The PAOs Maintenance: October 2012

Ongoing efforts to keep track on the PAOs' expenses, so that I have a rough idea the amount I spent, and what to expect in coming months.

Monthly Average for the PAOs' expenses as per October 2012:
Food: RM81
Treats: RM2
Veterinary and Medical: RM35
Accessories and Miscellany: N/A

TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENSES: RM 118.00

I've manage to keep the food expenses within two- digit without cutting corners. I still have one third of the Acana Lamb bought from previous month, and usually these kibbles are only fed when I'm out of town ( my younger brother sucks in preparing fresh food), or as once in a while meal for the PAOs. I'm trying to stick to either raw feeding, or at least home-cooked meals for the PAOs, mainly because I just don't believe in feeding processed food for the long run ( not that I don't trust the quality, but that just doesn't feel right, or natural).

Home-cooked stew for the PAOs.

For October, I manage to get quite a good deal when I was back in hometown ( which is a 2.5 hours drive away). Food stuff bought as usual, but with price slashed, I suppose the idea of raw feeding never make any sense to the small town folks, so these fresh, raw food from farmers' market are considered junks. Manage to get almost 1Kg of fresh chicken necks at RM2 only, some frozen beef lungs at RM4. Other stuffs which I bought includes pork tongue with trachea intact at RM3 each ( which I bought 5, including a free pork heart) and a pork knuckle for Dao Sah Pao to gnaw ( I've to avoid giving Teh Pao any bones for the moment with her tooth incident, which I will blog about the repair part some other day).

Raw, unprocessed cow's stomach..

The only "expensive" stuff I got from last month is the freshly slaughtered, sold on spot beef stomach which cost RM21 for 1.5Kg ( it is GREENISH!! and it STINKS!!), lungs+ trachea cost around RM15 for 1Kg, which cost a wee bit higher than the frozen lungs sold in supermarket, but I think it is worth the try. How often do I get to buy ( and witness) a freshly slaughtered ( well, technically, I witness the entire slaughtering process) animal parts? I didn't buy any beef though, was quite expensive for my budget, so I resort to getting chilled Australian beef slices from local supermarket at RM8 which cost around three quarter of the price asked by the butcher. Other stuff bought from supermarket includes potatoes, some green leaves and the must-have carrots.

 

October been very kind to my wallet, and I'm grateful the PAOs did not refuse their food. Teh Pao had her broken tooth fixed, but I've yet to receive the vet bill, so I do foresee November is going to by costly.