Cost of a pet (cat)?

[pbjmama]

My children love animals and I would like to get them a cat later this year. I found that the ASPCA estimates cats cost $670 a year and $365 initial cost (spay/initial meds, etc). Do you think this is approx accurate? I think I can do it a little cheaper, I don't need or even know what a carrier bag is...how about pet insurance?

Anything else I need to take into account?

[sanguine_speed]

I'm not sure about pet insurance, but I wish I'd looked into it sooner. We're looking at a few thousand dollars in medical costs for our 8-year-old cat right now. There is definitely a lot to be said for being financially prepared for even a cat.

[earthmama369]

We've done it cheaper, but I've found it really just depends on how healthy the cat is. A couple years we've had really high vets bills ($2,000-$3,000) because of injury or illness. Most years we've only had the $100-$200 vet bills for vaxes and check-ups. Food (and litter, if you use it) is pretty much a fixed cost, so you can figure out about how much that will be by going to the store and checking out prices there. I find that our cats are healthier when I use cat food that doesn't have any by-products in the ingredients. The food is a bit more expensive, but overall our costs are lower because the cat is healthier.

[enkmom]

Our cats came already neutered and with their shots from the Humane Society at a cost of $70, and even that fee is waived during special adoption months. Our Humane Society also offers free/$10 neutering to help control the population. We spend about $300/year on medical expenses (for 2 cats), and I have never broken down the cost of food/litter, but it isn't that much. My mom takes her cats to the groomer to have their nails trimmed, and her last cat had to have dental surgery, so there are a few more things to consider. I don't know anything about pet insurance, but our vet offers a payment plan for services costing over $500.

[EFmom]

I agree, it depends on how healthy the cat turns out to be. We got one in November who was listed as healthy and who had vet records. We've spent over a thousand dollars on his vet bills. He had dental problems, needed worming and a few other things.

[2xy]

I can honestly say that I've never paid any serious attention to how much my pets cost unless someone gets sick. Right now I have three cats. The youngest is 8 months old and I got him from a family who was giving away kittens on Craigslist, so he didn't cost anything in the way of an "adoption" fee. I took him to the vet immediately for a mini-checkup and worming, which was about $40. I got him neutered and a rabies shot with the mobile spay/neuter program, and that was $75. I declined the leukemia and distemper shots, because my cats are all indoor-only and I don't think those vaccines are necessary. Honestly, I only get the rabies shot because it's the law and also because nobody will spay/neuter without it.

I don't compromise on quality cat food and buy all-natural litter, so it can add up. I think we spend about $100/month on food and litter. I bought an awesome cat tree on Amazon.com for $99 plus shipping. I buy toys and scratch boxes periodically.

My 14yo cat is a heartworm survivor and takes Prednisone twice a week to keep inflammation at bay. It's about $50 for the prescription, but it lasts for a few months.

I just want to say that yes, you do need a cat carrier for vet appointments. Animals are usually required to be crated or leashed at the vet's office. I recommend a hard carrier rather than a carrier bag, though. Some animals get upset and anxious about being away from home and make messes in their carriers. The hard carriers are easier to clean, and they also protect the cat in case of an auto accident. A small crate is probably around $30, or you might find one at a yard sale, thrift shop, or Craigslist.

We don't do pet insurance.

[2cutiekitties]

I think it really depends on the cat. But that sounds pretty right on for me. I wouldnt get a cat if you really couldnt afford it, or couldnt afford a vet bill that might come up. Cats should be enjoyable and not something to stress over.

Right now I have two female cats, one is just a sweetie who doesnt eat much and the other is a scroungehound but she is tiny. When I had my boy cat, I was filling up the bowl every single day, now I could go a few days. One likes a little tuna here and there, the other will eat off our plates. Neither like canned food or bought treaties. So my food costs...I buy Evo, which is high end. If you buy the cheap crap, expect the high vet bills, imo.
big bag every 2 months...$43

Litter. Ugh I can't stand the cheap stuff. It is disgusting. It is hard to clean up, gets all over the house. I do a half and half mix of purina in the plastic container, which sadly they made smell like perfume, and feline pine, the clumping kind. The plastic one is $7.99 and the feline pine is $11.99. I would say my minimum is 2 plastics and a feline....about $28 a month.

Health... my females seem really healthy. One I just got, so I dont know about her, but the other I have had for ten years and she has good strong constitution. My boy cat (passed) had a weak immune system so he required more care. I dont vax them so we just do vet trips when they need to come up. I would say over the last ten years the medical bills have been under $1200 for all the cats I have owned. It did cost 250 to have the boy cat cremated and I never had to get anyone spayed/neutered. I have been very lucky vet bill wise.

