Your time/Money!

junior_j

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Heya all..

Just wondering how much time and money do you spend on your animals
?



I have One minature Daschund who is 4 , who gets walked once a week (she weighs 7lbs and is soo lazy after 5 steps outside she is tired and needs carrying lol)

She maybe has 5 pounds (in money) worth of food a month , think she has Wag for small dogs. She sleeps with me and my mum is ALWAYS home (shes agrophobic) So morning and night she has constant company..

I have 4 kittens.. and they get £10 a week on wet food £5 dry food.
Then £7.00 on litter maybe every 8-10 days?
And again mum is always home with them i am aswell in the evening..

And of course i have 4 rats , who have £5.00 litter a week £5-7.00 a week on food and they have fruit and veg from our supply.. they get 2 hours out the cage usually too ..and maybe take 20 minutes to clean once a week and 5 minute spot cleaning every day , 5 minutes to change food/water


So we probably spend maybe .. 45 pounds on food/litter for animals (+) and 10 hours a week on rat out of cage time , baths (the dog loves rolling in the kittens poop lol)

Just intresting how many hours and how much we give/do for our animals..
I have had animals all my life and love them so much , couldnt image being without animals


(We also have a puppy joining up in 12 days too lol)
Jess x
 

meowers

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My two cats eat about one 6.6 pound bag of food a month. It costs about 20 us dollars. I also spend about 20 on wet food, I think.

On average over the last two months I have spent about 150 in vet bills (Holly got spayed, microchip, and a vet check)

Litter is WBCL at 25 for a large bag.

I guess about 60 dollars total in a normal month.

Time is another story...

When I am home they have my attention
 

strange_wings

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I don't spend anything on the cat's dry food, and since I raise my reptiles food - I don't spend anything on their insects.

I do buy can food, ingredients for worm food/bedding, vegetables, and litter. Couldn't begin to break it down into a weekly cost as we buy in bulk and stock up for a couple months or more. I do know that preparing my turtle's frozen veggie mixes costs me around $80 but makes around 150 servings. Worm food costs around $45 to make up several bags of. Can cat food we buy in large boxes and spend $35-52 for. Three weeks of litter costs around $9.

I try to avoid vet costs when I can, but we all know how that goes.

Couldn't tell you about time either - who can ignore their cats? I can't even sleep in without Tomas climbing on me.
 

cococat

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Everything I got, a lot of time and a significant amount of money put into their care and happiness. And in all decisions, career changes, moving to a different location, stuff like that a lot of time is spent always considering their needs first.
 

swampwitch

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We spend about $80 a month on cat food for our two kitties. Vet bills, when everybody is healthy, are about $250 a year which includes hairball meds, checkups, and vaccines. I shouldn't forget the $32 a month for Revolution.

The yearly total for two cats is $2,594, but we live in an expensive place where a loaf of bread is $5; a dozen eggs are $5, too.

It goes much higher, of course, if someone gets sick.


As far as time, I don't know, I'm usually home during the day and give them whatever attention they want.


p.s. I forgot about litter! Add another $20 or so a month for that.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

The yearly total for two cats is $2,594, but we live in an expensive place where a loaf of bread is $5; a dozen eggs are $5, too.
Bread here costs $.70 - $4 depending on brand and type. Obviously if you're trying to buy all organic stuff and other items that fall into the "trend" you'll be really ripped off.
 

fwan

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Because we have moved and needed extra vet care and special things the cats have costed me over $6,000 US dollars this year alone.

Mind you i have to buy everything new for them before they come out of quarantine and it should be another $300 with cat trees and cat litter trays ect.
 

swampwitch

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Bread here costs $.70 - $4 depending on brand and type. Obviously if you're trying to buy all organic stuff and other items that fall into the "trend" you'll be really ripped off.
Guess it's better to say that you can't buy a loaf of bread for under $3.
 

cococat

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Obviously if you're trying to buy all organic stuff and other items that fall into the "trend" you'll be really ripped off.
In many cases, it isn't a trend and is not a rip off. It is an investment in your overall well being and health. Not to mention better for the earth in many cases, and farmers markets can be better for the local community as an added bonus, food quality is much higher when foods are in their pure forms, no trans fats and refined processed stuff. Just look at all the cheap crap Americans buy as staples for their diet as health crisis related issues soar.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by cococat

Just look at all the cheap crap Americans buy as staples for their diet as health crisis related issues soar.
I eat cheap stuff - otherwise I don't eat. Sorry, but not everyone has a lot of money to spend on specialty foods. My health problems are nervous system related and no at all linked to what I eat - aside from me not being able to really put on weight, but I don't eat a high or even a normal fat diet and I'm not willing to start.

