Scientific studies have shown that having a pet reduces stress levels and undeniably, can make the person (pet owner) happy. If we just look around, there are many pet owners that supports this idea.


I am a pet owner myself, I grew up with pets back in my parents house. Now, that I have a family of my own, adding a pet to the family is not that uncommon. But owning one is not a walk in the park, as there are challenges thrown at us to test our resolve.

Our Challenges as a pet owner

The name of our pet cat is Kyubi (you probably know where I took that name), he was abandoned by his mother (cats tend to abandon their young if they are not able to provide enough milk for all). Based on the state when we took him in, maybe he was less than a week old.

Challenge 1

Given that he was still small, we need to bottle feed him with milk specially formulated for cats. However, finding the specific brand is a challenge, that we just resorted to a milk made for humans but without the ingredient that is harmful to nursing cats. I think the price of that specialized milk was around Php400 per liter. As per our research, nursing cats are to be fed every 2 hours, and that's what we did.

Challenge 2

Not all apartments/condominiums allowed pets. So our next challenge was to look for a new place to live that allows pets but is also closer to our workplace. We are able to find one, a three-floor apartment with a starting rent of Php 8,500 a month.

Challenge 3

As our pet grew older and bigger, he transitioned from milk to wet food. The next process of transition was to be on dry food, but he love more the taste of wet food and refuse to eat any dry cat food. His food expenses is Php 650 a week.

Challenge 4

Fast forward three years later (November 11, 2019), We've visited a veterinary clinic (Arevalo Animal Clinic) to treat his wound located under his neck. I think the cause is self inflicted due to his compulsive scratching. I am confident of that reason because he is an indoor cat - even afraid of other people and other cats. The estimated expense given to us for the procedure is at Php 7,500. The procedure will take place tomorrow and the final expense of the surgery will be known.


UPDATE

The procedure was done and the total expense is clock at Php 9,000 excluding the medications. The next set of expenses will be the fees for the follow-up consultations and the added medicines.



Yes, it is expensive to have a pet because it is not just a cat or a dog or whatever, it is first and foremost a life.

"The righteous care for the needs of their animals"

- The Affluent Perspective by Ælfræd "Elf Counsel"