Are pets worth the expense?

No, we get overly attached to them and the cost is way out of proportion.

Must suck to be your friend. Jesus, what Vulcan philosophy. Pets bring joy and love into our lives, they enhance our quality of life and yes, sometimes they are expensive, and yes, sometimes life situations shift and sadly they might have to be re-homed, but…...this doesn’t negate all the extra time we gave them.
I have never had to get rid of a pet until the economy wiped me out the last 3 years. My avatar is my beloved white Chinese gander ” Marwyn”, my darling that I raised from a 10 day old gosling and who turns 15 this week!

I still have my 2 4 and 7 year old cats but geese are not allowed in city limits so I found Marwyn and his wife “Sonora” a wonderful ranch home with amazing duck and goose fanatics like me. It broke my heart to give him up but he had 15 wonderful years with me and most likely will enjoy at least another 7 or so with his new mother goose who is spoiling him rotten just like I did.
Nobody should adopt a pet if their current situation is unstable, but otherwise…WTF….we cannot always predict the future and to not get a pet because maybe, someday, something may go wrong is neurotic thinking.

Just like the fact that most of us wouldn’t even be here if our parents could have afforded us at the time of our conceptions. Somehow it usually works out.
Don’t deprive yourself of all the benefits of loving a pet unless you absolutely cannot afford the basics for a happy and healthy life.

Can you put a price on companionship and unconditional love? That is what our pets provide.

I’ve done the math for my dog in the 12 years that I have had him and he still comes out costing me an average of about 15,000 dollars in the 12 years. That covers 3 surgeries and medications. He has insurance that cost me 30 a month. I don’t know where he go the 100,000 number. Maybe if you don’t get your pet medical insurance and pay for everything out of pocket and buy really expensive food, treats and lots of pet toys and expensive beds, and pay for day care and pet walkers and got your pet some bionic leg or something.

So 15,000 does seem like quite a bit but my car cost more than that and last me less time and warranties are only design to last till your car really needs the expensive repair.
Car can’t love you or keep you company. Yes there are drawbacks to having a pet but I think the affection way out weights the drawbacks.

Your friend may say, well you can use that money for other things. Yes. I could’ve used the money for a few nice trips, but 15000 would disappear in 3 trips in 12 years. If I’m lucky, I can find a deal for 5000 for two people and make the trip last 1 week. The rest of the year we will be wondering where did the 5000 go and was it worth it. We have to wait another couple of years for another nice trip. We get some pictures have a good time and come home to an empty home.

With my dog, I never come home to an empty home and I have 12 years of memories with him and we have watched many people fall in love with him as well.
He is worth way more than the 15000 I had to pay so far. Money comes and goes. Memories last a life time when they are of someone you love.
I had 2 cats before him for a short time and I still remember the good times we had.

I tend to agree. I think of it like this: if every night when I walked in the door, I had to cough up $5 to be able to spend 24 hours with my kitty, I’d do it without question. I’d give even more for those nights when I came home late from work, exhausted and frustrated – and there he was looking for me out the window. I’d give even more for those nights he slept next to me sweetly, when I was dealing with my Dad’s heart attack, a painful breakup or my own illness. When I think about everything I’ve received from my pets, the money just seems irrelevant and unimportant.

But that’s me.

@figbash A lot of us feel that way. I spent over a thousand when my cat was bitten by a rattlesnake last summer. I spent thousands on special treatments for my old crippled goose that passed away in 2008. If I have the money there is no expense spared for my pets, even if it means I am in debt for awhile.
When I was taking my 10 year old goose to an exotic specialist for treatments for a broken toe with a bone spur I told very few people about it, their reactions were always..WTF a GOOSE, really?

Yes, REALLY, she was a sweetheart and I wanted her quality of life to be pain free.

I say it depends on whether you value companionship at all, and if you do, what form you wish it to take. Personally, I have about the same, “It’s not worth it” attitude towards children.

And don’t blame the Aspergers either; I love cats. It’s his personality.

Love can not be rationalized with logic. My cats sometimes seem like my only friends…when I am grumpy, they make me laugh. When I was throwing up and had diarrhea for nearly a week, they followed me faithfully to the bathroom every time and waited until I went back to bed (what friend would do that?) I have only had them since February, and already I cannot imagine not having them in my life…

I can’t remember what your surgery is and the likely longterm ramifications of that for you.

