The Pity About Unwanted Pets in this Economy

[Tiny]

You need to be careful comparing the "cost" of a shelter animal to one you purchase somewhere else.

I know more about cats than dogs so I'm gonna use them as the example.
A shelter kitten in my neck of the woods 'costs' about $150.00 with a $30 charge for the mandatory rabies shot - so $180.00. The kitten will be fixed, dewormed, have all its shots, and a rabies shot. The local shelter I'm familiar with advises new kitten owners to not declaw but you could still go out and spend that money.
A friend "found" 3 kittens in her yard - thankfully they were fairly healthy and very social. After 2 weeks of notices and asking around no one claimed them. She kept them. The cost to get them fixed and front declawed $250 per kitten (all girls and I think the vet gave her a "multi cat" discount). Deworming $50 a kitten (for three "treatments"), various Imunizations $35 per kitten, Rabies (mandated by the County) $30 per kitten (after a $20 rebate), office visit total charges $50.00.
That's $400 per FREE kitten - to finish up with a declawed, fixed - all shots, "finished" kitten. Add in the cost of an 'unfinished' kitten from a pet store or breeder... My friend may have gotten a bit of discount because all three kittens were done at the same time.
Comparing the cost of a FREE kitten to the cost of a shelter kitten - it's much more cost effective to pay for a shelter kitten.
It's even cheaper to take an Adult "previously owned" cat. I got a wonderful 3 year old cat - fixed, upto date on all shots, and front declawed for $85.00. I got him a companian cat for $35 (she was older than 7, not declawed, fixed, all shots) as part of a Adopt one Adult Cat, Get One 1/2 Off promotion... I like to say I found the little Girl cat in the "Clearance Section" of the Shelter.

I'm sure if you do a cost comparison for dogs/puppies you'll find that in the long run a carefully choosen shelter dog/puppy will cost less than purchasing a dog from a pet store or a breeder. By carefully choosing - I mean picking out the right dog/puppy for your family and lifestyle.

[Nazgul Girl]

Our daughter is bringing home her cat, so I guess I 'll have one hanging around for awhile. I'm not sure how the poodle is going to take it, though .

[8 Bit WWBG]

It can take years for animals to acquaint to one another, and cost a pretty penny in the mean time. Our newest addition is loving and playful, but a handful as well.

[TD2K]

< That's $400 per FREE kitten >

Our shelter has a similar sign up showing the cost of a 'free' pet. It doesn't always apply of course but it helps explain why the shelter charges what they do.

[DVM gone riding]

Ohh Don't even get me started!! Just this week I was told about someone counting noses in the pasture and realizing there were three more! Yup someone opened the gate and dropped off three horses!
By the way "american staffiordshire bull terrier" or some apprivation there of IS the proper AKC recognized term for "pit bull" There is another breed called an american bulldog-think really tall english bulldog with less wrinkles-but they aren't the same thing.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Confession: We once spent $1,000 on a "free" kitten ... he was a sick little guy. (He's the one in my profile picture, by the way, and he's a healthy, happy, adult cat now.)

[cronewitch]

I went to the pound and got a dog before they spayed at the shelter, she came with a free check up at the vet. We stopped at the vet on the way home and she had mange and was too skinny, all her ribs showed. We could take her back and get a replacement from what the vet said.

I asked what they would do with her and he said they would kill her, since they have to kill some anyhow they kill the sick ones first. So I asked if there was a cure and there was so we kept her. She got vitamins, mange shampoo and a special diet. She was a lot of trouble having to shampoo her all the time and give her pills but she gained weight and got healthy. Her vet bills the first month or two was $250 in 1969 and she still wasn't fixed but she had some shots like rabies right away. That was a lot of money, my ex grossed 4 an hour and I was a housewife.

[TD2K]

< That was a lot of money, my ex grossed 4 an hour and I was a housewife >

I first thought $250 wasn't bad at all and then say this was in 1969. Yup, that was a lot of money.

