Pets In The Economic Crisis

A part time music teacher in New York City, took her sickly 10 year old shorthaired cat to the vet. She was told that he had kidney disease. After he spent three days in the animal hospital, she got a bill for over $2000.00. She was shocked. "I have never paid that much money for anything in my life." Deborah laments.

Because she used her credit card to pay for this particular vet bill, this is building interest along with an added charge of $50 each month to pay for medication that this poor feline needs to maintain his health. This finacial burdon on Deborah she is not sure how much longer she will be able to continue to care for her beloved friend. Many are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the health of their pets and the expenses it takes to care for them. The global economic crisis is making many pet owners have to give up their companions in order to survive themselves.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnle. Some shelters and veternarians are able to help those who are in dire straits and are willing to put their pride aside and ask for it. Animal shelters nationwide are overwhelemed with the amount of dogs and cats they have turned in to them because of the finacial downturn for many reasons such as job loss, forcloseure, or just financial hardship.
The ASPCA has forseen the number of cats and dogs go from 50,000 to 1 million becoming homeless. To keep people from abandoning their pets, some shelters have taken action to prevent this because of the over crowding of animals.

One American survey says that pet owners spent an average of $217 on dog food and $188 on cat food between 2007-2008. Feeding a pet the exact amount of food the packages say will help to keep these costs down. Many over feed their pets and this can lead to many health problems that will run the vet bills higher than necessary. Because veterinary bills can be the most challenging to budget, its important to keep your pet healthy no matter what the world's economy is doing. However, before making any changes to your pets diet, check with your veterinarian that your pet is in good phusical health.

Another way to cut costs on commercial food is by making your own homemade healthy dog food. You can find several cookbooks and tips on feeding your pet healthy, natural,and nutritionally balanced recipes by Pamperpetcare.