Although pets don't always cost a lot of money to buy, they can end up being costly when you add up food, toys and especially the vet's bills.
Simple medications for dogs and cats can cost you in excess of £50 and although this kind of expense from time to time can often be managed, a dog's broken leg can cost up to £2,000 to mend which can break the household budget. However, there are ways to avoid big costs.
Get pet insuranceBy far the easiest and most effective way to cut down on your vet bills is to get pet insurance. As ex-Blue Peter vet Joe Inglis says: "It's something that any pet owner needs because you never know when they will get sick or have an accident. You need to cover yourself."
Pet insurance will help you pay those vet bills that you really can't afford. You can cover your cat from £4 a month and your dog from as little as £8 a month with so it should be reasonably affordable to insure your pet.
With pet insurance it's really important to decide exactly what kind of cover you need. This depends on what kind of animal you've got, it's age and condition and where you live, as vet's bills get steeper the further south you go.
You might also want extra cover for other costs, like boarding an animal at short notice if you have to travel, which some plans will offer. You also need to look out for how much the excess payments are, how long the insurance lasts (lifetime cover does not always mean what it says), and what are the pay-out limits of the plan.
Any dog or cat should have insurance as you can end up spending into the thousands for illnesses or surgeries, but for smaller pets like guinea pigs and hamsters, they probably don't live long enough to make it worth it.
Feed your pets the right foodIf we eat too many fatty foods, additives, sugar and salt then we run the risk of an unhealthy life – through obesity, heart disease, diabetes or cancer and this is exactly the same for our pets. Although buying discount pet food is good for the bank balance, you'll avoid increasing vet's costs in the long run by treating your Pet's diet the same way you'd treat yours.
Former ‘Watchdog’ producer Kate Bendix now owns Natural Pet Choice
http://www.naturalpetchoice.com/ which sells healthy, organic food and treats for pets. “Most pet food is filled with only 4% real meat, or animal or meat derivatives like bone and cartilage – all the non-fleshy parts," she says.
"You get lots of pet foods that are filled with leftovers from human food, which is how the pet food industry was started. Cheaper pet food contains a lot of modified maize starch which is a really cheap filler – it's like wallpaper paste.”
By avoiding any ingredients in your Pet's diet that you need to look up in a biochemistry text book and concentrating on feeding your animal a diet based on a variety of meats and vegetables you know and recognise as well as rice and barley, your animal will be much healthier.
Get your pets vaccinatedWhile your pets are as young as possible, try to get any vaccines or immunisations that your vet recommends. There are two types of vaccination - core and non-core. All cats and dogs should have their core vaccinations and pets that are at more risk of specific diseases should have the non-core ones.
Ask your vet what they think is right for your animal. A vaccination may cost you initially but ultimately it may save your pet's life – and your wallet as some in
Make sure your pets get enough exerciseThe rate of pet obesity is thought to have increased by at least 50% in the last 20 years. Getting the right amount of exercise is the key to a healthy pet and avoiding expensive vets bills.
For dogs, you just need to make sure they have at least a 10-15 minute walking session everyday and then you can increase the walking time to an hour as your pet gets happier and healthier.
For cats exercise should be in short bursts of intense activity on a frequent basis, so try getting your cat some toys to play with and a scratching post will help them exercise the muscles in their shoulders and back.
