Can you really afford another pet?

Keeping a pet is a very rewarding undertaking, and dogs and cats in particular offer plenty of love and companionship in return for relatively small sacrifices on your part. If your present pet is such a joy that you are considering expanding the family, have you also considered the financial implications?

It might be easy to think that since you have one pet already that adding another one to the family can’t be too much to ask for, but actually it is not quite so simple. A new pet, be it a cat or a dog, will need more of your time initially, as kittens and puppies need training, special care and a carefully watched diet.

Then there are the extra costs of training, in the case of dogs, and also vet checkups and pet insurance. While some of these expenses, such as pet insurance, are very small every month, and other, such as dog training costs, will fall away after a few months, others are more lasting.

Two dogs and two cats do eat twice as much as one, and if you are considering getting a cat to match your dog or a dog to match your cat, then bear in mind that these two animals have completely different nutritional requirements and will need completely different foods.

A cat or a dog are lifelong investments, and will therefore be costing you money for years to come. With the economic recession hitting some people hard this year, there will be many who find that upkeep of their beloved pets is a financial strain which they cannot afford.

It may come to pass that animal shelters will be bursting at the seams with unwanted costly pets, so if you do decide that you can afford a pet after all, then rather visit the RSPCA or your local animal shelter and see if you can find the perfect new pet there.