How much does it cost to keep a cat?

A question about : How much does it cost to keep a cat?

We are thinking of getting a Kitten/Cat and I wondered if all you cat lovers out there could give me the in's and out's of Insurance, Worming Tablets, Vet Bills, Flea Collars etc etc etc

Thanks in Advance

Rachel

Best answers:

• Rach:
  We have 2 cats, older ladies at the age of 9.
  In total here is what we spend:
  Ј20 a month on cat litter (we have indoor cats, obviously outdoor cats use much less)
  Ј30 on cat food, we get Science Plan biscuits which are expensive and also buy pouches from Tesco (whatever is on special offer and use the discount codes from this board via tesco.com)
  Cat insurance is generally between Ј6 - Ј14pm depending on the age and breed of cat.
  Worming tablets/flea treatments are normally only Ј5-Ј10 every 3 months.
  So on average for our two cats, we spend Ј70pm.
  I reckon a budget of around Ј40 a month should be sufficient.
• Zincoxide....
  Have you tried using wood pellet cat litter....we have 2 x indoor cats and we use a bag every 5-7 weeks and it costs us Ј9.99 a bag....works out at a big saving over the year and also the smell is better and it is easier to clean and tidy out.....we moved our giys from normal cat litter to this stuff and they love it!!
  Also...indoor cats only need to be wormed twice a year which should save you some cash (provided that they dont have contact with outdoor animals)....and I find that as my 2 never go out they havent had to be deflea'd since they had an intial course of frontline as Kittens.......(again they dont have any contact with outdoor animals).....
  I still get their yearly innox done as you can never be sure that they wont escape!!
  Rach...I agree with Zinc Oxide...cost will vary depending on how often you treat them....what you feed them and if they are indoor or outdoor....but the cost is well worth it...
  Try and get a cat/kitten from a rescue centre as there are so many unwanted animals out there (especially older cats who need that little extra care and love from an owner)!!
  Good Luck.......
• Cost me a about Ј3-Ј4 at most a week for our cat, it could be cheaper if I bought cat meat in tins than the plastic pouches.
  I buy bogof tuna at Morrions and he loves that so when I give him that he doesnt have the plastic pouche meat.
  Also I pay to get him an injection per annum, cant remember how much eactly probably around Ј25 for cat flue and other things, and he goes into cattery once a year and thats about Ј3 per day for 7-8 days.
• I've got three cats whom I adore and who are very spoilt. I buy 24 can of Whiskas from Makro which costs me about a tenner every fortnight. I also buy a 3kg bag of Iams every couple of weeks. Doesn't seem to work out to cost very much on the actual cat food. I also feed them prawns (frozen so cheaper) and Nash the kitten loves roast beef so I buy him 100g every time I go to the supermarket. It's his treat
  Nash is insured with Marks & Spencers insurance at a cost of Ј65 for the year (no excess)
  Injections once a year cost about Ј50 per cat. Varies from vet to vet.
  I buy 'spot-on' de-flea stuff from vets, that's expensive at Ј13 for 3 vials.
  To be honest with you, looking after a cat or several like I do, doesn't cost very much at all really. They adore scraps from your dinner so their diet can be supplemented quite cheaply. I buy prawns when they are on 'buy one, get one free' etc...keeps the cost down. But I love my cats so much I would go out cleaning if ever I needed to to feed them etc.
  Cats give so much love, hope you enjoy being a cat owner should you decide to proceed. Give the Cats Protection League a try, I got my little Nash as a kitten from a rescue centre and he is gorgeous, intelligent, loving, inquisitive etc...I couldn't wish for a more adorable little kitten Edit: strike the word 'little' LOL he's actually almost 8 months old now and quite big, he eats so much lol
• Our cat is a domestic shorthaired and he's 14 years old. He also has the run of the house and he has a cat flap so he can come in and out as he pleases. I spend about Ј3.50 - Ј4 a week on cat food. Sainsburys and Lidls own brand costs 34p a tin but my cat prefers Whiskers or Felix at about 50p a tin. In summer we buy biscuits which are about 90p per small box. We've tried buying the bigger boxes but I think the biscuits go stale before he has finished the box and he won't touch them. We spend about Ј5 a month on flea treatment. We buy Frontline from the vet - it's the only one we have found that works and its so easy to apply - just a small amount of liquid on the neck. We only worm him if he goes hunting. They were about Ј3.50 from the vet - again we found they were the only ones that worked. Worming tablets only kill the worms