[Deleted]

I understand why rescued dogs (not the Humane Society) are so expensive. The one we got Abby from included having her fixed, having her microchipped, and certified heartworm-free. It was also a no-kill shelter.

That being said, $175 is still a lot of money for a rescued dog. She's worth every penny, and I guess it weeds out those that can't afford to really take care of a dog. But it is still expensive.

[dancinmama]

Dec 31, 2010 21:04:26 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

Confession: We once spent $1,000 on a "free" kitten ... he was a sick little guy. (He's the one in my profile picture, by the way, and he's a healthy, happy, adult cat now.)

molly: Our kitty (Milo the Lizard Slayer) looked just like yours when he was a kitten!! He was part of a litter found in a barn, with no mommy to be found, by one of my son's friends shortly before Mother's Day. Guess what DS brought home as my Mother's Day gift?

Luckily he was pretty healthy, but a little on the wild side. I held him A LOT when he was a kitten and it seemed to work to tame him down a bit, but he's a hunter through and through!! Yesterday he got both a bird and a mouse!!

[Deleted]

When i was young we had a cat named Decon...

[cronewitch]

I had a hunting cat that spent most of the time at the farm behind our house. The farmer was retired and had an empty barn and backhoe and stack of culvert pipe. The farm behind him was his brother with cows so sometimes the cow came to mow his pasture. He told me my cat would lay in a culvert and wait for the mice to walk by and go up into a space above his garage and get in his attic he could here him up there. He said my cat was the best mouser he ever saw and asked me not to feed it so much so it would eat more mice. My cat only came home to get petted and get some cat food every few days.

[dancinmama]

Jan 1, 2011 2:56:50 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

I had a hunting cat that spent most of the time at the farm behind our house. The farmer was retired and had an empty barn and backhoe and stack of culvert pipe. The farm behind him was his brother with cows so sometimes the cow came to mow his pasture. He told me my cat would lay in a culvert and wait for the mice to walk by and go up into a space above his garage and get in his attic he could here him up there. He said my cat was the best mouser he ever saw and asked me not to feed it so much so it would eat more mice. My cat only came home to get petted and get some cat food every few days.

In the last month or so, Milo the Lizard Slayer has noticeably gained some weight. I started to cut back on the food cuz I assumed that I was over-feeding him. I didn't realize until yesterday how much he's been feeding himself. ha ha ha

We have an arbor in our backyard that is covered with grapevines. We can hear the "little critters" in the grapevine around August. I think Milo's been having rodent buffet regularly. When we were younger, if our kitty caught something he'd always bring it home to "show it off"; this kitty doesn't do that. We just happened to see him "playing" in the backyard and then saw "the toys".

[toservewithlove]

My baby is a second time rescue. She was rescued of the street as a kitten and her first owner had her for 2 years, but her owner was moving into a new home that would only allow 2 animals and my kitty was #3. I've had my suspicions that my kitty didn't do well with the one year old child either due to the personality she has here. I told the owner's mother I would take her without ever seeing a picture of her because the kitty was going to go to a shelter if a home couldn't be found. The owner took her to the vet and updated her rabies shot (it was barely overdue) when I asked for a record to show my landlord and I got her for free. I had been looking online on pet finder and visited a local no kill shelter before this opportunity came up. I was fully prepared to pay the shelter fee because it does cost money to feed and house the animals on top of the healthcare costs. Any "profit" they make on one animal is extra funds to help another another animal is the way I look at it.

[cronewitch]

We swiped a cat from the neighbors once. He was 13 at the time and his mother was 14. My boyfriend would lay on the grass and talk to the cat a couple of years before he got it. The owner had him since he was born and liked him but then wasn't nice to him. First she got married and had a baby. The cat wasn't allowed on the bed because the baby was allergic, then she got two dogs that chased cats. Her cats then weren't allowed in at all but could eat on an enclosed porch if they could get past the dogs. Next her baby started to walk and try to get the cat and squeal in joy when he almost got it.

