The cost of a "free" pet

So I took my two 3 month old kittens into the vet today to get them started on their vaccinations.
Mind you, I got these kittens for free from 2 different friends of ours. The previous owners did *not* take the responsibility of worming, vaccinating or even looking into the general health of any of the animals they chose (and/or allowed) to breed.

They have received the first of a series of three sets of vaccinations that will be administered over the next 6 weeks. After they are up to date on their vacs, both will be neutered when they are 5 months old.

I thought I'd just throw out my receipt from the vet's office of how much I just spent on two seemingly healthy kittens.

Just spent $200.87 at the vet's office.
Two kittens=
Physical exam $18x2
Feline Leukemia test $24x2
Tresaderm (for ear mites) $11
FVRCP#1 (feline distemper, etc) $12x2
Leukemia #1 (vac) $12x2
Deworm $3x2
Frontline Plus (cats) $47x2
Tax $4.87
This is *just* the first of three sets of shots. Now granted, the next set will not be that much because the flea treatment and meds will not be needed, nor will any tests, however, next time (in 3 weeks) I will be looking at:
FVRCP, Leukemia, worming $45.00 for each cat. 3 Weeks after that it will be:
FVRCP, Rabies $42.00 for each cat.

So, by the time it's all said and done, that's roughly $375 for two kittens... all shelled out within a 9 week time frame. However, for me, it will be in 5 weeks because they didn't start their vacs at 6 to 8 weeks of age. That's pretty darn good I think. Only one kitten had any kind of health issues that needed meds... I and my kitties got lucky (as did my bank account).
Now ok, this is a "package deal" and once all vacs are given, as long as they are given in the time frame required then the spay/neuter are free.
On "average" it costs about $132+ for *one* kitten to get UTD on their vacs just so they are healthy enough to be altered and that is assuming there are no health issues that need to be addressed, such as Rattles and his ear mites. The average price (around here anyway) for a neuter is $80 and a spay is $120.

Bear in mind, these are the *kitten* prices in a "package" deal.... puppy vacs cost even more as do their spay and neuter.

The reason I am posting this is to just give people an idea of what they can (and should) expect if they are considering getting (or giving) a "free" pet.

If you have puppies or kittens PLEASE be responsible and start their vacs once they are 6 weeks old. Not only are you doing others a favor when they go to a new home, you're also doing that animal a favor by giving it a head start to a healthy life. You don't have to go thorugh the whole series, just the first set before they head off to their forever homes.
And PLEASE, if you are *not* a professional, reputable breeder who breeds *only* to further the quality of the breed, spay and neuter your pets and DON'T BREED. Even "just one litter" is one litter too many.
These costs would not be so expensive if "back yard breeders" were not so common and if more people took the time to be responsible for their pets.

Too bad people don't pay attention to these facts. Everyone seems to want a freebie and not enough people are willing to care for the animals when they actually get them. Great post!

excellent 'heads up ' post there . ppl seem to forget the actual true cost of a ' free ' pet these days . like they say ...' no such thing as a free lunch ' !

Thank you. :)
I would just like to point out that, while these numbers seem pretty high, they actually are not that bad at all. Yes, I just about choked when they told me two hundred.... as did my hubby when I told him what it came up to, but..... that's with meds and stuff.... and 2 cats.

Also, it is becoming more popular (in some areas) for vet clinics to allow deferred payment and/or delayed payments.
Like my vet for example. They will hold a check for up to 3 months before depositing it into their account. So, even if you (like us) don't get paid until the middle of the following month or are on a very tight budget (again, us), you can still get your babies in and get them on the road to health when you need to.

And let us *not* forget the free and/or low cost spay/neuter vouchers that just about every town and city in the US has available, be it from the local shelters, private organizations or businesses.
Those are there for a reason, take advantage of them!

If we take the time to investigate our local veterinary hospitals and clinics, often times we can find "package deals" like this one (which IS a far sight cheaper than what each vaccination would cost separately).
Now OK, i didn't *have* to have them tested for feline leukemia and could have saved myself $50. They could have just given the vaccination, but I opted to have the kittens both tested because I *don't* know the history of their parents or what other kinds of cats they've come into contact with.
They both tested negative so, I am glad to know for sure, one way or another.

Great post, and great information.

You would have paid considerably more than that at my vet, and we're kinda low-middle for the area.

"Free" is a running joke. We had a purebred toy breed puppy in last week that some couple got for free with the purchase of a new car. They've already put around $1k keeping it alive, and with the heart defect it has, odds are poor it'll live more than a few years. These backyard breeders that don't health-check the parents or even vaccinate them produce some of the worst cases.

People come in with some horribly ill deformed little thing and say "I can't afford to treat it, it cost me $600".
$600 puppy, $2k medical bills, when for a little more, they could have gotten a good healthy puppy from a reputable breeder with sound breeding stock.

