with our older puppy while playing over the summer. She broke her leg (she was 3 months old). Emergency vet visit (of course it was after hours) and the following surgery totaled $4800! We now have pet insurance on both dogs!

 

[Nayan]

Our 17 year old cat passed a couple months ago and we have decided not to have any more pets. The cost of food, vet care, etc. is just too much, plus we want to travel a lot more and not have to worry about boarding (we do not want a stranger in our home so no sitting) or our pet getting sick while we would be away.

 

[longboard55]

I think vets must go to seminars on how to increase bills, we had a vet we like but he got so expensive, you would get a blood test and he would itemize the needle cost. Vets love those blood tests

 

[leahgoogle]

This is so heartbreaking. We lost our chocolate lab at the age of 16 back in 2019 and I was so heartbroken than I swore off getting another dog. I just didn’t want to go through that heartbreak again.
Fast forward a couple of years with a move to a different state and I finally decided that I didn’t want to go the rest of my life without a dog so I started following all the rescue groups in my area and every single one of them requires a 6 foot fence to adopt a dog that is or will be over 30lbs. I looked for about a year in the personal homing groups but gave up and went to a breeder.

our girl will be turning 1 year old in 2 weeks and have spent over $6,000 in her first year for her purchase price, food, numerous vet appointments, her spay, tons and tons of toys and treats. All that being said, she is worth every penny.

So sweet!!! Our male goldendoodle just turned one the end of Sept and our sheepadoodle turns one in April. They get along so well and entertain each other.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

So sweet!!! Our male goldendoodle just turned one the end of Sept and our sheepadoodle turns one in April. They get along so well and entertain each other.

Molly is a bernedoodle.
I have floated the idea of getting molly her very own dog but my husband is not on board with that idea.

 

[leahgoogle]

Molly is a bernedoodle.
I have floated the idea of getting molly her very own dog but my husband is not on board with that idea.

It's definitely a risk if they will get along. Gus is chill and not territorial so we took the chance. I will say it is not for the faint of heart. Gus was totally housebroken and slept well and then we had to start all over. London is not getting the housetraining part as quickly as Gus did....lol.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

We had our dog neutered last month....$600! I can't imagine what it will be for our female puppy to get spayed next year. This same puppy had a collision with our older puppy while playing over the summer. She broke her leg (she was 3 months old). Emergency vet visit (of course it was after hours) and the following surgery totaled $4800! We now have pet insurance on both dogs!

I would kill for a 600$ spay bill for my golden retriever. Our vet just slashed the price of her spay...down to 1200$.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Molly is a bernedoodle.
I have floated the idea of getting molly her very own dog but my husband is not on board with that idea.

My dachshund is convinced that we got the golden retriever for her.

 

[leahgoogle]

I would kill for a 600$ spay bill for my golden retriever. Our vet just slashed the price of her spay...down to 1200$.

Yeah, the $600 was a neuter. I'm betting the spay will be $1000 at least.

ETA: It's insane....lol.

 

[mom2rtk]

We had our dog neutered last month....$600! I can't imagine what it will be for our female puppy to get spayed next year. This same puppy had a collision with our older puppy while playing over the summer. She broke her leg (she was 3 months old). Emergency vet visit (of course it was after hours) and the following surgery totaled $4800! We now have pet insurance on both dogs!

What? Our vet charges $90 to spay a cat. Neutering is even less. I assume dogs are more, but can't imagine it's that much. Ours was free because someone dumped these kittens at their door overnight and they gave them away with free shots and fixing. Love our vets.

I am happy to report that our office has finally returned to pre-pandemic practice of no appointments. Just come in, put your name on the list and wait. Hallelujah! This is one of the changes I hated most and am thrilled to have things returned to normal.

 

[Beezle2]

I think vets must go to seminars on how to increase bills, we had a vet we like but he got so expensive, you would get a blood test and he would itemize the needle cost. Vets love those blood tests

I read an article not too long ago that talked about private equity firms buying up vet clinics and raising prices. Same for apartment complexes, dentist offices, etc.

