Many people, mostly kids, are looking for free, or cheap pets. While free pets are in fact fairly easy to find, they often cost more in the long run, or suffer neglect due to their needs not being met by a person on a tight income.

Free Puppies, Free Kittens

You will often see ads in the newspaper, or on bulletin boards, offering free kittens, or free puppies. The problem with taking these animals is that they rarely (if ever) come already vaccinated, dewormed, or checked by a veterinarian. The pet may have ear mites, parvo, or a heart defect. It could require medical care, or drop dead in three months as the result of a problem that was not addressed, or known.

Taking free kittens, or free puppies is very risky. Farm kittens in particular are often loaded with worms.  They all should be seen by a veterinarian within three days (checked, vaccinated, dewormed), they should be spayed or neutered within a year. Failure to provide veterinarian care for an animal that is suffering is a criminal offense in many areas – known as neglect, therefore a person who cannot afford to pay for a pet should think very hard about taking a free one – since it may come with huge veterinarian bills.

Free Dogs, Free Cats

Taking a free dog, or a free cat, can be a different matter altogether, and can be a great way of getting a good pet for cheap – provided it has been seen by a veterinarian, comes with papers that indicate it is up to date on its vaccinations, and is already spayed or neutered. If these are not covered, the pet may be a high expense.

Adoption from an Animal Shelter

One of the cheapest ways to get a pet is to adopt from an animal shelter. Animal shelters are non-profit. They have a veterinarian check many animals at the same time, and as such often save on the cost of vaccinations, and deworming. They adopt the pets out typically at less than it would cost for a person who got a “Free Pet” and took it to the veterinarian themselves, plus the shelters offer a health guarantee and will pay for any medical problems that arise usually in the first week or two.

Animal shelters do not just have cats and dogs for adoption, they may have any kind of pet, hamsters, birds, rabbits, and other exotic pets.  Some shelters even have horses for adoption.  Some shelter pets even come with a free cage, food, or supplies. This is particularly true of smaller caged pets, such as hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Shelter pets often come with bonus coupons and savings offers. 

As such we see that adoption from a animal shelter, or pet rescue, is a terrific way to get a pet at a low cost.

Keeping a Stray Pet

You might think that finding a pet is a good way of getting a free pet, but in many places this is illegal and considered theft.  If you find a pet - one that is not on private property - you can take it into your home but you must report finding it to the local animal shelter and check it for identification.  You must take an action to find its proper owner.  Should the original owner find you with their pet you can prove that reported finding only if you called the animal shelter and filed a FOUND PET report - which would protect you from being charged with theft.

Warning about Paying For Pets

Never pay for a pet that has not been seen by a veterinarian, been vaccinated, dewormed, - or come with some sort of health guarantees.

Get everything in writing.

Never pay for a pet that is being sold at a flea market or out of the back of a truck in a parking lot – these are unscrupulous sellers and when you buy pets from these people you may just be buying a sick pet, plus you contribute to unethical practices, and may not be able to find the seller if there is a serious problem – in short you are getting ripped off and support a cruel industry when you buy pets from these people.

Never buy pets from filthy homes where they clearly are not looking after the pet – accepting it for free is fine if you are able to pay for the veterinarian expenses that the pet may require – otherwise call your local shelter and report the seller. Again NEVER pay a cent for a pet kept in cruel situations – you only reward the seller when you do.

Registration does not mean "Quality", it only means the animals parents were known and also registered.

Beware that a good seller will not sell a pet to a child or anyone under the age of 18. 

Finally - Be sure you can financially provide for a pet for its lifetime - this includes paying for food, veterinarian care (spaying or neutering), training, toys, and so forth.

Further Reading

Low Cost Spay and Neuter Options

Can I Claim my Pet on my Taxes

Top Five Cheap and Easy Pets