How to save money on pet care
Everyone knows about the woes in the economy and is closely watching their wallet. However, our four legged friends still need to be cared for. One of the most overlooked way to save money on pet care is by practicing aggressive preventive medicine. Early detection of disease can save thousands of dollars in veterinary bills in the long run. Good preventive medicine includes:
1. Getting a physical exam for your pet at least twice a year to aid early detection of disease (more frequently for older pets or pets with chronic conditions).
2. Keeping your veterinarian “in the loop” when you have questions, concerns or notice changes in your pet’s eating, behavior, activity level, sleeping, or bathroom habits.
3. Keeping up with routine preventive care such as flea and tick preventive, heartworm preventive, and other parasite prevention programs
4. Making sure your pet is spayed or neutered
5. Maintaining a good dental hygiene program
6. Feeding a high quality diet
7. Performing routine diagnostic care to aid in early detection of disease.
Below is a website to give you some ideas of the kind of screening tests are needed for early detection of disease based on age and type of pet. Keep in mind, cats excel at hiding disease and by the time they look sick are often far beyond our ability to help.
How To Save Money On Pet Care:
While preventive care is not cheap, it does reduce long term costs substantially and can add years to your pet’s life.
Additional ways to help defray pet costs are to look at options like Care Credit or one of the pet insurance programs to which we have links on our website.