Or, spend the $80 at the Humane Society and get an animal that's already fully vetted and speutered....

Actually the humane socities in my area seem to charge more by breed. Purebred is more then mutt, small breed more then large....over 300 more.

It's amazing how many people think that pets are cheap and free really means free.

Good post many people don't see the big picture and think that because an animal is affordable or free they get a great deal.


Animal ownership is not cheap, between the food, housing, vet, etc it can be pretty costly no matter what animal you own.

it could be worse

my girlfriend bought me a bearded dragon from petco cost about 80$
then it cost me another 300$ curing coccidia and deworming it and all that jaz from a real herp vet.

her store bought cat was just like your free cat

her first free cat was costly

the second one was much cheaper do to the fact i went with her and nit picked every owner and how their kittens were kept and looking at the adults!

the bottom line is you have to be very selective on who you get said animal from not the price. ask to see the parents and check those litter boxes and housing!

Great post, as the legendary saying goes, nothing in life is free.

Just a recommendation for any dog/cat owners, I did not know that it cost roughly $50 for a Frontline flea treatment each time. This is actually something that can be applied very easily at home, with a pair of plastic gloves and the Frontline, you're set. Just a small way to save a few bucks here and there.

When it comes down to it, a dog or cat become another member of the family and whether it be $200 or $2,000 a year you need to spend, you find a way to do it because they're more of a sibling than a pet.

Congrats on the kittens!

Snape, I think the $47 cost for Frontline is for a three-pack.

As far as Frontline goes on cats though, for fleas you only have to apply it every two months. It's still monthly if you're treating ticks, especially dogs who go out in areas prone to tick infestation. But if you're just battling fleas, you'll be fine only applying it every two months.

My husband occasionally comments on my one 'free' cat. Cooper came to me with an umbilical hernia and no previous shot record AND an upper respiratory infection. Cost us well over 200 to get him fixed up. My other two were $100 each from Purrfect pals, a wonderful cat rescue here in WA. They'd had their first shots, been neutered and wormed. Didn't have a problem with them and even with their booster shots they cost less then my 'free' boy.
Still love them all the same though.

People don't realize just how much money and work you have to put into an animal. Just because you don't pay to get the animal doesn't mean you won't pay later. 'Free' pets are normally unhealthy individuals with either physical or mental illness and the cost to get them back on track is normally very high.

When I found my cat Miki at college, she was kinda free. I found her in a tree and ended up keeping her. I had to have her tested for Feline Leukemia (I think it was around $20) boarded her at the vet for a week (couldn't bring her home from college for another week and couldn't keep her in the dorm. Around $60) Then I had to buy her a cat bed ($15) breakaway collar ($10) Vaccinations (unsure how much it cost but it wasn't cheap) Spay and Microchip ($200) Slight reaction to stitches, needed medication ($15) Nail trimmers ($10) Litterbox ($10)

And this was all within the first month of having her home and this did not include toys, food, treats, the cat tree, food dishes, scratching post, combs, ect.

A few months later, I adopted another kitten and started the whole thing all over again, minus the spay and vaccinations since she had already gotten her first set.

Pets are expensive whether they carry the label free or not. No pet is ever free if you are caring for it properly.

"Free" usually means "we don't feel like dealing with or caring for this animal and its numerous health needs and problems. Please take it!"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

"Free" usually means "we don't feel like dealing with or caring for this animal and its numerous health needs and problems. Please take it!"

---

:clap: Yep, that's about it!
My little lover boy, Rattles has the most health issues, whereas Siam, my siamese doesn't have any (and if you all saw the house he came from.... :O .... you'd be just as shocked as I was). Rattles "owner" is a very clean, tidy person, however, that still does not say anything about pet health quality. The lady who I got Siam from... well... let's just say, 15+ cats, 2 litter boxes, wall to wall carpet, doesn't like to do dishes... use your imagination. :(

Either way, at least I *knew* what I was getting into before I agreed to take the two cats, most people who get "free" pets, don't.

What gets me is that people think "oh well, it's an "animal", they don't need anything besides food, water, a collar (maybe) and a bath once a year (maybe). What people don't think about, or don't want to is that an "animal" is just like a *child*. Even if you don't have human children, if you DO have an "animal" then you DO have a "child" and it/they need and deserve to be cared for in the same way you'd care for a baby that you (or your girl) carried in their bellies for 9 months. So many people don't bother to treat their pets for fleas.... would you let your child live their entire life with lice? Ohhh, but people don't get fleas like they can lice... ohhhh yes people can get fleas!
If your son or daughter got sick, would you just sit there, telling them how bad you felt for them and do nothing? If your child broke a bone would you ignore it?