My big expense is the fluff, because it is fun to buy them stuff. Cat towers, ped beds, toys, carriers. But once you have it then you are set. Do remember cats need stimulation - they get bored and you dont want a crazy cat doing naughty things!

[jeteaa]

In some ways pets can be more expensive then kids. My cat fell from a tree last year and with the multiple trips to the Vet, medications, and finally having to put him down the financial cost was over $1000 and the emotional cost was huge. If you get a pet, have a plan as to how much you would spend on medical and STICK TO IT. When you are at the vet, and they are looking into your eyes "recommending" all these very expensive surgeries.... its very hard to make the decision to euthanize your pet.

[bender]

If you have them indoor, they should remain healthier. We've had our cats indoor-only, and they've had fewer health problems then the cats we had growing up. And the health problems I've seen have been age-related problems....hyperthyroidism, kidney failure, cancers, liver failure. A lot of it, you can't do too much to solve without a ton of interventions that may not increase the quality of life.

I did a reverse calculation for pet insurance on our recently deceased cat, and I think the premiums would have just barely equalled her costs, even with a $1000 bill thrown in. We've decided that instead of doing the pet insurance, we're just going to put the money away each month in a separate savings account.

BTW, if you like Feline Pine, you can use wood stove pellets much cheaper. Our cats had no issue switching to them.

[catnip]

My 19-year old cat runs me about $40 a month on medications, with on average a $100 vet bill every 2 months, so about $1000 a year. My other 3 cats don't tend to run up the bills so bad. Food and litter for all 4 is about $60 a month, so all told, I average about $1800 a year for 4 cats. All of mine are long since altered, and I do not do vaccine boosters at the advice of my vet, just the initial kitten series.

Keeping your cats indoors keeps the short term medical bills down a lot, though in my experience, outdoor cats haven't survived long enough to need the long term elder care that my indoor cats need (arthritis and endocrine meds, for example). But you don't get nearly so many acute injuries and illnesses in the younger years.

[Mama2Bug]

Originally Posted by bender

BTW, if you like Feline Pine, you can use wood stove pellets much cheaper. Our cats had no issue switching to them.

I'm very interested in trying this. Do the wood stove pellets break down into sawdust just like Feline Pine? What about odor? And where do you buy them?

[mum4boys]

Feline pine and wood pellet fuel is exactly the same except for the price. They just put it in a different bag when it is manufactured. Someone here turned me onto it last year. What a savings. My only problem is we did not stock up and in February our local store stopped carrying it. YIKES. It kills me to buy a 7 pound bag as the same cost as a 50 pound bag.

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by pbjmama

My children love animals and I would like to get them a cat later this year. I found that the ASPCA estimates cats cost $670 a year and $365 initial cost (spay/initial meds, etc). Do you think this is approx accurate? I think I can do it a little cheaper, I don't need or even know what a carrier bag is...how about pet insurance?

Anything else I need to take into account?

That sounds about right. We have dogs but I am constantly in the 'pet' aisle or Petsmart. The vet we use has an annual plan where we pay monthly and all appts are covered for that one fee. The vet we use is at Petsmart. We use tons of coupons for food and treats, they have coupons for litter and such as well. We have a crate and yes for cats you want a crate to transport them. For a cat you want a scratch post or kitty condo type thing. IMO there is 'cheaper' and then there is 'right'. With animals you really dont want to do 'cheaper'. For example cheaper food leads to tummy troubles and poopies Yuck!


Then again we currently have a Bernese Mtn Dog puppy who is pushing 80 lbs and eats like there is no tomorrow. Thank goodness she is our roommates and I dont have to buy the food. So when I say "we" above I am referring to what I see my roommate doing.

I can tell you so far in the past 7 mos the puppy has experienced 'kennel cough', and a torn toe nail in addition to regular vet visits. If she didnt have the vet plan these would have cost $150-$300 with meds. The vet insurance or payment plan is well worth it IMO.

[2cutiekitties]

Originally Posted by bender

BTW, if you like Feline Pine, you can use wood stove pellets much cheaper. Our cats had no issue switching to them.

The pellets are the bomb, but definitely start them on it from the getgo, because after having my cats for 7 yrs, I brought that stuff home and OMG, my boy kitty held it in for days then unloaded on the laundry pile downstairs. He hated it.

That is why I do the mix of reg litter and the feline clumping. That way they get their precious litter and I get the feline pine to eliminate all the nasty odors!

