Thankfully, animal care is not as expensive as human health care; however, we recognize that it can still be expensive - especially to a working family's budget. Your pets provide you with companionship and typically very few complaints. We all truly love our pets and want them to be healthy and happy - and so when they get sick, we want to take care of them - and that can be expensive. Keeping them from getting sick in the first place is the key - preventative care is a lot less expensive and painful than surgery or pharmaceuticals.
Years of research has shown that to keep your personal health care costs down, you need to exercise, get plenty of rest, and eat right. Preventive care in human medicine can save a family thousands of dollars in health care costs down the road. Regular checkups for humans are inexpensive in comparison to an extended hospital stay. The same is true for your pets. Regular checkups can help to keep down the cost of caring for your pet. Changing your animal's diet, cleaning their teeth, getting vaccinated, can all lead to huge cost savings as your pet ages. The team at Redwood Veterinary Hospital can help you make the right decisions for your pets that will allow your pet to lead a long, happy life. Regular checkups, a healthy diet, and plenty of exercise is key to keeping health care costs down for both humans and their pets.
Here are some tips to help keep the cost of pet care to a minimum.
Tips to Keep the Cost of Pet Care Down
- Get Regular Checkups. You may not get a yearly checkup, but you live longer than your pets. For pet's a year is a significant fraction of their lives (10% to 20% in some cases). Getting a check up can catch lots of problems early - thus minimizing the need for expensive care down the road. It can also lengthen the life and well-being of your pet. Do not underestimate the value of yearly check ups for your pets!
- Get Vaccinations and Boosters as Recommended. Vaccines can have a significant cost savings and has a huge, positive impact on the quality of life of your pet. Vaccinate your pet and make sure and get follow-up boosters for your pet. Vaccinations save lives and money!
- Maintain Good Dental Hygiene. Keep your pet's teeth clean! Do this through brushing your pet's teeth or having your veterinarian clean your pet's teeth. Loosing teeth can be a painful event for your pet and it can be costly if gum disease or other serious mouth ailments arise.
- Maintain a Regular Diet. Do not look for the cheapest food available and switch foods on your pets once per week. Although the same thing to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner sounds horrible to humans, it is fine for your pets. High quality food manufacturers have spent decades on research on what tastes good and what is scientifically a balanced diet for your pet. We use and recommend Hill's Science Diet and Royal Canin foods for patients. Consistency is important to the well-being of your pet.
- Get an Estimate. Get an estimate from your veterinarian for any procedure and have a discussion about that estimate. Are all items necessary? If your veterinarian will not have a frank discussion about cost and help you to minimize your bill - find a new veterinarian.
- Shop Around for Pharmacy Items. Pharmacy items can be expensive. Shop around - we think that today everything online is cheaper. That is simply not true. Many hospitals will price match or beat any online pharmacy costs. Having your pet's prescriptions filled in the hospital is much more convenient for you - than having to run around, mail prescriptions, etc. Talk to your veterinarian about any concerns you have about pharmacy items. Again, if your veterinarian will not have that discussion, find a new one.
- Choose Safe Toys. A sock swallowed by a dog. A rubber band or a string that has been swallowed by a cat. If the animal cannot pass these items, it can have disastrous consequence in the digestive system of your pet. The only thing that can be done at that point is surgery - which is typically very expensive. Keep those items away from your pets - choose safe toys and you can save your pet, you, and your checkbook lots of grief.
