While owning a pet is a big financial commitment, they give a great deal in return. Although your pet’s care can be expensive, their health and happiness are priceless. Fortunately—for your wallet and your pet—you can reduce the cost of pet ownership by prioritizing regular preventive veterinary care and preparing for your pet’s routine and emergency care needs. Our Carolina Virginia Animal Hospital team explains how you can keep your furry friend healthy, and your wallet happy, by investing in your pet’s wellness care. 

The cost of owning a pet 

The cost of owning a pet varies depending on several factors such as their species, breed, age, health status, and geographic location. However, annual expenses can easily reach several thousand dollars. Cats’ care is generally less expensive than dogs, but cats live longer and also require a serious financial commitment. Pets’ care expenses typically include:

  • Purchase price or adoption fee
  • Vaccinations and veterinary visits
  • Spay or neuter procedure
  • Deworming and parasite control
  • Supplies (e.g., collar, leash, harness, tags, bed, bowls, toys, pee pads, poop bags, grooming items, kitty litter)
  • Food and treats
  • Training classes
  • Professional grooming 
  • Boarding 
  • Insurance premiums or pet savings contributions

Ensuring your pet receives high-quality care can take a bite out of your wallet. However, you can reduce your pet’s care costs by following these four tips:

#1: Invest in your pet’s routine wellness care

Although you may question why you are spending money for screening tests when your pet appears healthy, regular wellness care contributes to your pet’s long, healthy life and saves you money in the long run. By evaluating and monitoring your pet’s health annually, our Carolina Virginia Animal Hospital team can detect early disease signs, which can be far more costly to treat if the condition progresses. In addition to a nose-to-tail physical assessment, a wellness exam safeguards your pet’s health by ensuring they receive the following:

  • Vaccinations — Vaccines strengthen the immune system and protect your pet from contagious diseases that are expensive to treat and often life-threatening.
  • Wellness blood work — Annual or bi-annual wellness blood work helps our team detect conditions, such as diabetes, kidney disease, and liver abnormalities, in the early stages when they are easier to manage, offering a better prognosis for your pet and helping to avoid pricey treatments.
  • Dental care — Our goal is to help catch dental disease early. With early detection and proactive dental cleanings, you can decrease the likelihood of needing costly dental procedures such as tooth extractions.

#2: Provide year-round parasite prevention for your pet

Parasites, such as fleas, ticks, heartworms, and intestinal parasites commonly target pets and can cause serious health complications such as:

  • Fleas can cause issues including flea-bite dermatitis, anemia, and they can also transmit tapeworms.
  • Ticks transmit debilitating diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis.
  • Mosquitoes transmit heartworms which can significantly damage your pet’s heart and lungs.
  • Intestinal parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms can leach nutrients from your pet’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract and cause GI upset.

Providing year-round parasite prevention is the best way to protect your pet from the diseases parasites cause and is much cheaper than treatment. For example, heartworm prevention is much less expensive than the average cost (i.e. $1000) for heartworm treatment. Ask our team what product is best for your pet.

#3: Continue your pet’s preventive care at home

Performing routine care tasks at home can help keep your pet healthy and happy while costing you less. Basic preventive care tasks you can perform at home include:

  • Toothbrushing —  Daily toothbrushing with pet-safe toothpaste and Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC)-approved dental products help remove plaque and bacteria in your pet’s mouth and can reduce professional cleanings’ frequency.
  • Weight Monitoring — By helping your pet maintain a healthy weight, you can add years to their life, and reduce their risk for associated health conditions such as cancer, orthopedic issues, heart disease, and arthritis. Provide your pet with healthy, accurately portioned meals and adequate daily exercise, and assess their weight and body condition score (BCS) regularly. 

#4: Consider purchasing pet insurance or a care plan

Pet health insurance and care plans can make a big difference when trying to manage pet care’s financial responsibilities. Whether you would like to save money on routine veterinary care or want a safety net in case your pet has an injury or illness, the right plan can help you keep more cash in your wallet while you support your pet’s health and wellbeing. Pet insurance premiums are lower for young, healthy pets, and usually increase as pets age, so purchase insurance before your pet develops any pre-existing conditions that will limit their care coverage. 

We recommend Trupanion pet insurance for its comprehensive accident and illness coverage, and because our clients can benefit from the company’s direct payment, meaning you only pay your portion of the bill at checkout for approved claims. We also offer care plans that can help you budget for your pet’s care throughout the year.

Owning a pet requires an emotional, time, and financial investment, but our team knows you wouldn’t trade your furry pal for the world. Cut costs but never corners when ensuring your beloved pet receives necessary veterinary care. Schedule your pet’s next wellness exam with our Carolina Virginia Animal Hospital team to ensure your furry pal receives the high-quality care they need to remain in the best possible health.