Then one day the cat came into our house because the door was open and my boyfriend called him. He took up sleeping on our couch and eating our cat food with our cats and having us pet him. She asked if we had her cat and we would bring it out for her to pet, but he still didn't like the baby and would go back in our house. Then she said she was moving and we asked if she was taking her cat and she said only if we didn't want it. We did want it so she gave us his medical information and moved without her cat. He was a really nice cat and deserved a place where he could sleep anywhere he wanted.

[phil5185]

A friend "found" 3 kittens in her yard - thankfully they were fairly healthy and very social. After 2 weeks of notices and asking around no one claimed them. She kept them. The cost to get them fixed and front declawed $250 per kitten (all girls and I think the vet gave her a "multi cat" discount). Deworming $50 a kitten (for three "treatments"), various Imunizations $35 per kitten, Rabies (mandated by the County) $30 per kitten (after a $20 rebate), office visit total charges $50.00.
That's $400 per FREE kitten

We have 12 cats, they live in the barn - I don't remember but I doubt that they cost $400 each. Cats and horses seem to be friendly companions. They seem happy enough - and we never have mice or gopher problems. They prefer dove, apparently a feeding dove is easier to sneak up on than other large birds, plus they are plentiful. We lost two cats in 2010, both were ~18 yrs old, the #1 mama cat and one of her first-litter sons.

[Nazgul Girl]

( ToyotaCare I will never use you )

My husband is the world's greatest doglover, and he always says that if he was wealthy, he would start a business that would employ chemists, and own a rescue poodle ranch !

[DVM gone riding]

I rescued a "designer breed" dog. The original owner had paid $500 for the dog, roughly 150 to the vet for shots, $50 for microchip, $200+ for spay. And then she just couldn't stand the hyper activity and was going to take it to the shelter-I knew the dog needed training to make a good pet-I have no idea what she spent on toys/food etc but it came with crate leash etc.

I re-trained the dog and gave it away to a good client that would love it. Every time I see them they tell me how much they love that dog-basically got a $1000 dog for free. So Don't you Lena tell me about puppies from "breeders" being cheaper and better! Go on Petfinder if these organizations don't get donations and adoption fees they can't keep helping animals and there are way to many, we need to all help get laws passed that punish puppy mills. Anyone that buys a puppy from a pet store or a breeder without inspecting the place needs to be taken out and whipped! Maybe then we can finally get somewhere with the pet population problem

[sunshinegal1981]

Can someone please try to shed light on a couple of things for me?

-Taking proper care of an animal costs money. Sometimes, if the animal gets very sick, badly injured, or requires surgery, a LOT of money. So how can someone balk at a shelter that charges a 'rescue fee' of 200 bucks?

-How on earth do you have a dog for 14 years and then get rid of it when you have a baby? I mean... the dog's practically expired anyway.... you can't suck it up for another 6 months?

Maybe I'm missing something here, but if I had a dog and then had a baby, and the two didn't get along, I'd probably try placing the KID in a nice, loving, forever home.....

;-)

Ok... joking on the last one. But.... I just feel like, pets are FAMILY.... you know? Smh.

[hurricanegirl]

Pets are not "disposable" items. They are caring, loving, emotional creatures and need to be treated with dignity,love and respect.
If you are looking for a pet, please please visit your local shelter, after you are sure that you are ready for the emotional and financial responsibilities

[kinetickid]

Dec 29, 2010 22:07:53 GMT -5 Poppet said:

and was now living on the lady's front porch in the winter due to their "resident cat" not accepting the newcomer, and the list went on.

It does take a while for older cats to accept a new comer. Wonder how long they let the animals get acquainted.

True. We have two cats, one that preceded the other. The older one was NOT happy about the newer cat. She hissed at him constantly for weeks. Eventually she got over it, but it wasn't an immediate thing.

[zibazinski]

I understand the fees but I always like the months when it's buy one get one free or half price!!!!

