Even in a recession, we pamper our pets

source

I thought this was kinda interesting.

I guess people are making sure their pets are taken really good care of until things get ugly.

We had to start buying less expensive brand of cat food for our cat. She doesn't mind...

Friends Marie Othic and Paula Younghanz last week picked up the perfect 1st birthday present — colorful truffles and other treats — for their two adopted girls. While Lacey and Sadie needed a little help opening the festive packages at their party, the golden retrievers didn’t need any help finishing off the goodies from pet shop Land of Paws. Othic and Younghanz are among the two-thirds of Americans who own pets and also among the majority that still pamper their pets — even as they cut back on their own expenses. “We make sure they have treats, new collars, healthy food,” Othic said. “They give to us.”

A new survey by WSL Strategic Retail indicates that only 19 percent of pet owners are scrimping on pet spending, with the majority buying not only nice things but top-of-the-line products as well, such as premium pet food. Turns out, pet supplies are often at the bottom of the cutback list, along with human essentials such as prescription medications and toothpaste.

Industry sales are expected to reach $45.4 billion in 2009, compared with $28.5 billion in 2001.

Just seems silly to be spending lots of money on pets, when we need to take care of ourselves and family.

What do you all think?

My dog gets kibbles n bits, some treats and a warm place to sleep. Thats all she needs, well and chew toys so she doenst' destroy the house lol

My pets get top of the line pet food . It may cost more, but the vet bills are less, they eat half as much of it, not full of fillers. Has not preservatives corn or rice.
The poop is sold and does not stink nor is there as much. Flies leave the poop alone.

Worth every cent!!

The 40 dollar bag last twice as long as the 20 dollar bag people do not realize and the pets are more healthy. ( I am talking about real good pet food, like wellness, inova, or natures recipe, etc) .

I have not cut down on my pets at all and will not, will just cost more in other ways.

I don't hate animals or pets, but I have always thought this to be an odd topic.

My mom has always been dirt poor and done a lot of shady things in her life (yes, even to me). A few years back she bought a wiener dog that she refuses to part with. This dog takes regular trips the vet, when she was with her boyfriend and they were both working it went to a dog daycare place and gets all manor of useless luxuries (in my opinion). My aunt and I have both told her she gives the dog way too much. The worst part is there is nothing special about the dog...it's not exceptionally smart or a show dog. She claims it has papers and is registered with the AKC but I have never seen them.

To be honest the whole notion of treating pets better than fellow human beings saddens me. The money my mom has given to the vet, dog daycare, etc could have just as easily bought food for a homeless shelter or food pantry. Ideally, she should have just saved the money to improve her own situation but she has a real problem with that.

There is NO way I could ever justify giving an animal luxuries, health care or whatever before a human being. My own species comes first.

reply to post by amatrine


May I asked what it is called, I woudlnt' mind giving it a go.

reply to post by MMP


This is a free country and people can do whatever they want. I do understand where you are coming from but does that mean we should all adopt dogs instead of buying pure breds? Why should I spend all my hard earned time and energy cleaning up someone else's mess? Why don't you take it one step further? Should responsible Americans forgo having their own children and just adopt to try to save the world? We can't all be responsible for everything that goes on in the world. I.e. we can't save the world and we shouldn't. I agree spending frivolously on pets is silly.

I have a pure bred Boxer and a pure bred Shi Tsu. Many people go to pounds to get their pets. That's great and more power to them. But that's not something we wanted to do. Our dogs are healthy and very well adjusted animals that have lived a great life if they were to die tomorrow. We don't lavish them except for a high end pet food. If I had a large piece of property I would go to the pound and save a dog or cat or two. But It's also my right to buy a pure bred animal. And if people were more responsible in the first place there wouldn't even be such things as pounds.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
This is a free country and people can do whatever they want. I do understand where you are coming from but does that mean we should all adopt dogs instead of buying pure breds?

Uhm, whatever...sure?

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
Why should I spend all my hard earned time and energy cleaning up someone else's mess?