in the system they are not a preventative measure so we used to get through about 3 tablets a month when he was younger and hunted on a daily basis. I recommend insurance as our cat was run over twice (2nd time on Christmas Day) and the vet bill came to about Ј700 in total. That was 12 years ago - so it would probably be much higher now. He presently needs a tooth out and that will come to just over Ј100. He also has an annual check up and innoculations that come to about Ј40-Ј50. He also gets through about 3 reflective collars a year at about Ј3 each. When we first got our cat we bought food and water bowls, cat basket, cat flap and litter tray and litter. We also bought toys and scratching post but these are optional. Despite the cost we get alot of pleasure and companionship from our cat. He's part of the family and we love him to bits.
• I love cats. I had an adopted stray for a few years. He adopted me. Dead now, was sad that.
• My cat is probably one of the cheapest around and thats not because I am a miser, its because she likes cheap stuff (yup - she's a bit crazy - I offer the most expensive foods and she turns her nose up, but gets all excited over a box of go-cat). She will only eat dry food (leaves wet foods untouched to go off) and will only have value litter (she must like the scratchiness??) from tesco. Ive tried special treats, cat milk etc and still she ignores them in favour of dry biscuits and water (I do buy bottled though as I feel she needs some luxury!) Ive tried everything expensive to no avail!
  Her insurance is through marks and spencer at Ј4.93 per month, costs about Ј5.00 a month in food and about Ј3.00 in litter. Flea spray and 6 vials of the stuff from the vets is around Ј40 for 6 months supply, and her annual jabs is Ј25. She doesnt like the toys I buy, prefering the corks from wine bottles, paper balls and sticks, but also likes the free mouse from felix pouch people (but didnt like the one I bought for her).
  In all, a wierdly cheap cat, and the vet says she is in perfect health so we must be doing something right!
  Jo xx
  I forgot to mention that as my cat is so cheap, I make a donation to the cats protection league every month so I technically spend more on cats per month than I originally thought!
• My 3 cats on average cost me Ј40 a month to feed because of their special diets (they will only eat purina gourmet gold). Cat litter for 3 house cats sets me back on average Ј10.00 per month I've found tesco value litter to be the most cost effective and ameniable to the felines. On top of that vet's bills well 2 of mine have existing conditions which are uninsurable, but as luck would have it Mum is a vet nurse so medication and operations for me are at cost price, but for a dental extraction on my Tom i was quoted Ј330.00 price paid Ј80.00. Please only insure your puss with Marks and Spencers as they are the best they have never turned down a claim made by my Mum on behalf of clients. As she says they are the best, I suppose to de-flea and de-worm my kitts it normally averages about Ј10.00 per month on the 3. Cats are a lovely pet to keep I would be lost without mine, If your in the Essex, Suffolk area please PM me as my Mum is a fosterer for loads of charities as am I, if you've got any further queries again PM me as I'm sure if I can't answer it good old Mum will do.
• I spend roughly Ј4 or Ј5 per week on food (Go Cat and Whiskas pouches) and cat litter (Catsan).
  One cost you may want to bear in mind is neutering. It cost me Ј50 pounds for my cat. If you home your cat from a rescue centre they will have done this, but will look for a donation from you. I don't have insurance, but put away money per month until I had built up a vet bill fund.
• We have 7 cats, who get through 6 tins of Whiskas a day between them = Ј85/month from Costco. We won't give them dried food since one nearly died last year with a blocked bladder thanks to Iams.
  Insurance from Direct Line is Ј38/month for the lot, and they've always been brilliant - every time we've needed to claim they've settled directly with our vet, and they don't stop the cover once the cat reaches a certain age. Injections for them all once a year = actually I'm not sure, Ј300ish (Ј40 each)? Our insurance won't cover any dental treatment so we put aside money to cover that; had to pay Ј250 for one of them last year for gum disease and manky tooth removal.
  Frontline is expensive in the summer for them all (Ј20-30/month total), but not in the winter. Deworming doesn't cost much at all.
  We don't use collars on any of our cats as they're all outdoor cats and I'd hate for them to get them caught somewhere and strangle themselves. We also don't have a litter tray (cat flap instead) so obviously don't have to pay for that.
