Pet owners spend average ¥300,000 for dog, ¥160,000 for cat a year

I don't even spend more than USD200 a year to all my four-legged friends

Basic pet food is cheap, but the prices they stick on the import stuff are ridiculous, and some vets really charge a fortune. I regret none of the money i have spent on my indoor and outdoor animals.

Actually its only about 25,000 yen a month, not that much

Well, we spend roughly 5,000 per month on vet checkups, that's for ringworm meds, and a topical medication for ticks and fleas, as he is outside quite a bit, and they are quite common here in Okinawa.

Maybe 10,000 or so for food, as we make his food daily, chicken, rice, carrots, egg, and spinach, sometimes cheese, or cooked salmon.

But we dont care! He's part of the family!

how much of that is spent on clothes for the pets?

People put insurance on their pets? For what??? I don't think I've ever spent for than $75. And that's when I took the dog for vaccines and stuff. I've had more than 10 dogs.

I've never really counted the cost, but a quick look at past kakeibo tells me I spend an average of ￥330,000 a year on two dogs, a cat and three fish tanks.

That includes food for everybody (it's cheaper if you have a regular monthly order from Amazon), treats, inoculations, vet fees and the pet hotel when we go away for our holidays. And Christmas presents.

I don't dress any of the animals (though the Dobie has a paw-me-down down jacket for walks on very cold winter days) so nothing spent on clothing. Also the cat uses the human toilet so the only outlay for kitty litter is one bag a year for when she goes to the pet hotel.

Basic pet food is cheap, but the prices they stick on the import stuff are ridiculous

I agree to some degree, but whether it's domestic or imported, read the labels on the cheap stuff; I refuse to give my critters anything that contains a vague 'meat, etc.' - that could be anything from offal to whale to roadkill. I want to know what I'm feeding them.

People put insurance on their pets? For what???

Same as they put insurance on themselves, to cover unexpected medical bills.

It isn't all expense, though.

The Shiba donates copious amounts of fur from his daily brushings that I stuff into little nets and distribute around the allotment for the doggy smell to deter wild critters; water changes from the fish tank provide a nice gentle liquid organic fertiliser for the garden and house plants, with an extra boost when the filter gets cleaned.

Amid all of the other more important things to report, somehow this made the list? Must be a slow week.