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How Much Does it Cost to Keep a Pet?

A new furry family member is always happiness. It is impossible to break away from watching a cat or dog that just gets into our house. They carefully sniff every corner, get acquainted with the new territory, and then with us. And what a joy it is when your pet finally gets used to you and trusts you!

But before you get a pet, you need to evaluate your budget and be sure that your budget will accommodate the maintenance of a cat or dog. You can suffer a little with expenses if suddenly the money runs out before the paycheck arrives. But your animal does not know what savings are and will not be able to endure without food or other necessary things. The average dog owner spends between $500 and $1,000 a year, depending on the pet's size. A cat owner spends about $600 or more. But do not forget that the first year of the animal is the most expensive, especially if you have not had a pet before and you need to buy absolutely everything, from a leash or collar to a bowl and bed. It costs $1,500 - $2,000 to the pet owner.

Spending on an animal starts at the stage of adoption. Adoption fees will vary depending on whether you are adopting from a shelter, breeder, or pet store. Adopting a pet from a shelter is always the best idea. In addition to giving a better life to abandoned animals, you can save on vaccinations, spaying, and microchipping of the animal. Usually, all these expenses are already included in the adoption fee. According to the Animal Humane Society, a standard shelter adoption fee is typical $100 to $700 for dogs and $30 to $300 for cats.

Some expenses per animal will be one-off or at least fairly rare. For example, sterilization and microchipping are carried out once, and vaccinations - are once in a certain amount of time (most often once a year, if we are not talking about puppies and kittens). You buy cages, trays, and food bowls once in a long time, but, nevertheless, after a year, two, or five, you still want to change them.

Dog Cat
Crate/cage $35-$150 $35-$70
Training classes $100-$400 N/A
Spay/Neuter $200-$800 $200
Carrier bag $40-$100 $60
Litter box N/A $25-$50
Collar/leash $25-$50 $10-$20
Scratching post N/A $10-$20
Puppy pads $50-$100 $N/A

After you have all the things necessary for the life of a pet, the cost of it will decrease somewhat. However, you will always need food, and periodically you need new toys, treats, cat litter or a longer leash for the dog.

This is what the average expenses for a cat and a dog per year look like:

Small to large-sized dog Cat
Food $200-$400 $200-$300
Litter N/A $200
Toys $50-$100 $50
Treats $50-$100 $50
Health insurance $225 $175
Grooming $200-$500 N/A
License $15 $15
Recurring medical costs $200-$500 $200-$300

But these are not all the costs that you will have to face. If you want to go on a trip, you will need to leave the animal with someone. Perhaps you will use the services of dog walking or pet sitting.

In addition, dogs and cats can participate in exhibitions and various competitions. However, this also requires a lot of money, even though you will have the opportunity to win a prize with your animal.

If your expenses for an animal are out of bounds or you still decide to participate in the exhibition but forget about the initial payment, you can always take a loan. Personal loans usually have the most favorable interest rates. In addition, you can borrow from $1,000 to $50,000, so you can definitely cover all your pet needs.

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