4 affordable gifts to get for your pet this holiday season

For every pet lover out there, the holidays are quickly approaching which means it’s time to start thinking about gift ideas for your pets. With all of the different toys and accessories available, it may be hard to find a useful gift that also fits your budget.

To help you, we created a list of functional and affordable gifts (most are under $30) to get your companion for this holiday season.

1. Tornado interactive puzzle feeder for your dog

If you are in need of a very hands off way to keep your dog occupied, consider purchasing a puzzle toy. Essentially, with a toy like this, you simply hide a treat within one of the toy’s chambers.

Once your dog smells the treat they’ll begin to paw at the toy, opening up its various compartments. When they find the correct chamber, they’ll be rewarded with a treat.

After they find the treat, you can just simply reload the toy, making it a gift that keeps on giving. An additional benefit to purchasing a gift like this is it also helps your dog practice slower eating behaviours, which will help improve their digestion.

2. Running wheel/ball for your hamster

Hamsters can run around 5 to 6 miles per day so making sure they have the proper equipment to run is very important. Purchasing a running wheel can help ensure your hamsters are maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Not only that but once you place the wheel in their cage, there is no upkeep necessary. Your hamster can freely choose to run whenever they please, which will help satisfy their natural desire to run.

Product	Price
New Age Silent Hamster Wheel	$7.90
Carno Running Wheel	$18.90
Fuwen Hamster Jogging Sports Wheel	$13.80

3. Self groomer for your cat

A very useful gift that you can consider getting your cat is a self grooming comb. Believe it or not, cats can spend up to 5 hours per day grooming themselves . This frequent grooming leads your cat to develop hairballs, which can cause serious health issues.

One standout benefit to this toy is that it will help reduce the amount of hairballs that your cat has. With this comb, your cat can satisfy their desire to groom while avoiding the health risks associated with hairballs.

What makes this type of gift even better is that it is totally hands-off. Once you mount the toy to a wall or some other surface, your cat can groom themselves as they please without your assistance.

Product	Price
TPE071 Cat Self Groomer	S$6.00
Corner Cat Massage Self Groomer	S$4.55
LgpennyCat Pet Self Groomer	S$5.48

4. Foraging box for your pet bird

A great gift idea if you have a pet bird is a foraging toy. Birds have a natural desire to forage food and materials, so a toy that allows them to scavenge materials helps satisfy their natural instincts. All you need to do is open the toy and fill it with materials like twigs, string, nuts etc.

Once it’s filled, you can place the toy in their cage and watch them start foraging. Once they use all of the materials in the box, you can easily refill it in no time at all.

Product	Price
Parrot Feeding Box	$7.19
Parrot Ball Toy Feeder	$8.56
Newdv2 Parrot Ball Feeder	$5.40

How to save on pet costs

Regardless of what kind of pet you have, owning one can be quite expensive. In fact, some pets, like cats and dogs, can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 over 10 years.

While it's easier to save money on things like toys and accessories, other expenses like medical bills are unavoidable and usually come at a high cost. So, if you are looking to save some money on things like surgery or treatments for accidental injury for your pet, consider purchasing pet insurance.

Some pet insurance policies cost as little as $74.90 per year, so they are not only affordable, but they can also help you avoid many of the larger bills that come with owning a pet.

This article was first published in ValueChampion.