Desperate To Save Some Money?

Discussion in Pets started by Denis Hard • Jan 30, 2015.

  1. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    If you badly needed to save some money would you part with your pet or forego pet ownership altogether to you know . . .
    save some cash?

    Fact is the cost of pet ownership can be quite high. If you are hard-pressed for cash would you consider parting with your furry companion because it would be the best choice for all parties?
     
  2. Sunshine

    SunshineActive Member

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    We have a cat. The fact is, I am deathly allergic to her. I stay away from her as often as possible, but then am drawn to pet the poor thing now and again. Which will lead to a day of horrendous eye rubbing, sneezing and rash breaking out all over my skin. Sometimes I just have to leave the house because it is so infested with her allergens. It's kind of like it's her house now, not mine.

    But I would never in a million years get rid of the poor thing. She is just a sweet little cat! Where would she go?

    So to save a few bucks I'd rather clip some coupons and go without some luxuries, rather than break this poor little cat's heart!
     
  3. Kitty Reeves

    Kitty ReevesActive Member

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    Heck no!! I only have two cats, but they're part of the family! We've had the younger one since 2006, when someone dumped her mother and her litter of kitten (there was only three kittens, we think the others died or got eaten by the local fox) on the side of the road by our house. (We live on the main road leading out of a rich shore town, and people like to buy a pet for the summer then dump them at the end of the summer. :mad: We've gotten almost all of our cats like that.) So we ended up taking both the mother and babies in. The mother died several years ago, and the two twin brother tabbies escaped and were never seen again, and only the single girl tuxedo cat has remained. The older cat (who is now 19 years old, wow) was shoved around from place to place his entire life. Now he is whole heartedly my cat. Sleeps on my bed with me when I go to sleep and stays in my room all day while I work too. :)

    Wow, sorry that was long winded. But long story short, I would never get rid of my two cats. Whether I get any more after they pass, is an entirely different story. :oops:
     
  4. GoldenWing

    GoldenWingMember

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    That'd be my very last resort. I'd try getting rid of other things and pleasures. I do get attached to my pets and I simply can't imagine leaving them behind because of money matters

    I do try to make the cost of maintaining my cat relatively low, though. Better to be safe than sorry on anything related to money.
     
  5. troutski

    troutskiWell-Known Member

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    If you own an animal and consider giving it up just to save money, then you don't deserve to be a pet owner. Plenty of people get rid of their pets for various reasons, and doing so is always wrong. Animal shelters and non-profits often talk about forever homes for pets. Really, pet owners should be with their pets from the beginning until the end rather than getting rid of them.
     
  6. Feneth

    FenethActive Member

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    My teenager is very expensive. Do you think I should get rid of her to save some money? That wouldn't be reasonable so we create a budget for her expenses and stick to it. I feel pretty much the same about my dog. We budget for his expenses and keep them within it. I'm sure we could reduce his expenses even farther if we needed to in order to be able to keep him. There also programs for people in extreme financial distress to get help with pet food and such.
     
  7. lindbergh

    lindberghWell-Known Member

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    I would eat my pet to save money.

    Haha! Just kidding. I wouldn't abandon my pet in order to save money. I would do whatever it takes in order for us to survive. But if worse comes to worst, what I'd do is to approach a relative with financial capabilities and let them take care of my pet. That way, I would be confident that my pet is in good hands. I could probably visit my pet every once in a while too. :)
     
  8. 003

    003Well-Known Member

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    No, I think we'd rather be together both in good and bad times, with hardships and triumphs. If it happens that I'm really tight of money, then I'm going to make a way, find a way to augment my income to provide not just myself's, but also my pet's needs. I'm going to work harder, just like anyone else who's working really hard to provide their families their needs.
     
  9. IcyFirefly

    IcyFireflyActive Member

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    It is not necessarily to save money by getting rid of the pet, but if you said you can no longer afford to give your pet the best care, food and health insurance, then yes, I would. I love my puppy, but if I can't afford to pay for vet's care, then I will have to look for alternatives. If nothing works out and my pet needs immediate care, I will think what is best for my pup in a heart beat!
     
  10. Megan888

    Megan888Member

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    If I truly couldn't afford vet visits, food, etc. I would get rid of my pets. But I can honestly say I would give up a lot of others things first. There is no situation where I could see myself getting rid of my dogs. I would cut my cable off, downgrade my cell package, or be smarter with my grocery shopping choices before getting rid of my pets. They are my family and when I chose them, I chose them for life. To people dogs might be pets, but to pets, their human is their entire world. Something to think about BEFORE purchasing or adopting a pet.
     
