Photo copyright Chris Bartels
Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by my wife, Victoria. Above is a recent picture of our 20+ year old cat that my wife has had since she was very young.
I can’t lie – I have wanted to get a dog since my husband and I got married. We lived in an apartment during our first year of marriage, making it impossible to add a dog to our family. Since we bought a house in October, my desire for a dog of my own has only become amplified. If you are anything like me, you want a dog too – or a cat, a bunny, etc. However, here are six reasons why you should consider waiting to buy a new pet.
1) The Costs of Essentials
No matter what type of pet you want, it will have basic needs that should be factored into your monthly budget. While some pets, such as a fish, may not cost much each month, others may end up costing you more than you think. Especially if you don’t use coupons, you can easily spend $20 on just a cat’s daily necessities. And that is a conservative estimate. Depending on your new pet’s needs and depending on how frugal or tight your budget is, you might want to reconsider what kind of pet you get or if you even should get one at all.
2) Unexpected Vet Costs
I have known many people who have had unexpected vet costs for their pets. Anything can happen, especially if your pet goes outside. Sicknesses can develop no matter what type of pet you have and vet costs can get quite expensive. I once had a friend in high school that paid at least $4,000 for emergency surgery on his dog, only to have it pass away soon after. While this may be worth it for an animal that has become a part of your family, your finances may not be able to handle those kinds of costs.
3) Other Unexpected Costs
Not only can vet costs be unexpected, but other unexpected costs might come up, such as allergies, specific medications, a particular diet, etc. My family dog growing up had terrible allergies and had to have various types of medication throughout his life. Another example is as an animal ages, the cost of taking care of them could potentially increase. Our local vet has told us that our 20-year-old cat (yes, you read that right TWENTY YEARS OLD) should be fed wet food twice a day because of her decaying teeth. These types of costs are always unplanned and may not be easy to adjust to in a budget. Consider the costs of a new pet and if you are able to adjust your income to deal with it.
4) Extra Planning
Photo copyright Victoria Carlson
Once you have a pet, depending on the type of animal you get, there may be an end to those quick weekend getaways or spontaneous vacations. Extra planning needs to take place for vacations and trips once you have a pet. You must take into account who will take care of your pet or where you will bring it. It’s not just vacations that require planning. If you know you will have to stay late at work or you have things in the schedule that won’t allow you to stop at home, you must factor in how your animal will be taken care of on those days.
5) Unstable Life
If your life isn’t exactly stable at this time, you might have to reconsider owning a pet. If you live in a place that you might not be in for more than a year, bringing a new pet into your life might not be the best decision at the time. Moving can cause extra stress for not only the animal, but you as well. My husband’s parent’s cat actually went blind from the stress of moving after living in one place for 15+ years. Or what about your job? If you lost your job today could you still afford the new pet that you were looking into buying? All of these things have to be accounted for when you are deciding whether it is a good idea to get a pet.
6) Time and Other Considerations for Your Family and Yourself
If you read Young Adult Money consistently, you may already know that my husband has had multiple issues with his sinuses and allergies. He recently went to an allergist and found out he is allergic to dogs and cats. While we do have a cat in our household, I have had second thoughts about getting a dog because of the risk of increasing allergens in the home. Maybe you don’t have to worry about allergies, but what if you want a roommate, a baby, or even have a family member stay over that is allergic to your new pet? These things should be taken into consideration before deciding on what type of pet to get. You also should mull over the amount of time that taking care of a pet could take. While some take almost no time at all and even want to be by themselves most of the time, others require more of an effort on your part, thus, increasing the amount of time you spend on them.
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Do you want to get a new pet? What would you or have you taken into consideration before getting a pet?
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I dont want a new pet but I already have one and those are definitely things people should consider. Pet are like have children. You have to feed them, potty train, doctor bills, bathe them and a lot more. Some people miss the aspects of raising a pet and just get the ooh they are soo cute. Ok but that cuteness grows up and you have a job on your hands that you werent ready for. Things like taking a trip means planning to take them with you or paying for a sitter. Coming home tired means still finding time to give them attention and walking them. Make sure you have the money, time, and emotions to get a pet. They don’t deserve being treated badly/unfair just because you didn’t think ahead.
YourDailyFin They are like children- only they never really grow up! ha :)
The last time a got a new pet was a couple of years ago. We got a Siberian Husky and spent $600 right off the bat for her. We bought her an invisible fence so she could run free in the yard, paid for her initial vet visits, and then food and treats. It was a big expense but she was a beautiful dog! I won’t get another pet for awhile, too much work!
