An article came across my news feed this morning and the title was something like “Inflation Hits Pet Owners Hard”. Vet visits are in the same category as buying groceries – something we have to do. Thankfully, now that Rita’s issues no longer exist, she is healthy. Oscar seems healthy too but Rita had her annual visit this morning. Her shots, 6 months of heartworm meds and 6 months of flea/tick meds – $485.00. That means that with two dogs, we can expect to pay $1,000 per year for annual visits. I don’t think Boots’ annual visit is as much as it is for dogs – I believe he gets less shots but it’s those heartworm and flea meds that are so blasted expensive.
Rita is at least 11 years old – maybe 13 years old. Once she’s gone, we’ll just have one dog. Boots is about 8 years old so we should have a good many years left with him but we won’t get another cat either. Based on the cost of medical care, we need to be a one pet household. Of course, we’re happy to have them all but we won’t be getting more and that kinda makes me sad.
It’s the same thing with us humans – many having to skip medical visits that that should not be skipping due to finances. Soon we may all be skipping meals! 🙁
thequiltingprofessor says
Sucks, doesn’t it???? I discovered it was MUCH cheaper to order the flea meds through Chewy.com. Like half price. You send them the order and your veterinarian’s name, they contact your vet who approves the ‘prescription’, and they send you the meds…. won’t help what already was, but might be worth it when you need to renew !
judy.blog@gmail.com says
It does suck but I had already checked prices. Chewy’s price for the flea meds was $130 for six months and the price at the vet was $145 after a $30 instant rebate. I also feel like it’s important to support the local vets. In my mind, it’s a bit like those who have complained about Walmart putting the mom and pop shops out of business. If we mail order everything, some day there may not be the local shops so I try to support them all when I can, even though it costs a bit more. This vet keeps their office visits reasonable, have seen both our dogs quickly.
If I was having to pay all this every month, I would have to find lower costs but it’s a twice a year expenditure for the flea/tick and heartworm meds so I get them from the vet.
montanaclarks says
Our vets in MT are reasonably priced but it’s still expensive. Emmi takes a people liver medication that is compounded for her size–$196 for a three month supply.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Sweet little Emmi! Glad you’re able to do that for her.
Emma says
We’ve got a 11 year old dog and two not-quite 6 month old kittens. Between the dog needing his senior bloodwork and a tooth cleaning/extraction and getting the kittens fixed…I feel your pain. Thankfully we have the ability to care for them all, even if we have to keep the dog and kittens separate.