 

[loves to dive]

The food we use for our Yorkie has stayed just about the same and her regular vet hasn't gone up too much. However, she had to have cataracts removed from both eyes so we had to use the UGA Vet school. The surgery alone was $2000.00 per eye. She had to go back for checkups once a week at first then that went up to 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and now it's up to 2 months. Each visit is around $250 to $300. After the surgery she developed glacoma in one eye (which we knew was a possibility) so she is blind in that eye (that's $2000 to get the cataract removed that wasn't necessary). Her eyedrops run about $60 per month. The thought never entered our minds not to get the surgery. The cataracts developed fast and she went almost totally blind in about a month. It was so sad to watch and have to guide her around. It took that month to get the vet appt. She would start to go somewhere in the house and just end up standing and looking at a wall because she couldn't see and didn't know where she was. We were told that even with the surgery it was possible she would be far sighted in both eyes or that they wouldn't be able to put a lens in either eye. They were able to put a lens in one eye (not the one with glacoma thankfully) so she sees perfect in that eye. Evidently dogs function fine with just one eye. Now we have to be careful with the drops (2 in each eye twice a day, another one in the right eye 4 times a day and a different one in the right eye 3 times a day) so that the pressure doesn't build up too high in that eye and it has to be removed. We figure a blind eyeball in her head and is better than having no eyeball. We also were told even if the surgery was a success it was possible the cataracts would come back in a year or two. She is 10 years old so we figured if we bought her a couple of years of sight we were happy. All worth the money for us. Even had we not had the ready cash we would have used credit cards or I would have gotten a part time job (I'm retired, hubby isn't).

 

[Moliphino]

I would kill for a 600$ spay bill for my golden retriever. Our vet just slashed the price of her spay...down to 1200$.

I just paid a little under $800 for my shepherd mix's spay (including the $57 for the rear dewclaw removal).

 

[leahgoogle]

What? Our vet charges $90 to spay a cat. Neutering is even less. I assume dogs are more, but can't imagine it's that much. Ours was free because someone dumped these kittens at their door overnight and they gave them away with free shots and fixing. Love our vets.

I am happy to report that our office has finally returned to pre-pandemic practice of no appointments. Just come in, put your name on the list and wait. Hallelujah! This is one of the changes I hated most and am thrilled to have things returned to normal.

Sounds like a great vet practice!!! I'm glad the kittens found good homes. My mom has used TNR (trap/neuter/release) for stray males and they neuter for free. A cat spay is now about $400. Not sure about a neuter. I asked about the cost increase of spays and neuters and was told that anesthesia and meds have increased.

 

[shh]

Our 17 year old cat passed a couple months ago and we have decided not to have any more pets. The cost of food, vet care, etc. is just too much, plus we want to travel a lot more and not have to worry about boarding (we do not want a stranger in our home so no sitting) or our pet getting sick while we would be away.

I truly miss having a pet - always had one or more. But it's just too expensive now. I can swing food, medications and other consumables no problem, but vet costs are out of control.

(Just one example of many recently: our pet had a tooth issue causing them pain. It was $2500 for dental work (cleaning, treated the gum and removed 2 teeth). This wasn't counting $300+ for required pre-dental blood tests and $550 for a required cardiologist's checkup/clearance (senior age pet) as a precaution before they would administer anesthesia.

When your little one's in pain, most of us aren't going to shop around! (We paid what they asked, then changed vets shortly after, but didn't find much difference elsewhere.)

Pet insurance seems like a lot of money for a policy with so many exclusions in the fine print.

 

[shh]

Pet insurance may be playing some role, but the industry of pet care is being transformed (and not in a good way) by private equity firms buying up thousands of vet practices and clinics. This is especially the case with emergency/specialty care clinics. That type of care is becoming less affordable by the day it seems.

It's pretty discouraging to hear this. Great to hear about the vet schools for those of you who live within reasonable driving distance. I think our closest one is 10 hrs away, but I don't believe they offer any services to the public unless you're local to that area.

 

[HopperFan]

Had to go to Emergency Vet this summer and I've never felt more ripped off and experienced such indifference to my pet. He was injured and they charged me $600 for an antibiotic shot and them saying there was nothing they could do. My pet had an injury and they did NOTHING to clean, touch or attempt any first aid. I don't think I'll every return to an emergency clinic, they are just big business money grabs and I question the vets they hire there when there is no instinct to help creatures in need.

I was a helicopter parent for 48 hours until our vet opened on Monday. They jumped right in, cleaned the injury well, applied what was needed, gave him meds and top notch care for 1/4 of the cost. We opted wait and see before surgery and I returned 4 days later with him healing well. They checked him all over for no charge.

Yes it is not cheap for us to have them checked over like we do but I will say our vet (we've been with them 13 years, through loss of one dog, and two others still here giving us love) are wonderful with our pets and even us during tough times. We willingly pay for them.

BUT we have the option to save plenty by going to vaccine clinics, we can control some of the costs - like we don't board so we don't get the vaccine needed for that, they don't need fancy food. My animals would get fed before me right off my plate if needed.

World's oldest dog just passed at 31.5 years old. He only ate people food ...

Oldest Dog

 

[BrianL]

World's oldest dog just passed at 31.5 years old. He only ate people food ...

Oldest Dog

I can see a bunch of dogs printing off that article and cleverly laying it on their owners pillow....