There's no doubt that household pets have engineered a silent revolution which has seen them move into the category of privileged members of society. Gone are the days when the humble mutt lived on scraps and only saw the inside of the house through a chink in the curtains. Nowadays pet owners will go to considerable expense to see to the well-being and comfort of their animals.
Nor is there any end to what you can buy your pet - if you put your mind to it.
By far the cheapest possible pet to start off with is probably the one with the least personality, the goldfish. For a modest outlay of 95p you can own one of these silent companions and it's up to you how extravagant the habitat will be. A ready-made small tank can be picked up in a pet shop for £11.95. The fish food costs from £1.49 to £1.75 in supermarkets and pet shops and you don't have to vary the diet.
At the other end of the fish scale are the tropical varieties and one of the more expensive types is the Discus, which retails at around £40. A medium-sized heated tropical fish tank costs about £130.
Before any spending, there are the health-related basics, which are essential to give the pet a good start in life. Kittens, puppies and rabbits need to be vaccinated while they are still quite young. Kittens should receive two injections at a cost of £15 each and pups need three injections at £18 each. Both also need wormers, which cost £6.50. Then there's flea treatment (£3-£4 a month), a yearly booster injection (£20) and possibly the cost of neutering the animal.
Because of their size, dogs are more expensive to have neutered with males generally costing £55 to £75 and females costing £55 to £60.
Older animals may develop health problems and when there is a great bond between the owner and the pet, many people are prepared to pay for extras to ensure their pet's longevity.
Mr Christine Dalton from Rathfarnham in Dublin recently spent £65 on her dog Benji, having his teeth cleaned and claws trimmed. "A trip to the vet usually works out about the same as a trip to a GP," she says.
It is possible to take out health insurance cover for your pet and a British company Pet Plan offers policies to pet owners here. Its premiums range from £3.75 per month for a non-pedigree cat to £8.25 for pedigree dogs.
Some pets are much lower maintenance than our four-legged friends simply because of their size. Canaries and budgies are available from £11.50 to £15 at Bray Pet Shop and cages range in price from £20 to £35. Toys and food are inexpensive - £1.45 for 500g of canary food in supermarkets.
According to Mr Eugene Skerrett of Sign of the Dove pet shop in Drimnagh in Dublin, parrots are becoming increasingly popular. "There's a huge demand for hand reared parrots," Mr Skerrett says. There are hundreds of varieties of parrot and they cost from £500 up to £10,000 for the rare birds.
Rabbits are always a favourite with children and they are a low-cost pet. Dwarf and lop-eared rabbits are more expensive to buy at £16 to £18, but more mundane varieties cost roughly the same as guinea pigs, only £5 or £6 in a pet shop.
If there isn't a carpenter in the family, a ready-made hutch can cost anything from £25 to £50.
Having a pet is an ongoing responsibility and it can be a headache to find someone to take care of your animal when you are away from home. Many people avail of kennels and are prepared to pay for good facilities. The Moors Boarding Kennels in Kilternan in Dublin charges £7 per day to take in a dog. That would work at a little under £100 for care during a two-week holiday.
Of all household pets, cats and dogs are the most common and consume the most food. An average sized dog will consume at least a tin of dog food a day and perhaps dry food on top of that. Depending on the brand, this could cost as much as £7 per week or a little as £3.
Cat food costs are similar to dog food at 40p to 60p for tins and a bit more for the luxury brands.
Cats have another thing going for them over their canine equivalents - they groom themselves. Long-haired dog breeds can be a real hassle to keep untangled. Ms Ann Higgins of Canine Cuts in Ballyfermot in Dublin says people pay more attention to grooming these days and she has plenty of mongrels on her books. "Dogs should be groomed every three to four months and it costs from £15 to £25 depending on the size of the dog," Ms Higgins said.
Dog and cat owners will ultimately have to consider what happens to their pets when they die? Many end up interred in the owners' gardens but another option is the Cranmore Pet Crematorium in Co Down. There is no similar service in the Republic yet but there is a pet cemetery in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. The price of a plot for a beloved pet varies from £50 to £60 for cats to £100£130 for dogs in Kilmolin Pet Cemetery.
With Christmas in sight, some pet owners will be wondering about how to find that perfect gift for their special pet. There are always treats and trinkets that can be picked up year-round in pet shops and supermarkets and at the moment many pet stores like Bray Pet Shop have Christmas stockings for pets. Look out for the hamster and gerbil Christmas stocking (£2.50).
For a bigger gift it's worth browsing through some US Internet sites for a taste of the future of pet marketing. www.petstore.com is loaded with luxury pet accessories and pet care kits. While you're at it, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by picking up a virtual pet at www.virtualpuppy.com or www.petfish.com.
