As everyone feels the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, it makes us consider how we are spending our money. Many people are now in a situation where they are no longer able to save money and are unable to pay unexpected bills.

As anyone with a pet that has been unfortunate enough to face an unexpected vet bill will tell you, veterinary fees can be high. So, what as a pet owner can you do to help prepare for unexpected veterinary bills?

Make sure you use preventative health care

Vaccination and parasite prevention is essential. Conditions including leptospirosis, parvo virus (in the area presently), and kennel cough can be prevented if your dog is vaccinated. Flea infestation is one of the main causes of skin disease, so using a recommended product is essential for prevention. We have a Coquet Pet Club that offers large discounts for a monthly fee.

Feeding

Ensure you feed a decent diet to your pet - no human food - and make sure your pet isn't overweight. Sounds simple, but unfortunately, a huge amount of our patients are overweight and this has a detrimental effect on their health.

Pet insurance

We cannot recommend this enough. Unless you have sufficient funds to pay large, unexpected bills, then make sure you have pet insurance. Not all insurances are the same, so make sure you read the small print and do your research. Generally, you get what you pay for.

There is no NHS for pets, so if you can't pay for treatment or procedures that your pet needs, it can lead to them not getting what they need. Most vets deal directly with most insurance companies, so if you have large bills you don't have to pay the money upfront. Please see our previous insurance article – ‘Pet Insurance – Is it worth it?’

Think carefully about what breed/pet you can afford

Smaller cross breed dogs, for example, generally cost less to feed, treat and insure. Pure bred dogs, such as French bull dogs and bulldogs are hugely expensive to insure as they are so prone to disease/conditions related to their breed.

Think carefully before buying new pets

It sounds like common sense, but some people don't think beyond just the initial cost of buying a pet. When you are looking at what you can afford, we would encourage you to look up insurance, vaccination and feeding costs.

Insuring a pure-bred dog can cost anywhere between £25 to 70 a month. Just because a dog is young, doesn't mean it won't get poorly. Within the veterinary community we are constantly faced with the dilemma of how to treat our patients when there aren't the sufficient funds available. We want to offer the best care we can, but unfortunately, we cannot do this for free.

We all hope that you never have to use us, apart from in a preventative situation, however, thinking about the above will help you to plan for those unexpected costs.