[MsVyky]

I think we pay around that much.

Cat #1 was a craiglist kitty . She ended up having a litter of kittens (she escaped before her spay appointment, oops). This is where cat #2 came from. The spay for cat #1 cost about $300, and #2's neuter cost about $90.

Food costs us about $60/month, but we'll never feed Friskies/IAMS or any supermarket brand. They get canned Merrick wet food ($36.00/24 cans)- 1/2 can each per day, and Orijen kibble on top ($24/bag, lasts about a month and a bit). It's more up front to feed a 6-star food, but it saves us tonnes in the long run- we don't have urinary crystal issues or UTIs and we aren't shutting down their kidneys by feeding a biologically inappropriate feed- saving us thousands in vet bills long-term

(I can confidently say that poor quality food kills kitties slowly. We used to feed IAMS, and the difference in our cats health is night and day since the switch)

Litter runs us 30 odd dollars a month (We keep 3 boxes)

I buy the odd toy here and there, but they really aren't too interested. Their favourite things are free- a sheet of crumpled newspaper, a ribbon tied to a stick, twist ties, our daughter's toys- lol. The scratching post/cat tree we got for 50 dollars plus redeeming rewards points.

We have a soft sided carrier for both of them (they both fit inside with room to spare, cat #1 is only 5 lb, cat #2 is about 12 lb), it looks like a gym bag but is mesh on the sides- it was no more than 30 dollars.

We don't have pet insurance. with 2 dogs and 2 cats, it's not worth it. For the amount we'd pay, we can just put the money aside to use in case of emergency, and many pet insurance companies don't cover illness at all- just accidents and injuries.

That said we've had our share- DH used the dog's flea meds on the cats. BIG NONO. It poisoned their nervous systems. It cost us 800 at the emergency vet for them to give them a bath, some robaxacet (seriously) and watch them

And our dogs are walking accidents. (But that's neither here nor there )

[pbjmama]

This is great feedback, thank you! I now understand a cat carrier bag, I've seen those. I was thinking we would only need a crate, sounds like it is just preference.

[Magelet]

I'd say the yearly cost sounds about right, the start-up costs really vary.

We paid 50 dollars for our kitty from the humane sociaty. He came fully treated for his upper respiratory infection that he contracted at the pound (they got him from the pound), quarantined for ringworm, neutered, vaxed, and microchipped. And they gave us a coupon for a vet visit within about 5 days at one of several local vets, so that we could get him checked out. (and if he had a kennel illness within 7 days, we could take him back to the humane sociaty to treat him) + 10 bucks for a litter box, + 5 for a water bowl. 65 bucks. oh, and a scratching post (one of the cardboard incline ones), maybe 10 more dollars. we adopted another scratching post my mom wanted to get rid of, and he eats off a plate, and used furniture we already had to make a kitty perch. We've bought a few toys here and there, but not much.

However, I know that it is possible to adopt an apparently healthy kitty, and have him or her cost a huge amount in medical bills, my aunt adopted two apparently healthy cats and I think they paid 500-1000 getting them truely healthy those first months.

I'd guess that we probably pay... about 500-600 a year for food (he's raw fed.) hopefully we'll be pretty low with vet bills. He's an indoor kitty, the only pet in the household, so no flea, tick, or heartworm meds. No more vaxes (again, indoor solo cat household), he's short haired, so we can easily do his own grooming. Basically, food, litter, and if he gets sick, the inexpensive vet clinic. It's not that much.

We considered pet insurance, for an instant. It's too much money, they don't cover everything, and we're better off putting aside a little extra savings in case something happens. (we realize that we're dancing a dance with fate, as there is no way we could afford to pay a couple thousand in medical bills. But if DP doesn't have health insurance, it's a little crazy to get it for the cat. (we wouldn't anyways, after researching).)

Cat carrier wise, we got a cardboard carrier at the humane society. We mean to get a plastic sturdier one, and haven't yet. (we took him to his first vet visit in the cardboard one, no problem. It's a little beat up now from sitting around and getting played in by the cat though) It's really just for vet visits/emergency evacuation, but you do need one.

I don't think your missing anything.

[Peony]

It sounds right to me. I've had some years where I only had to buy litter and food, then other years where the vert bills where high. One of my cats had teeth issues last year so that was several hundred to sedation him and have the work done. We have also had massive ring worm issues from a kitten we got that required all the animals in the house to be treated and retreated, and then the humans as well. That was one pricy "free" kitten that looked very healthy. The bottom line is that you never know what to expect with animals!