That’s the thing, paying the adoption fee is waaaaaay cheaper than any other option. The animal will have had all of the veterinary care that is appropriate up to the age of adoption, and anything that is due in the near future, they frequently will have a certificate for getting that done basically at cost from a specified list of vets. They also usually come with great coupons, and frequently samples to get you started. The value of the vet care when you get it is going to be at least twice as much as the adoption fee, because it’s heavily subsidized. And that’s not including all of the post-adoption coupons, since both vets and pet care companies want to get new pet owners using their services