Start from the ASPCA cost table for a dog or a cat, swap in your own bills line by line, and see the monthly, yearly and first-year cost and the total over the years you keep your pet.
Pet Cost Calculator - Cost of Owning a Dog or Cat
Start from the ASPCA cost table for a dog or a cat, swap in your own bills line by line, and see the monthly, yearly and first-year cost and the total over the years you keep your pet.
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How the pet cost calculator adds it up
How much does a dog cost per year? On the ASPCA's cost table, $1,391 a year, or about $116 a month, and $3,221 in the first year once spaying, first vaccines, a crate and training are paid for. A cat comes to $1,149 a year and $1,904 in the first year. Type what you actually spend on any line and the calculator swaps it in, then returns the cost per month, week and year, the first-year total for a new pet and the total over the years you expect to keep it.
- Dog or cat - sets the default for every line. Litter appears only for a cat.
- Per month or per year - how you will type your own amounts. Defaults stay yearly ASPCA figures either way.
- Nine cost lines - food, routine vet care, heartworm and flea and tick prevention, litter, toys and treats, insurance, grooming, boarding or pet sitting, license and other. Empty takes the ASPCA figure; 0 means you do not pay for it.
- New pet - adds one-time startup costs and the first-year special costs (dental, and professional grooming for a dog).
- Years you expect to keep it - optional, for a running total at today's prices.
Eight budgets, from a default dog to an 18-year cat
Example 1: a dog on the ASPCA figures
Situation: dog, every line empty. Result: $116 a month, $1,391 a year, $27 a week. Insurance is the largest line at 37%.
Example 2: a new puppy kept for 12 years
Situation: dog, new pet, 12 years. Result: $3,221 in the first year and $18,522 over 12 years at today's prices.
Example 3: a cat without insurance
Situation: cat, insurance 0, the rest empty. Result: $801 a year, $348 under the ASPCA total, with a note that an emergency bill is now covered by nothing in the budget.
Example 4: a cat budget typed in monthly
Situation: per month, food $45, litter $20, insurance 0. Result: $101 a month, $1,206 a year; food alone is 45%.
Example 5: a large dog with real yearly bills
Situation: per year, food $1,200, vet $500, prevention $300, insurance $700. Result: $2,865 a year, $239 a month, $1,474 over the ASPCA total.
Example 6: a dog that travels with its owner's job
Situation: per month, food $60, vet $40, insurance 0, pet sitting $300. Result: $427 a month and $5,125 a year; boarding is 70% of it.
Example 7: a shelter dog that arrived spayed and vaccinated
Situation: dog, new pet, startup $400, special costs 0. Result: first year $1,791 instead of $3,221.
Example 8: an adopted kitten kept for 18 years
Situation: cat, new pet, startup $150, 18 years. Result: $1,599 in the first year and $21,132 in total.
A long-lived cat costs more in total than a dog kept 12 years on these defaults, simply because of the extra years.
The ASPCA cost table, line by line
The defaults the calculator uses, from the ASPCA's own cost table for a dog and a cat. The table is a few years old, which is the main reason to replace the larger lines with your own figures. Toys and treats are one line here; the ASPCA lists them separately. Routine vet care means vaccines and wellness visits. One-time startup covers spaying or neutering, first vaccines, a microchip, a carrier, a crate or a litter box, grooming tools and, for a dog, a training class; special costs are dental work, plus professional grooming for a dog.
| Cost | Dog, a year | Cat, a year |
|---|---|---|
| Food | $300 | $225 |
| Routine vet care | $225 | $160 |
| Heartworm, flea, tick | $185 | $140 |
| Litter | - | $150 |
| Toys and treats | $97 | $58 |
| Pet insurance | $516 | $348 |
| Grooming supplies | $28 | $28 |
| Boarding (one day) | $25 | $25 |
| License | $15 | $15 |
| Recurring, a year | $1,391 | $1,149 |
| One-time startup | $1,030 | $455 |
| Special costs | $800 | $300 |
| First year | $3,221 | $1,904 |
What a new dog or cat costs over 5 to 15 years
A new pet on the same defaults: the first year, then the recurring total for each year after it, at today's prices.
| Years kept | Dog | Cat |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,221 | $1,904 |
| 5 | $8,785 | $6,500 |
| 10 | $15,740 | $12,245 |
| 15 | $22,695 | $17,990 |
Cost of owning a dog or cat, asked plainly
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