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Pets

gsmummy55gsmummy55
in Toddler
I think my ds would love a pet (Sil has some new rabbits and he loves them!) He has loved animals for ages and is really gentle with them.

The problem is
1- pets are expensive
2- you can't just go off on holiday without making plans
3- they are messy and a lot of work

I personally want to rule out rabbits/hamsters etc as they don't always live very long, and if we're going to get a pet I want one that DS will always remember. Also rabbits are expensive to start with what with the hutch, run etc and you have to clean them out all the time!

I'm also ruling out a dog as both me and OH work and also we just could not afford the expense of kennels when on holiday. (Both my mum and dad have dogs but I wouldnt want them to have the extra responsibility as mum has 3 dogs and dad works fulltime).

So, I was thinking a cat. We know someone who would have a cat for us if we went on holiday, cats are quite self sufficient, and after a bed/cat flap/litter tray there isnt much initial outlay.


However what was putting me off is the vet's fees, insurance, worming tablets and flea treatments.... image

What does everyone think? I dont want to go into this blind isywim x

Replies

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    mrs-wmrs-w
    i would say do it!!! we have a dog, cat, 2 ferrets and a harris hawk lmao!

    cats are cool, fudge doesn't cost us much tbh, he is on james wellbeloved dry food which is really good cat food, it cost us ??12 for a big bag which lasts over a month, much cheaper than wet food like whiskas etc
    vet bills are only once a year when he has his cat flu jab, think its about ??20
    when we got him i did have him neutered and micro chipped think that was about ??80 for both but well worth it.

    he is so cool, he goes out all day it toally independent but then snuggles up to us a night on the sofa.

    worming and flea treatments are cheap you can pick then up in tesco for a couple of ??
    xxxx

    [Modified by: mrs waggy wants another! on August 29, 2010 04:14 PM]

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    spuddyspuddy
    hey... i would definately recommend a cat we got a kitten in nov last year for our dd who had just turned 2 we let her rough him around a bit so he got used to her but also figured he was more tolerant at that age as he was a baby himself so wanted to play too. now nearly a year on they love each other dd just walks up to him picks him up and dances with lol and he just lets her do it!! lol they have had their moments in the past where she has pulled him so hes clawed or he has clawed for no reason but so long as both were told its not acceptable they have now learnt to live with each other and they love each other its so sweet!!

    now hes nearly a year old he goes to the toilet outside goes outside day or night and generally is very chilled out and certainly no hassle!!