Because life is tough and you can't have your way all the time? We're constantly forced clean up messes that we nothing to do with. Off the top of my head the economic bail out comes to mind. The American people were unfairly stuck footing the bill for that. If you don't like that reason I am sure I can think of more.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
Why don't you take it one step further? Should responsible Americans forgo having their own children and just adopt to try to save the world? We can't all be responsible for everything that goes on in the world. I.e. we can't save the world and we shouldn't.

Hows about we don't take theoretical steps (especially in weird directions) and keep the discussion where it's at? I get the feeling there is some kind of chip on your shoulder, my friend. No one asked you take on the worlds problems. Relax and find your happy place. This is a thread about spending frivolously on pets and we both agree it's not a good idea.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
I agree spending frivolously on pets is silly.

See I told you we agree.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
We don't lavish them except for a high end pet food.

Great, I'm glad to hear this.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
If I had a large piece of property I would go to the pound and save a dog or cat or two.

That's neat. It's not what I would do, but that's just me.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
But It's also my right to buy a pure bred animal.

Uhh okay? I'm not really sure where this came from. I wasn't aware that some one in this thread had told you that you were not allowed buy a pure bred animal. I am a little unsure about your wording though. I'm not aware of any constitutional amendments or laws that establish buying/selling/trading animals as a right, but whatever. You probably had your reasons for saying it.

[edit on 7/21/2009 by MMP]

reply to post by MMP


I love animals over human beings any day, hands down. I have 2 cats that I always refer to as my babies or children, and never pets. People who don't love and live with 'animals' are missing out on what amazing Beings they are. I joined the Humane Society. They endeavor to fight animal cruelty. There is NO other kind of activism I can think of, that I would give my meager dollars to, each month, like I do animal advocacy activism.



[edit on 21-7-2009 by simonecharisse]

I have a cat. The cat eats Meow Mix, sleeps on the couch at night, gets the ocassional can of tuna or inexpensive cat treat, enjoys a toke of catnip from the potted catnip plant my wife grows outside for him, and gets squirted with a water bottle when he acts up. He has a great life for a four legged animal, food, water, shelter, entertainment, and attention. That's all a pet requires.

Animals are not like humans. They do not care whether they get the Deli Cat crunchies for $4 a bag or the Science Diet crunchies for three times that much. Anyone who claims differently has obviously never paid much attention to the various disgusting things both dogs and (to a lesser degree) cats munch on. To spend huge amounts of money on luxury items for your pet is purely done as a status symbol or from arrogance because honestly, luxury is a human concept, not an animal one.

That said, as long as the person doing the spending isn't recieving any sort of tax payer aid, it's absolutely nobody else's business how they pamper their pet.

reply to post by simonecharisse

Great post, simone, great post! I could say the same thing to you. I believe that people who don't love their fellow human beings above all other species are missing out.

Just so everybody is clear, again I will say for the record I DO NOT hate pets or animals. However, I will choose a human being over an animal every time. And yes, I did have a dog as a boy. His name was Ralph and even though he died years ago I still refer to him as my friend.

I find it utterly ridiculous that people will often put their pets as a high status in their family - spoiling them to no extent as if they were children. Granted, I love my horse and wouldn't part with him for the world. He has a fantastic personality under a history of showing and fantastic bloodlines.
But he's just that, a horse. He's grass kept, has shelter, water, and is given grain and hay in the winter. However, I don't feel the need to go out and buy expensive equipment for him to make him look better or in an attempt to "spoil" him. Same goes for my four cats; they live outside with the equine buddy, and they're just as content as can be with daily attention and some treats every now and then.

As someone stated above, luxury is a human insight. Some people may attempt to personify their animals, making them seem like they enjoy the expensive foods and collars, but the animals probably really don't care about that. Most of them only want to be given attention by their owners, and it's still the same creature.
What was that saying from a few months ago? You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

Cheers,
~Tea

reply to post by amatrine


Yeaahhh.. we bought "diet" food for our cat.. because he WAS fat.. like 12 lbs fat.. so we started buying the super expensive healthy crap for him. Well now he beats up the other cat and inhales the food, diet food or not, and now weighs 19.5 lbs.. he's orange to.. swear.. looks like Garfield..

