Cost of Pet Care in London

How Much Does It Cost to Care for a Cat and a Dog in London?

It’s often said that having pets in London is incredibly expensive. Curious, I decided to calculate the costs of our three furry friends.

We have one dog and two cats who have been living in London for nine months. Let’s start with the mandatory monthly expenses.

🩷 £36 — Dog food (for 2 months)
🩷 £27 — Dog vitamins (for 1.5 months)
🩷 £10 — Poop bags (for 3 months)

🩷 £72 — Cat food (for 4 months)
🩷 £27 — Cat litter (for 2 months)

🩷 £24 — Dental liquid for all three (for 1.5 months)
🩷 £202 — Insurance for all three per month
*We have good insurance that covers up to £15,000 per year for each pet, but more affordable options are available. It's not mandatory, but almost everyone here has insurance.

Let’s also reasonably allocate an additional £60 per month (£40 for the dog and £20 for the cats) for miscellaneous expenses: toys, treats, a raincoat, harness adjustments at the workshop, and so forth.

In the UK, there are no extra taxes or fees for keeping pets in an apartment. So, we find ourselves spending approximately:

~ £155 per month for our dog
~ £194 per month for the cats

Now, let’s take a look at the costs of our veterinary visits since moving to London!

🩷 £500 — Eye issue for the dog (two check-ups, blood tests, medication for six months)
🩷 £184 — Poisoning incident for the dog
🩷 £83 — Visit due to unusual noises from the dog, medication for six months
🩷 £165 — Vaccination for the dog
🩷 £95 x 2 — Vaccination for the cats against rabies
*In the UK, rabies vaccination is not mandatory.

We did not make any insurance claims for any of these vet visits. The first incident happened before we had insurance, and the others were either not covered or were minor expenses.

~ £104 per month for the dog
~ £21 per month for the cats

It's worth mentioning that during our 10-day summer holiday, we spent about £460 for boarding. This was just for two walks a day, meaning our dog wasn’t living with anyone else, nor were we housing anyone while we were away.

Total:

In summary, we spend around £474 per month on our pets, with £259 for the dog and £215 for the cats.

What’s the takeaway? Two cats in London are cheaper than one small dog!

Honestly, considering everything, it feels quite reasonable for three pets with all the associated emergencies! 🐾