[Animals] What are the costs of keeping a pet?

[#Wittels-]

Keeping an animal costs money but it also has other benefits for both physical and mental health

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, keeping a dog costs 900 euros a year; a cat, 534 euros. The rest of pets - hamsters, rabbits, fish, birds - go to an average of 376 euros. This means that a dog costs on average 75 euros per month; a cat 45 euros, and the rest 30 euros.

They are not small, if we take into account that figures of half of Catalan households have a pet and there are quite a few who have more than one. According to the Catalan Association of Pet Food Manufacturers, for the first time in Catalonia there are more dogs than those under 14 years of age.

 

Is it a luxury to have an animal?

On average, Catalan households allocate 2,400 euros per month - according to the INE's Family Budget Survey - to pay for housing, food, transport, schools and all other expenses. Therefore, 75 euros per month in pets would represent 3% of this amount that we will have to get from somewhere.

 

This is known as the opportunity cost. Eduard Conti, financial advisor, explains that from a solely economic point of view, for a family with a very fair amount of money, spending this amount on animals could be considered a luxury. But we have to know that having a pet has direct benefits on physical and mental health.

 

Numerous health benefits
The University of Toronto did a study tracking the health of 4 million people over 10 years and found that owning a dog reduced the risk of dying from any cause by 24%. And the American Heart Association concluded that the risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced by 31% if you have one at home. In addition, having animals brings emotional benefits that we would not obtain in any other way and that are difficult to quantify.

 

Conti concludes that having a pet, more than a luxury, is a benefit for physical, mental and emotional health, and ends with Gandhi's phrase: “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it treats its animals. ”.

 

Link: https://www.lavanguardia.com/vivo/20211104/7834287/gasto-euros-supone-mantener-mascota-perro-gato-beneficios-pmv.html