It makes me sick that people view pets as "animals" and thus, less than human when they are, in a sense, little humans (so to speak). They are our children, or at least should be and thus, should be cared for just as well.

If we don't have the money to have a human baby then why do we scoop up pet after pet that we don't have the money for either?

OK, soap box ramble off. :D

Riley and Norman were free to a good home, but had had a home......


The thing that makes me so heartsick, are all these ppl plunking down hundreds for a kitten or puppy at the petstore, when they could get the same kind of PUREBRED at the humane society.

I even girded the loins and ASKED if they had considered the HS, and in a VERY snooty tone was told "they don't have anything we want". Huh? So instead of giving a pet a deserving home for $80-100 (dog) or $45 (cat), they're paying $499.99 ?!???!!!! at the pet store. All of our pets are (I like yours Slarti) speutered. Checkers and Candy would have made pretty babies, but all of our next cats and dogs will be free ads kitties, or adoptees.

Quote:

---

but all of our next cats and dogs will be free ads kitties, or adoptees.

---

Why would you do that? I ask because you complained about people spending money on puppy/kitten mill pet store animals and then you say this. In essence, you are doing the same thing... without coughing up the $$$ for the actual purchase.
A free to good home animal is a "mill" pet as well. Every time one of them are taken, there are more to replace that one. People who are giving animals away don't bother to spay or neuter.
Now if by "adoptee" you mean, from the HS or a no kill shelter... kudos to you! :D

I only ever 'bought' a cat once...and regretted it even tho I loved her.

99% of my animals, past and present, are rescued, traded, or bought from responsible respectable breeders. I NEVER condone pet store animal purchases, especially of cats or dogs. That one cat we got from a store had so many health/behavior problems she eventually ended up being put down because it got out of hand and cost too much (mom's decision).

No, a 'free' pet is anything BUT free. As someone said, it only means you save a little on the cost of the animal itself. I would only take in an animal like this if I knew the owners were moving/couldn't afford it anymore/were giving it up for health reasons. If I saw any other animals there, no way.

I'm glad things are turning out OK for your kittens, Denise. Cats are the best companion pets however you get them. :)

We got our two roosters free because they were annoying their former owner who had too many.. :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r:-a-doodle-doo!! They are healthy, but this illustrates another possible outcome of getting a free animal; it could be healthy but just more of an annoyance for its current owner. I guess each case is different; I would err on the side of the animal possibly not being healthy though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shadowspider

Why would you do that? I ask because you complained about people spending money on puppy/kitten mill pet store animals and then you say this. In essence, you are doing the same thing... without coughing up the $$$ for the actual purchase.
A free to good home animal is a "mill" pet as well. Every time one of them are taken, there are more to replace that one. People who are giving animals away don't bother to spay or neuter.
Now if by "adoptee" you mean, from the HS or a no kill shelter... kudos to you! :D

---

If I give a rescue or free-to-a-good-home pet a home, and have it speutered, then that is that many more animals that have a loving home and won't be reproducing.

I don't support the BYB...my former roommate being one with her chihuahuas, but there are sooooooooo many feral queens and kittens being rescued in our area I'd rather give those one or two kittens a speutering and home rather than the $$ for a petstore pet. As for the rescues, yeah, I support our NO-KILL shelter. I used to help the HS in my former hometown, but I'll give my $$ (if/when I have it) to the NK instead.

::raises hand:: I had fleas! When we first moved into the house that we rent, it had been vacated for about a month.. the former person living there had cats.. with fleas.. they started feeding on ME as we had no cats/dogs. I would wake up every day with bites everywhere from my knees down; curiously they left my upper body alone mostly. I would wash our bedding pretty-much every night and they still came back.. I researched it and then we took everything living (we had fish and snakes, with some frogs) out and Bombed the house and it worked to get rid of them.
I now swear by Advantage for my cat and he (and our house including me, lol!) has been clean whilst we used it.

I looooooooove Advantage!!! It's the bee's knees, cat's meow and God's gift to pet owners!! After our Stripe bringing in fleas so they'd bite us, and the neighbor behind us in the 4-plex having them so bad (they NEVER treated their cats!) that they'd jump out of the carpet :puke: , we started using Advantage and have never used anything else.

We had to bomb the apt. once but with the Advantage, I don't have to bomb the new house at all.

*** Which is GREAT, b/c with four cats in the house, all the ratty pets/babies, and now 24 snakes, it would be a ROYAL PITA to get them out and kept safe during the bombing! ***

I prefer Advantage over Frontline because it works longer but.... that's what the vet has and it's easier to just swing by and get it there than hunt down Advantage.
I even checked 1-800 PET MEDS.... LMAO what a joke they are! I didn't see any prices that were cheaper than my vet's.