A lot of problems could be helped if people simply understood nutrition better.

At $3+ a loaf it's time to start making your own...

And this has went O/T. Though it's safe to say most of us feed our pets better then ourselves. I don't use commercial foods for my turtles because of preservatives and low quality ingredients, and don't like buying insects because I can't control what they've been fed.
 
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junior_j

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Wow we all certainly care about our kitties (Which is more then good to hear lol)



I have seen the best collar for the girls , baby pink with little dimontes and you can buy mini charms to go on them too
looking forward to adding that to their christmas list!

We are lucky we would spend maybe 10 pounds (english money) in cat litter a week but they have learnt to poop and pee in the garden so they only use litter tray rarely now (usually at night or when it rains lol) soo..now there litter bills are a lot lower and the house smells a lot nicer hehe


As for the o/t bread issue

I think it all depends on ur income and whats easier. For example i buy bread which is any where between £1.00 - £2.00 depending on when you buy it from , its just under 100 calorie a slice soft and tasty and convient , so.. but maybe if i could afford and liked the taste of organic bread i might buy it but i dont think it has a MASSIVE effect on our health , although probably not the best.. Also a lot of the time i swap and change and have wholegrain nimble bread all depends on the mood and the meal... white bread is awesome for chicken sandwich

Jess x
 

tara g

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We buy a big ~20+lb bag of adult chow for Katina, which is $28 or so a bag. It lasts her a couple months, even with Nero eating some of it. We buy him a smaller bag of kitten chow (since he's the only one who eats it), and that cost $10 I believe.

Toy spending is different. Right now they've got tons of toys from my grandma, she sent me back with a ton of cat toys last time we were in NJ. Her cat doesn't play with any but 4 or 5 now. We've purchased trees for both cats, so that was ~$300 in the last year on that. We'll be buying them some more toys for Christmas, but we don't really have any set budget on how much we'll spend.

The cat litter is maybe $15/month - we buy a huge bag of Feline Pine. Katina seems to go to the bathroom outside a lot more these days, so Nero has two boxes indoors to play in ... and play he does!

We have the Banfield Wellness Plan, so our vet visits are generally free (All free office visits, regardless of how many times we go). The only thing we ever really pay for is medications when we go to the vet, and in the last month it was about $70 for the two of them (Katina had an infected scratch; Nero has had a URI and now a sinus infection). Since we got the Wellness Plan just over a year ago, we've saved over $1400 between Monte, Katina, and Nero.
 

kittyl0ve4

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See in the household we have 2 cats, a dog, and 2 birds. i am responisble for the cats only.

I spend most of my time with them giving them lovin's and playing with them. Since my accident, i only work 2 days a week, and that only brings in $100 a week. I go to buy them food & litter whenever they need it, and i always get the variety packs and i also buy some loose cans, of different flavors to add some taste variety so they dont get sick of it. That usually brings me up to 15 dollars, plus litter, and toys, which i buy everytime i go to buy them food. everything usually brings me up to about $30, usually every 3-4 weeks. Vet bills, since so far nobody has been sick, are only $52 per cat every 6 months. then theres the cost of Frontline too. Im going to be getting surgery in a week, on my leg. i will be out of work for 3 months or more. But my bfs mom said that she wouldnt let them starve & will pick up the costs of food & litter for them while im out of work.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by junior_j

I have seen the best collar for the girls , baby pink with little dimontes and you can buy mini charms to go on them too
looking forward to adding that to their christmas list!
Why not make your own charms - many I see are just beads or charms you'd get for a charm bracelet. Look in the jewelry section of any decent craft store. Often the bead charms are pre-assembled and only cost a couple dollars (less if there's a sale).

I have so many beads around here I could easily make bead charms.
 
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junior_j

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I would worry the beads would come loose and the kitties will swallow them .. and anyway there only 1.50 for a pack of 3 charms , so 3 pounds will give me 6 charms , 1 charm each with two spare
im happy , their happy


Im looking forward to christmas and seeing the kittens with all the new toys and accessories lol
Jess x
 
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