I love my pets though. They’re also good for our health. If you’re going to be stuck at home for a while, on your own, your cat will be your companion. She can’t make soup but she can cuddle up a storm and let you know you’re loved. They’re soothing when we’re stressed and they give us a reason to keep going when it all seems too hard. So you will have to get moving to feed her and make sure she has her needs met.

I cannot imagine being without my cat and my dogs. For all my cat has delusions of grandeur, he does love me (I think…). My dogs definitely do. They howl when I go to work and stand at the fence watching me and looking sad. Then bounce around madly when I get home. Who else is going to do that?

Sure.

Aren’t we all?

I think he is a strange person that probably has bizarre social skills. Yes, pets are worth the expense. Um….my cat was ten dollars. Litter box cost 20 bucks? Maybe 30 cause I bought an extra big one. Aside from that, I spend about 50 dollars on food and litter combined, every 3 months on average. 200 dollars a year. Any vet visits…..in three years mine has only had two. The cost is really negligible compared to many other things, alcohol, eating out, manicures, you name it everyone’s got their thing. He’s being ridiculous and exaggerating things to a point that makes arguing with him completely futile.

Also I’ve never paid extra for an apartment to allow cats. I’ve never even paid a pet deposit. You may have to look a little harder for a pet friendly place that’s one thing I’ll say, but who gives a fffff? I’m not that strapped for time that that is going to be the reason I toss my cat on the curb.

You can tell your friend that as an economist he should realize that you will get well more than $100K worth of psychic benefits over 15 years.And you can tell him as an economist he should know that your valuation differs from his, and that is what makes markets and causes the demand function to curve. You have a difference of opinion, and it is not his money.

@YARNLADY The lone dissenter. Good point though. I have seen people go to great expense, not just for medical but for amusement.

@Coloma Vulcan I love it! How ever did you give proper attention to all those pets under foot?

@marinelife Tried that one. He said my cat was laying in wait to slaughter me… and is halfway serious. lol But very true thank you for reminding me.

@Pandora I got the details wrong 45000 in rent for 15 yrs alone estimating for a difference of in living cost. Add interest and then the incidental costs of food, litter, snacks, pet toys, vet visits and cat sitters while I am gone. He thinks 100k is conservative.

@figbash Money is as only as good as what fulfillment and we gain from it. My cat sleeps with me when I am gone I don’t relish the extra space and the ability to move freely. I miss her.

@jerv Regretfully I linked the two as it is the only way I could possibly come close to understanding him. I guess I will never understand him…

@yankeetooter Certainly not any one I know and I am not sure I want someone too.. my cat that is ok… : )

@Bellatrix Yeah I would have to board her for at least 3 months. Major surgery long recovery and cat litter duty… infection risks my docs and insurance company would probably absolutely forbid it should they know. I still think I could make it work.. but I don’t know.

@Blondesjon Succinct thanks. Though “all” might be pushing it for me, in her case I agree.

@deni We live in very different places. I am an expert at apt shopping. I won’t say I don’t have an animal and I have decided I won’t live with any one also I have decided I won’t live without running water or electricity and living in town is preferable…So after month of haunting multiple listings there was only one in our fake ghetto.. 900 a month.
With some work I could find a decent place for 500 but 600 or 700 is fairly accurate.

Pets aren’t welcome here for renters.

As much as I am not money centered it is hard to swallow shelling out 900 for place that never warms up in the winter. Where things are always breaking and the occasional gunshot and people telling me not to go for walks in my neighborhood. Handwashing dishes and schlepping laundry every week. When I have excellent references and nothing else holding me back.

@zenvelo Thanks GA!!! That may be the closest he can come to understanding me.

I love pets and I have pets but they always end up breaking my heart.

@Unbroken

I have lived on 5–10 acre properties for 22 years, up until this spring when the economy forced me off the micro-farm. Caring for my animals has always been a great source of joy for me, even if a lot of work. I have had horses, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, my geese, cats, dogs….I’m a country girl at heart. My geese had a custom barn, stall mats under their swimming pools, beach umbrellas, a landscaped corral with bamboos, smoke trees and their own lawn.

Creating their habitat was great fun. :-)
Making my pets happy makes me happy!