The first time we plan to bring a pet home we have to stop and think about certain aspects: am I in the right place; do I have time to take care of it, and can I keep it financially? Some people embark on the wonderful adventure of having a pet without thinking about the expense that this can entail. There are many factors that can influence the economic cost of pet care to increase beyond what we thought.
How much can we spend on our pets?
In Spain, almost 40% of families are hosting one of the 20 million pets that are accounted for in our country.
A study conducted by idealo.es has extracted the data indicating the money it can cost us to adopt a pet and take it to our home.
To begin with, if we want to take a dog home, we must have an initial disbursement of 266.82 euros, while the cost of adopting a cat would be somewhat lower, of 235.82.
This would only be, as we said, an initial expense and would be given by the basic things that are needed from day one so that our animals can live healthily.
Vaccines, food, toys...
Our dog would need his first vaccinations, the price of which can be between 100 and 105 euros, with the consequent visit to the veterinarian. In addition, a muzzle for those breeds that need it (an average of 5.45 euros) or a luminous necklace, about 9 euros on average, among other objects, such as a brush, a shampoo and an ant parasitic spray, exceeding 30.45 euros on average.
In the case of the cat we cannot bring it home without its sandbox, a picker and a brush (exceeding 18o on average). In addition, it is usually recommended to place a gate on the door containing a chip and a net if you have a balcony at home to which the cat has access. With both, you'd be in the face of an expense of about 29.84 euros.
In addition, it is to take into account the price of feeders and drinkers, which for cats we can find for an average of 3.82 euros and for dogs of 4.49 euros.
For the beds where our furry ones will rest and the blankets that we can place in them, we can be talking about an expense 7.20 euros for cats and about 20 or more if it is a dog, since their beds are usually larger.
And we haven't mentioned the trips and street trips yet. Transports, ant parasitic collars and in the case of land dogs, hygienic sachets, etc., causes us to spend on cats about 23, 09, while in dogs the figure rises to 72.51.
If we also want our hairy people to have fun, we can't forget bites (11, 90 o'), balls (7.39o), etc.
What factors influence higher or lower pet care expenses?
Pet care starts with these aforementioned expenses, but it should be borne in mind that each year we will also have an expense derived from visits to the veterinarian (about 50 or 55 euros with vaccine).
In the case of cats we should not forget about the 72euros on average per year that we will spend on sand and about 400, 27 euros on their food. If we are going to keep a dog we must know that according to its breed we can spend between 162, 72 and 678 euros per year in food.
In addition, for both cats and dogs, we should consider that, in case of urgency or illness, the expense for your health could be much higher.
After analyzing this data, it is concluded that the total expense of having a cat as a companion is 522.27 euros on average per year, while the expenditure on dogs would vary, depending on its size, between 217.72 and 733 euros.
It is undeniable that the affection that pets give us is priceless, but we must always adopt with conscience and make sure, first of all, that we can give it a dignified life.