    at first you have the jabs/chipping/neutering/littler/scratching post to deal with but evenutally they become really "cheap to run" lol
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    hushpuppyhushpuppy
    I think pets and children are fab! I would certainly suggest that as long as you can afford some sort of insurance then go for it!!
    I thank my lucky stars my dog was insured when he ruptured a disc in his spine and his life saving surgery and after care cost in excess of ??6000! I'm not sure we could have paid the bill without insurance! A friends cat got hit by a car and broke it's leg (wondered home dragging it behind him) and it cost just under ??2k to fix that!!
    For me, a cat/dog without insurance is not worth having!
    xx
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    gsmummy55gsmummy55
    Couldnt agree with you more donna - one of my mums dogs got hit by a car when I was in 6th form. My younger sister was about to take him round the block before school and opened the door before she put his lead on & he bolted after something. The driver just said he was late for work and drove off!!! Poor johnny nearly died. He had a punctured lung among other things and was in the animal hospital place for a good week - think that was in the region of ??6000 but was thankfully insured!!
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    hushpuppyhushpuppy
    Scary isn't it?! It would be awful to have to make a decision to put the animal down rather than treat it because the treatment was too expensive!
    Howard was in hospital for a month and it was about ??70 per night!! It was lovely and posh but not sure we could have afforded it if he weren't insured!
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    hushpuppyhushpuppy
    Scary isn't it?! It would be awful to have to make a decision to put the animal down rather than treat it because the treatment was too expensive!
    Howard was in hospital for a month and it was about ??70 per night!! It was lovely and posh but not sure we could have afforded it if he weren't insured!
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    xCALLEIGHxxCALLEIGHx
    my mums dog spent a while in hospital too. luckily they were insured. we have 3 cats. they do cost money. vaccinations are not cheap and that's once a year. one of ours has issues, she is a really stressy cat, and so we have to have feliway for her. not cheap. she is currently on medication for cystitis too. one of our cats is alergic to wellbeloved and loses hair, so we have to use wet food, which is ??10 per big box and we go through 3 a week. cat flap cost ??80 as goes off their chip. the chips themselves... actually i cant remember the cost of that. it's about ??200 to get a cat sorted out initially at the vests with spaying, chip and vaccinations. insurance is about 20 per month for all three. they are very loving though and before dd was born they would sleep on our bed with us. if you are going to get a kitten i would suggest getting 2 as they can keep each other company and play together. ours hunt as a pack and are always chasng each other / cleaning each other!!!
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    3girlywhirlys3girlywhirlys
    go for it we have 4 cats the last one we got last aug for the girls so they had one they could really play with and now the others have seen the girls dont want to hurt them they all play with the girls and Lexie and Leah love them all but poppy is the fave as she always wants to play the costs arent that bad injections once a year and you dont really need to start insurance till they are 3 or 4 if you keep them inside but its good to have if they get ill we havent insured poppy yet but she is only a year old and frontline is reasonable you treat them with that once every 3 months so not too bad at all also supermarket food is fine for them just dont get them the more expensive stuff or they will be fussy to go back to supermarket food.i would say dont get 2 kittens at the same time as the girls were a bit eager as we got 2 last year but once i got them to put one down they had picked the other one up luckily my sister wanted one so she had it off us and also got another kitten yesterday
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    girlinleedsgirlinleeds
    we got our kitten from a rescue, he's neutered, chipped we just had to get his jabs done. pet insurance costs us ??5 a month through pdsa cheapest company we found, flea and worm treatment ??5, cat litter ??5 and about ??10 a month on food. If you are considering getting one get in contact with your local rescue there's hundreds of kittens waiting for a new home, plus they'll have been vet checked and normally neutered. Pippa is really rough with barney but he lets her pick him up, carry him round and hug him and she loves him, she runs round shouting bar bar (barney) if she can't find him, and when she was unwell on friday he came and layed next to her and let her stroke him.
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    MrsELFMrsELF
    Sorry g/c, as we're awaiting the arrival of first lo, so can't comment on the children/pet thing, but we do have 2 cats and I would agree with others about going to a rescue place.

    Our 2 were about ??80 each, but were neutered/spayed, jabs and micro chipped. Also as they were about 5 months old, they were a bit less work, only needed feeding twice a day with normal food, a bit more confident, but were still kittens.

    The biggest cost we incur in on collars and tags! We back onto a country park and they are constantly wiggling through gaps and pulling their collars off. If you're going to let them out do get insurance though, both of ours have, unfortunately, had to use it. One for about ??3000 when she got hit by a car, and the other about 6 months later when he trapped his tail and it had to be removed, which was another ??800. So definately worth the ??15 a month we spend (which covers both).

    Elf
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    Lambchop80Lambchop80
    Go for it!! We have 4 cats & lo adores them. 1 of them will put up with her attempts at stroking the others just keep a distance. Cost wise we spend ??35 a month on whiskas cans (but mine are fussy eaters, you can get cheaper food) and nothing on litter in the summer as they go out, in winter we spend ??10 a month but we buy catsan which is a pricier brand. Vets bills haven't been too bad after the initial outlay.
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    claire-abelleclaire-abelle
    hi, we've had two cats for years and just recently got Shea 2 goldfish

    THE GOLDFISH TAKE MORE MAINTENENCE THAN THE CATS!!!!!!

    So i'd say go for the cats!!!

    xx
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