[kinetickid]

Jan 3, 2011 0:25:07 GMT -5 sunshinegal1981 said:

-Taking proper care of an animal costs money. Sometimes, if the animal gets very sick, badly injured, or requires surgery, a LOT of money. So how can someone balk at a shelter that charges a 'rescue fee' of 200 bucks?

True. One of our cats recently got sick. We spent around $800 to make her perfectly healthy again.

Of course, we set aside money each month for vet visits, so we had plenty of cash to pay for it. Nonetheless, it wasn't cheap, but neither of us even momentarily considered NOT taking care of her.

[marmar]

I rescued my cat from my local shelter and only paid $15 for her. Of course, that didn't include any shots or meds, and she became deathly ill 2 days later. I ended up spending hundreds (probably >$1000) on vet bills to get her healthy again, so I suppose the $110 I'd have spent to adopt a cat at Operation Kindness would have been well worth the cost (includes all vaccinations, any needed meds, microchipping, bath/grooming). Then again, I can't imagine not having rescued my baby. She has the most wonderful little personality, and the $$$ I spend at the vet was well worth it.

[Cookies Galore]

Dec 30, 2010 13:48:07 GMT -5 telephus44 said:

Oddly enough, we adopted a cat this year that one of DH's co-workers had to re-home due to a move. This is the 3rd cat we've gotten this way. I find it easier than going to a shelter myself, and I feel that it saves the family heartache from having to place their cat there, knowing that it could be put down.

Friends of mine adopted my Mom's old golden three years ago, saving him from certain euthanasia. My Mom decided to move up to my sister's area and rented a house where the landlord would not consider pets. She wanted the house more than the dog, who she had for seven years at this point. He was a nine- or 10-year-old and she was going to drop him off at the SPCA. She might as well have just killed him! My friend is allergic to dogs, but he was willing to put up with it (and take allergy medicine) for the sake of this dog. He and his wife gave my doggie such a good life, a MUCH better life than my mom ever did, and I'm so grateful for them. At the time, I was living with a roommate in a cats-only apartment, and I knew I couldn't take care of him as well as he needed.
I got to spend the past three years loving this dog since I spend a lot of time with these friends. They had to put him down in November and we miss him, but I am so glad that they took him.

I am a cat person and BF is lucky we don't own our own place yet, because we'd have about 50 cats at this point.

[zibazinski]

I cannot understand people who do this. How can you not form a bond with someone who has lived with you for years? My mom has issues but she would never just "get rid" of her pets for a "house."

[Cookies Galore]

Jan 7, 2011 21:07:13 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I cannot understand people who do this. How can you not form a bond with someone who has lived with you for years? My mom has issues but she would never just "get rid" of her pets for a "house."

Because my mom is just not right in the head sometimes.

[justwhoever]

About 6 yrs ago we had to re-home our 2 jack russels. Our home burnt. We had to move in with in-laws and they refuse animals. I mean they call the cops if their neighbors cat or dog comes onto their yard. By the time we had another place our little ones were gone.

[zibazinski]

That's just sad. Do you guys know that animal rescue places will temporarily board your animals?

[cronewitch]

One way I heard you can get a temporary pet free is to offer to take care of a deployed service member pet while they are gone. The radio was saying when the wars were new that reservest were called up and deployed forcing pets to be given up. To support our service members we could offer to take care of the pets until they returned.

Another cheap way to get a temp pet is to raise service animals like seeing eye dogs. You get a little puppy and train it for the future job. Seems for someone who wants a pet but is only 16 they could get one, train it and move it on before they leave for college.

I have two cats and a bird and hope my cats die before I retire. They are getting old the youngest is about 14 the oldest is skinny and not eating much the last 2-3 years sleeps most of the time now. The bird will out live us probably but will be ok with traveling in retirement it enjoys vacations, cats don't.

Getting a cat or dog means knowing your future for the next 20 years. That is hard before you are 25 or after 75 so getting an older pet or just temporary pets would be better.