Welcome to Your Money and Covid-19, a series about how to safeguard and future-proof your finances in an uncertain time. If you like what you’re reading, be sure to share it with someone who you think could benefit from it.
At the beginning of April, it was estimated that half of humanity – or over 3.9 billion people – was on lockdown. Around the same time, a number of media outlets started reporting increased numbers of pet adoption and fostering, a trend that’s also seen in Singapore. With the staggering number of people suddenly spending swathes of time at home, many now think they have the time and resources to start caring for a pet. But before you bring Rover home, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into – especially where costs are concerned.
People often underestimate how much it costs to foster or own a pet. For instance, when it comes to making sure they are well fed, it’s not as simple as giving them your leftover dinner. Animals have their own particular dietary needs, and the cost of their food can quickly add up if you care about ensuring it has a nutritious diet (and you should care, because that’s what it means to be a responsible pet owner).
Even if you think you’re bringing a healthy animal home, that situation could change in an instant as you never know what underlying health issues it may already have until it begins showing symptoms. Once that happens, you would then have veterinary costs to contend with, which can be arbitrary and hard to predict.
In a time of Covid-19, where jobs and careers are disrupted, with many facing a real possibility of pay cuts or redundancies, the cost of caring for a sick pet can quickly become a huge financial burden.
I am well aware of the costs involved because I had been caring for Pickles, a shelter cat, for four months. She passed away a few days ago due to severe anaemia and complications affecting her gastrointestinal tract and brain/central nervous system.
In the weeks before that, this is how much I had spent caring for her (all costs are listed in Singapore dollars):
- A special brand of tinned food for Pickles’ malnourishment, $108 for 24 cans (which lasts 48 days).
- Hospitalisation fees, which range anywhere from $60 to $1,000 a night. Expect this to be out-of-pocket expenses as the pet insurance industry is still quite underdeveloped in Singapore. This cost $420 for a week-long stay.
- Pickles saw three vets before she died. One of the vets made a house call at $99 a visit (before factoring in the cost of medication). As Pickles wasn’t responding to Western treatment, I was advised to send her to a vet that specialises in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Pickles made three visits to the TCM vet, with each costing between $90 to $120 (for acupuncture and medication).
- Cremation costs in Singapore typically run from $190 (for mass cremation, which I opted for) and $380 (for private cremation).
Costs aside, you should also consider the inconvenience of bringing your sick animal to the vet if your country is on full or partial lockdown. In the interest of safe distancing as this happened during Singapore’s circuit breaker period, I wasn’t able to accompany Pickles into the consultation room. Instead, I had to drop her off at the entrance and then do the consultation via a video call with the vet. This was another huge challenge in itself – it was difficult to point out what was making the animal feel discomfort when I was not physically in the same room with it. It was also heartbreaking knowing that I couldn’t be there for Pickles when she was distressed.
Having a pet in these trying times can be a source of comfort, but I would only recommend it if you are 100% sure of your financial security and ability to put in time and effort to care for it. The last thing the world needs now is for sick animals to be abandoned because the owner had overestimated his or her abilities to care for it.
Have more questions about fostering or adopting a pet while under quarantine, or curious to find out more about Keep Cats, the organisation I volunteer with? Drop me a line at ten.huiyu@finexis.com.sg.
About me: I am a financial consultant from an independently owned financial advisory firm with over 13 years of experience in the financial services industry. I am a Million Dollar Round Table qualifier for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. I have an interest in helping groups of people that are currently underserved by financial consultants, particularly LGBT+ individuals and those working in creative industries.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and official policies of finexis advisory Pte Ltd.