SingleMomIncome I absolutely love huskies! They can be a lot of work though and I don’t think people really think about it until it is living with them for more than a few days!
Awesome to see you here Victoria! Great post! I beggggged my hubs to get me my dog. She is definitely a ton of work but she is my little baby for sure!!
BudgetBlonde Thank you!!! :) Since our plan is not to have any kids for quite a while, I would LOVE dog. I would have had one yesterday if I knew we wouldn’t be too stressed out about the time/money it would take. They are always worth it in the end but my logical side has weighed in too heavily at this point :)
Ohhh we must be on the same wave length, I have a post about dog ownership on Wednesday. Unexpected vet costs were really big for us and our pet. He needed elbow surgery at 1 year old and it cost us $5,000 :(
MonsterPiggyBank Ouch that is a hefty vet bill! I will have to check out your post! Thanks!
We have two dogs and they are a great time and money commitment. The biggest issues for us are spending time with the dogs and planning to take care of them on vacation. If you can’t leave them at home and have someone check in on them each day, then you have to put them in a kennel. That’s expensive for two dogs.
Brian @ Luke1428 I can’t imagine what the cost would be for two dogs in a kennel for more than just a few days. Costs can add up quickly!
There are so many things to consider. My friend just got a dog and they really underestimated it!
SenseofCents There are so many dogs out there to get that it is hard not to want to get them! I seem to overanalyze just about everything so I have reconsidered getting a dog in the immediate future- even if I would have wanted one yesterday :)
I’ve answered phone messages for the humane society for years, and there are almost daily calls for people who are wanting to give up their pets for many of those reasons. Usually it happens because they did not plan for how expensive, time consuming, or they forgot to ask their landlord! I wish there were some sort of course people had to take before getting a pet because it’s not fair to the pet if you can’t take care of it.
Eyesonthedollar I completely agree that it definitely isn’t fair to the animal. I think all too often people don’t even think about what goes into having any sort of pet and just get it on a whim because they feel like it. Even if it is hard to resist, I wish more people thought about how they would be able to care for the animal before getting one.
These are really important tips. Unfortunately, people don’t realize how much thought goes into owning a pet. Every day my Facebook newsfeed is full of animals in shelters who have 24-48 hours left before the shelters euthanize them, because there just isn’t room for all the homeless animals. It breaks my heart! Thanks for taking the time to educate people on the commitment needed for proper pet care.
AlexandraRSF Thank you! It breaks my heart too when I see owners unwilling to take the time/money to take care of the pets that they chose to get. I just wish more people would really evaluate their life before bringing in an animal into the mix! Sometimes, it is all about timing
I’ve owned dogs over the years, and while they’re amazing animals that add greatly to your life, they also can be very demanding on your time, energy and resources.
One thing I think i underestimated was just how much work it is to have a dog. Not only do you have to house and feed the dog, but there are the daily walks, cleaning up dog poop, taking them to the vet, and a loss of some measure of freedom because you’ll always have to figure out what to do with the dog when you’re going on vacation or out of town for the weekend.
We had to find our dog a new home when she didn’t get along with our baby son a couple of years ago, and because she wasn’t getting enough attention. While we miss her – I don’t miss all the work that went along with her.
moneymatters That’s too bad that she didn’t get along with your son. My uncle had a similar situation where once they adopted their two kids the dog was very sad. She was used to being the center of attention and there was simply not as much time for her anymore. We don’t plan (key word, plan) on having kids for quite some time now so I think a dog would fit in well with our current setup.
DC @ Young Adult Money moneymatters I have known a few situations where parents have had to give up their dog not because they were mad about not getting attention, but they were TOO protective of the baby! The dog would get upset if the baby was crying, hurt, etc. Not a good situation
I certainly don’t want a new pet because we have two dogs, but there are some things that you have to understand before you go get one. I think these are all great tips. We have dealt with all of them.
DebtRoundUp thanks! I can think of many people that has dealt with at least one of these issues as a pet owner. I would love a dog soon but my practical/logical side thinks of all these things first and it just gets in the way!
I’d really like a cat but I know they wreck furniture and cost a lot of money so that’s why we’re not getting one right now.
momoneymohouses Our renter just got a cat that is about one year old and it definitely is wild! Our cat is so old that she just enjoys laying around. I’m not sure she could destroy furniture even if she wanted to.
