Family and Parenting: Information For Families

Pets are absolutely an extra expenditure. They are not quite as expensive as children, but when cared for properly, these furry kids can cost you quite a bit each year. Between foods, treats, toys, grooming, vet visits, doggy/kitty daycare, medications, and everything else the dollars rack-up and can put a dent in your wallet. Now-a-days we have to watch our spending, and we surely do not want to see our best friends with less than the best care just because we are tightening the belt.

To look at the bigger picture for the over-all healthcare of our pets, taking into consideration the cost of veterinarian costs and medications, we see an accumulation of expense mostly in the department of monthly health costs. There is no denying that it can cost several hundred dollars a year just affording the monthly doses of flea/tick drops and heartworm tablets; plus yearly expenses like deworming agents, grooming costs, booster shots, rabies injections, and any other medication the individual animal uses.

There are little ways to cut down on costs directly at the vet’s office. For example, the yearly rabies vaccination has been improved to cover a full three years of protection (for adult dogs one year and older). There is also an alternative to the individual treatments and tests for parasites. There is an all-in-one tablet supplied by veterinarian pharmacies called Drontal Plus. This medication eradicates all of the most common intestinal parasites without the cost of individual fecal tests and individual medications for each parasite. One tablet and the parasites are gone. Ask your vet’s pharmacist to fill an RX for one Drontal tablet for your pet.

You should also consider purchasing your pet’s monthly medications either online or over-the-counter, instead of at the veterinarian’s office. Even local drug stores are selling the most popular flea/tick and heartworm medications over the counter for a fraction of cost. If you shop online you can find even better deals on these and many other prescriptions for your pet, but you don’t need the prescription. If your pet takes allergy medicine, uses insulin, or even takes arthritis medication, you can find cheap deals online. You may want to try searching for antihistamines and glucosamine supplements at retail stores for the best deals. Unless you are absolutely set on spending more for beef flavored medications, you can save 75% or more, just buying the generic store brands. You can always wrap them in a small piece of cheese.