  11. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I won't do that ever, and even if I have some financial difficulties, I would just let my other relatives babysit my cat if they are willing to do so temporarily and I will claim it as soon as I can now afford to support them again. But I don't think I would face that situation, since I only have 1 cat who is low maintenance too. So for sure I can support him with the cheapest food.
     
  12. kitkat0124

    kitkat0124Active Member

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    Imagining myself parting with my dog is really hard. If i really need to save money, i will probably do other options like cutting the grocery allowance or buying less expensive products. What I am trying to say is that i will not consider parting my dog. I will look or do other things but not that one.
     
  13. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    I wouldn't get rid of my dog. I would rather give up one of my hobbies, like gardening or crafting than give up a member of my family.
     
  14. Thejamal

    ThejamalActive Member

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    It would be an absolute last resort to get rid of my pet to save a few bucks and even then, how much money would you really save? Assuming your pet is healthy, you basically are paying for food, which is a relatively cheap cost. If saving $50-$100 a month on pet food is what saves your budget, then you probably have serious financial concerns.

    When you get a pet, you're making a commitment to protecting and caring for it. Like someone already said, do you get rid of your kid when he/she starts to get too expensive? So why do it with an animal?
     
  15. Sue

    SueActive Member

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    I would never part with my pets. They are part of my family and for me to get rid of a pet would be like getting rid of a family member. It would never happen. No matter how bad things got I would always find a way to make sure my pet was taken care of.

    When I was moving a few years back and starting out on my own, with very little money, looking for an apartment that didn't take pets wasn't even an option. I see people all the time getting g rid of their pets because they are moving.

    For me, a pet is a lifetime commitment and I take it seriously. When I take an animal into my home, it is their forever home. I know not everyone feels that way.
     
  16. Nickchick

    NickchickWell-Known Member

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    I agree, certainly not. My depression was a lot worse before I had dogs again. I payed to take Lily for a reason and Rocky was given to me. Rocky can be a real pain in the butt but if I got rid of him who else would be able to handle him? XD Getting them is about the only thing I wouldn't trade for the world in my life. Being a person who only has basically my mom, I don't have much else in the way of family. It's hard enough letting them go when an animal passes (which I did obviously move on from my last animal but still miss her), I don't think I'd be able to deal with letting them go when they're alive. I had to do that with the dog I had from childhood and it was one of the most difficult things ever.
    While you do have to do what's best for the animal, I'd do whatever I could to make sure they didn't have to leave me. Biologically dogs can get on without us but emotionally I don't know what they would do without me.
     
  17. KNH

    KNHActive Member

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    Probably not. It would depend on the expenses needed for my pet, along with his/her age. For example, if I had a dog who was 17 years old, obviously dying, and needed a $3,000 procedure, I am not sure I would follow through with it. Otherwise, I would never give up my pet to save money!
     
  18. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I would feel worse if my animals were not getting proper nutrition or health care due to my lack of income to accommodate them. As much as I would bond with them, as I would with any animal, I think ultimately I would never want that animal to be trapped in my house in less than ideal conditions, if there was someone out there who could offer them a better home and take better care of them, especially if they had some sort of special needs, such as frequent vet visits to treat some condition, expensive medications, or some expensive diet.

    A friend of mine is a "cat lady" who has been taking in way too many stray cats into her house for years. Although her heart is in the right place, she cannot effectively take care of all of those cats and keep them all fed and in good health properly. So they're not getting regular vet checks, their living conditions are very poor, and during the summer months her house is like an oven while she is away at work. None of those cats are every going to get adopted into better homes either, because she's now claimed them as her own - it's not like she welcomes the general public into her house to view them and offer them up for adoption.

    The main reason I didn't take my dog with me when I moved out of my parents house was because I couldn't bare leaving her alone in my apartment all day while I was off at work, when she would be much better cared for by my folks who could play with her and walk her and pet her throughout the day in addition to keeping an eye on her. She loved being around people 24/7, and it just seemed cruel to force her to be alone for several hours a day just so I could keep her at my apartment instead.
     
  19. GemmaRowlands

    GemmaRowlandsActive Member

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    It honestly depends upon just how badly I needed to save money at the time. If the life of the animal would be better in somebody else's care, who could provide everything that they need, then I would more than likely have to make that difficult decision. However, I think that a lot of the time, some simple budgeting can help your issue of money, and you should find that you can scrape together enough to get your animal everything that it needs.