I often become exasperated when I listen to the BBC news. It seems to me the range of topics covered has become more limited recently.  Whether it’s the terrible war in Ukraine, the most recent natural disaster or the spiralling cost of HS2, individual stories seem to dominate for a few days and then disappear off our screens, rarely to be heard of again.  The cost of living is another example and like many other issues, has gone away only in the sense that a different headline has taken its place but the cost of living is affecting pet ownership.  Pet ownership during the cost-of-living crisis is becoming more of a challenge.

Looking after our pets properly is not cheap, not in terms of time nor money.  Estimates of monthly expenses vary widely across cat and dog breeds but using the RSPCA online calculator, a cat can cost up to £180 and a medium-sized dog up to £270 and that’s per month!  I must admit that I was never the sort of person who totted up how much my kids were costing me as they were growing up and neither did I do this for my pet dogs and cats.  Well, not until recently!

It’s not difficult to accurately calculate the fixed costs of owning a pet – the unexpected is more difficult to predict.  For some reason, rational thought seemed to fly out of the window during the Covid crisis. Prices for puppies and kittens rose in proportion to demand.  Three years on, animal rescue centres are at full capacity with pets now deemed too expensive to keep. Not an attitude for which I have much sympathy.  I save that for the poor abandoned animals.

So let’s have a closer look at the costs of pet ownership.  You can shop around for pet food and we all know there’s a bewildering range of different brands out there. Competition is high between manufacturers and this helps to keep prices down.  Yes, quality varies and like most things, you get what you pay for.  However, unless your dog or cat has special dietary needs, the most expensive food isn’t always the best. Cheaper alternatives are fine providing they satisfy nutritional requirements, are palatable and don’t upset tummies.  If you are changing foods, do so gradually. Gut bacteria can take several weeks to adapt to different diets, and adding probiotics often helps with the transition.  Ok, cats and poodles are fussy so sometimes you have to be flexible.

Now, how about veterinary bills?  Although I’m tempted to compare today with 40 years ago, it isn’t relevant as how veterinary practice looks now is so different to then.  In what way, you may ask? Firstly, young vets have huge student loans to repay and the government currently levies a 7.3% interest rate on the loan.  So, employers have to pay new graduates more to compensate. 

Secondly, and more importantly, the standard of medicine and surgery has had to keep pace with expectations. This means the level of training and equipment in a modern veterinary practice is not dissimilar to an NHS hospital.  Thirdly and relevant to this article’s title, global inflation has sent the cost of medicines and consumables into orbit. As you can see, pet ownership during the cost-of-living crisis, is facing more challenges as time goes by.

There’s yet another major factor at play, that’s changing the face of veterinary medicine in this country; corporate ownership. Although original names of veterinary practices may be retained, many are owned by the same company.  You can shop around for pet food, but it’s more difficult to do the same when choosing a veterinary practice.  I will let you draw your own conclusions about what happens to competitive pricing between vets in an area when most of them are all under the same corporate umbrella, as they are around here. The Newton Clarke Partnership Ltd is totally independent and will remain so for the foreseeable future and even though I now work as an employee, I’m proud that the practice still bears my name.

Let’s get back to the subject.  We’ve introduced a Pet Healthcare Plan (PHP) that fixes costs for all vaccines, parasite treatments and consultations for a monthly fee.  Many vets operate similar schemes but none of them in this area offer unlimited consultations with nurses and vets. The PHP gives pet owners peace of mind as the decision to visit the surgery is made so much easier when the consultation fee is covered by the plan.  As a result, we see patients earlier on, helping us to triage more quickly, speeding up diagnosis and treatment.  In many cases, the consultation ends with reassurance rather than intervention, in itself an important aspect of medicine.

So the PHP can look after the “housekeeping” but what about the unexpected? Nasty surprises happen in many areas of our domestic lives with washing machines packing up and cars needing costly repairs.  We can’t insure ourselves against everything but pet insurance has become popular over the past 25 years, with good reason.  Like any insurance policy, you hate paying the premiums and when your pet is the insured, you hope never to make a claim! Ironic. The fact is, insurance cover takes away the financial stress if your pet needs treatment.

As a practice, we are doing all we can to provide the best possible care for our pet owners, to ensure that pet ownership during the cost-of-living crisis is as affordable as possible.