DC @ Young Adult Money momoneymohouses agree, depending on the type/age of the cat, they may never destroy furniture. But you would have to weigh that risk I suppose.
Is this pic recent? the cat looks like a kitty! Not so bad for a 20 year old. I would love to have a dog, but travel too much and don’t know where I’ll be in 3 years. With a handyman that stays in the house while I go on holiday it is easier though.
RFIndependence Yeah the pic was from just a few months ago! Lots of people think she is a kitten. She weighs less than 6 pounds and generally just lounges around. If you let her sit/lay on you, she will expect you to stay there for hours and hours.
DC @ Young Adult Money RFIndependence She definitely likes to act like a kitty sometimes ha! I don’t think most people would guess that she is 20!
Love the picture of your cat. We have 2 cats and love them dearly. But yes, it is expensive. Our cat food costs $100 a month. Annual Vet checkups are high too. We do have the option of buying health insurance for our cats that would cover all their expenses but we haven’t done so. And everytime we consider a vacation we have to first figure out where to take them for pet sitting.
TacklingOurDebt wow that is a hefty cost for food! It can rack up easily depending on how old they are/diet needs. I am thankful that right now she hasn’t had too many costs in vet expenses. Cats can definitely make it easier to leave on vacation- depending on how long you will be gone but even that can take some extra planning.
My gf wants to have a cat, i agreed to her at condition that she would solely take care which she denied but other reason is cost after i choose full time entrepreneurship, for which she happily supports
Samgill It can be challenging when you really don’t have time and/or money to take care of an animal in such a way that you believe they should be taken care of. Good luck with the gf and cat situation!
I totally agree with all of your hesitations above. Pets can be quite the pain and expensive, but they are totally worth it. It may require more money, time, and planning, but I wouldn’t trade any of that for the joy that our dog and cat brings us on a daily basis. Our house would be quite boring without them running around.
CommonCentsWealth definitely agree pets can make it worth it all! Just have to be wise about timing in my opinion :)
I currently have no pets but I understand they can be expensive and also it is a big responsibility too so I agree that waiting out and planning would be essential before getting one.
What a precious baby! I love cats! But do agree that it can costly taking care of them. My cat, Emeril, passed away almost a year ago after battling kidney disease. It was incredibly expensive but fortunately I could cover the costs. He meant the world to me, so I didn’t really mind (okay, I minded a little bit until I realized that nothing else I could buy with the money I was spending meant more to me than he did). For me, pets are worth the expense – planned and unplanned – but that’s not the case for everyone and you definitely need to make sure it’s the right time to become a pet owner before you adopt one.
I want a little puppy so badly but it would be just too expensive right now. Thanks for the tips!
All good things to consider for sure. We got a new cat just about 2 years ago and had a lot of vet bills in those first few months. We really got to the point where we were deciding whether we could keep it up, but luckily he got better. It’s definitely something you need to be prepared for. We weren’t, but we would be next time for sure.
Great points Victoria! I am very much an animal lover and I would like to have a dog, but now is not the right time for a number of reasons. I also live in an apartment and I would feel horrible as there is not enough space for a dog to run around. For the time being, whenever we can get a house is probably when we will adopt. For now, I have two cats and they’re sometimes a handful! Training a puppy is NOT easy and ideally someone should be home to stay with it for a while, and that is not a possibility at all right now.
By the way, your cat is adorable! So awesome that she’s 20 and that you’ve had her from the beginning.
Pets certainly aren’t cheap, but they are well worth it in my opinion. They bring so much love into our lives. That being said they’re a huge commitment. If you don’t of the time or money to take care of them properly, you shouldn’t have them.
Good post. We have a surgery scheduled tomorrow morning for our dog. $600 teeth surgery, it’s causing some infection under his left eye. Taking me out this month.
A pet is a member of the family and thus require a lot of attention and love. It’s a big responsibility and does impact someone’s ability to be spontaneous.
My good friend had dachshunds and one had to be operated on and the bill was around $2,000. She had a pet before when she lived with her parents so she knew about pet insurance. It’s def something to consider if you have a pet that are more prone to sickness as the dog ages.
I think you hit all the major points! I have a cat and I’v love to get a small dog, but I know my income is unstable and so is my living situation. I can have a dog at this apt, but if I have to move for some reason then I might have a harder time finding a place to live that takes dogs. Or have to pay more in a security deposit. So many factors. I LOVE my kitty, but when he moves on, I’ll have to seriously think about getting another one (I got him when I was working in full time steady job).