We are proud to call ourselves a nation of animal lovers with millions of us enjoying the company of a pet cat or dog. According to the article “Pets are for life!” we may not be able to hang onto them for much longer thanks to the purse tightening horrors of the credit crunch!
Things about us are a-changing as we cancel the annual holiday abroad, begun to tackle our inadequate culinary skills by eating in instead of out so could it mean curtains for our cats and dogs too?
Step into any UK home and where there is a dog or cat in the corner, witness it trembling with fear as to its uncertain future. People struggling to pay the bills during this crisis, according to some animal charities, are giving their animals a long hard look in an effort to find additional ways to cut costs. Disturbing news from the Blue Cross animal charity, is that they have been experiencing an increase of 56% as penny-pinching people are forced to give up their pets.
It has never been cheap to keep a pet (a dog will set you back about £10,000 throughout its lifetime and a cat will set you back about the same) but the Blue Cross suggest a number of cost cutting measures to allow us to afford the expenses of our furry (or feathered/scaled etc) best friends. One such measure is to shop around for value for money pet insurance which will save you money in the long run should your pet become injured while another is to cut back on the treats (this will actually do your pet a favour and save them from becoming obese!) Stop buying fancy toys for your pet too while you are at it! They would much rather a good walk in the fresh outdoors than some expensive gadget!
If you don’t have insurance and a costly veterinary bill appears, charities like the Blue Cross and the PDSA are available to help pet owners on a low income. When vet bills come in they can certainly appear very scary but thanks to animal charities this doesn’t have to mean the end for you and your beloved Fluffy or Fido. Currently overstretched with cats in crises and doggy dogmas, they would however encourage the pet loving public to pay a little every month toward a pet insurance plan.
Tags: pdsa, pet insurance, vet bills