Anyways.. most people think of their pets as family, no? So I guess it's not entirely surprising people are still pampering their dogs and cats or what ever other critter they may have. Which actually reminds me I need to go get a new collar for the cat.. he grew out of the cat collars, he now needs a dog collar..

I had a simmilar thread going a few weeks back...because I work at a PetSmart and I've noticed regular customers going from Blue Buffalo and Nutro Ultra down to ProPlan or Purina One because it's cheaper.

As for me, my dogs are on a BARF diet (bones and raw food), my rabbits eat only veggies and hay, the birds get a small portion of pelleted food supplemented with appropriate human food. The snake has her mice. The only ones who live on stire-bought diets alone are the fish (and I do consider fish pets, I took them in, their livelihood depends on me, they are pets).

Based on diet alone, some say I pamper my pets, when truthfully using human food is not only healthier if done correctly, but much much cheaper. And human food will be the only thing I have to buy if TSHTF so they're already used to it. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg on top of the line foods when everything your pet needs to thrive is already in your fridge or cupboard, and it's so much better and only minimally more expensive than a bag of Purina Dog Chow.

As far as the "luxuries" my pets get annual vet care, as well as a trip for any minor emergencies that come up, everyone but the fish, and that's about it for lavishing on them. They get toys and a place to sleep, but they don't need a $20 toy and a $60 pet bed when chasing a $2 tennis ball and taking a nap next to me on the couch makes them happier than anything, you know?

My pets are family without a doubt, and they will never go hungry or be left to die as far as I'm concerned, but they do live as frugally as I do...and they're all the better for it.

Of course, pet owners would want for their pets to be pampered so they'd taste good when SHTF.

Seriously, though, this is another reason why I love the Depression. Stupid, lonely westerners who can't discipline their dumb kids and turn to genetically inferior dogs for companionship will soon become even more pathetic as poverty knocks on their doors.

The movie is about to start.

I buy expensive food for my dog and cat. My dog gets her fair share of toys to rip apart and she sleeps in my bed. I take her to the dog park on a regular basis. If I go out of town and cannot take her with me I take her to a kennel that is more of a hotel for dogs.

Plenty of room to run and play and while it is expensive I know she is well taken care of. She has an allergy to fleas so I by expensive shampoos and flea medication(front line and front line shampoos) from the vet.

A pet is like a child. It relys on the owner to make sure it is healthy and taken care of. A person who gets a pet should be in the mindset that it comes first when it comes to eating and its health. If that person cannot treat that animal as they would a child then they don't need to have a pet.

This is true, but only because we love our lil buddies !! I want to have a trucker hat specialy made for my chihuahua that reads " Whisker rides : 2 Dollars "

reply to post by IntastellaBurst


I jerry rigged a milk crate that I strap onto the back of my harley and I let my dog ride in it. I bought her goggles and a leather skull cap that she wears when riding.

She gets alot of compliments when I go on rides and at rallys.

reply to post by jd140


Lol, thats so cute, but it sounds dangerous JD !! I'd be affraid to take my lil dogs around like that...... I used to have lovebirds, and I'm reminded of a guy I knew, he would ride his bike around town with his lil lovebird right there on his shoulder.

reply to post by IntastellaBurst


It took a few months to get her to stay in the crate, now she just sits there and enjoys the ride.

I circled alot of parking lots getting her accustomed to sitting in the crate. I also have a big bike with air shocks so there is hardly any bouncing.

I might upload a pic my wife took when her and a friend followed us a few weeks ago to a local rally.

thanks to all who replied...

We had to give our dog away (to a good home), after i lost my job, because it was just too expensive.

I like pets, but to put them above a human being, i'm not sure about that, but if it makes other people feel good thats ok too.

I wasn't quite sure if this post was going to be interesting for others, as its only my 5th post.

I appreciate all of you that read this....