  I would endorse always neutering a cat; if you get a rescue cat, they're often already neutered, vaccinated, dewormed etc. If you can avoid it, don't get one from a pet shop; it only encourages the breeders and the kittens are often ill. We rescued a tiny ginger kitten from a pet shop a few years back and he died at 10 weeks Our no. 5 is from a pet shop (again, couldn't bear to leave her there) but she is traumatised and a very nervous cat thanks to her experiences there.
• I'd agree with all the posters who recommened you get a cat from a rescue centre. Ours came from the RSPCA and she's fab. She eats half a tin of cat food a day and we go through a large bag of dry stuff (Asda's best!) about every 2/3 months. She goes to the vets once a year for injections, worming etc and that costs about Ј40. She hates using the litter tray so we havent the cost for that and we wont allow her to eat our dinner scraps (good way to lose the food you have prepared for dinner that way). I'd guess unless you are getting an old cat they can be as expensive as you want them to be. Get one and enjoy.
• Thanks for all the replies they have been very helpful.
  We have decided to wait until our Youngest is 2 years old in August - then he is old enough to understand what a cat is and what he can and cannot do.
  Thanks again....I will take all into consideration.
  Rachel
• hi rach,,it costs a heart to keep a cat, cos you definately lose yours to it.
  lots of luck!
  xx
• Go to this link to get Ј5 off Dr Hill's cat food.... It's supposed to be one of the best...... my kitten loves it!
  https://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/_ref...oInstore_12395
• By mistake bought a 'sausage' of dog food instead of regular cat food. Bubbles loves it.29p from Lidl. Should last the week.
• My cat came from the Blue Cross 3 years ago and cost Ј40. Annual jabs/wormer/MOT is Ј40ish, Ј10 a month for food, Hills (he's sick on anything else!)
• There is lots of fabulous advice in this thread. I'd like to add a few of my thoughts though.
  Some people have mentioned collars - and it's true that lots of people do like their cat to wear one, if only for the bell which scares the birds away when they are about to be jumped on. Personally I am against collars, even those which have a piece of elastic, or which are designed to come apart should kitty get caught by it. The most useful thing to do is have kitty injected with a microchip. Most vets these days have these available. They are a one time spend, about Ј15. The advantage is that if kitty is separated from you for any reason then cat rescue centres and vets can scan the animal and send the number from the pet to the identichip database holders to track you down. This is so much more peace of mind than a collar. A friend of mine used to complain that kids stole her pet's collars, even those which had a tag with her number on, so that's worth bearing in mind too.
  The other thing I would recommend wholeheartedly to you is to not feed tinned cat food. It does terrible things to cats' teeth. I had to have my now departed kitties go through several operations to have teeth removed just because of the food I gave them. The best thing is a good quality dry cat food. Iams have a bit of bad reputation lingering, but Hill's Science food is very good. It seems expensive - my current two beasties eat it - they love it, they are in perfect health with perfect teeth. They are the correct weight for their ages and they don't eat very much of it, so it lasts a long time, works out about 30p per day per cat. I keep it in a great big tupperware box which I got from Dunelm Mills for Ј2.50 so it doesn't go stale. Occasionally they get fresh meat (raw or cooked), and sometimes fish eg tinned tuna or sardines in water - but never ever wet cat food...it is vile what it does to their teeth in the long run. And they only ever get tap water to drink.
  Perhaps, if you think you will definitely get a cat, you could put a "wanted" note on Freecycle for a cat carry box (essential for vet trips), an unneeded scratch post, dishes and so on. That should save you a few pounds if you get some of the necessary bits before August - www.freecycle.org. Argos is one of the cheapest places around for pet hardware if you prefer brand new.
  I love my cats so much. "Love me love my cats" - I could never be without them, they are wonderful. You'll enjoy being a kitty mom.
• my cat salem is an indoor cat - he is sooo fussy but lovely....he has his own bedroom with full mod cons;- enclosed toilet/bed/dishes/toys/climbing post/scratch post....
  he only eats whiskas dry tuna variety and every 3rd day he gets a treat of tuna imperial by hi-life....loves it.....he wont drink milk but loves water and loves to play in water and splash you with it lol.....
  i worm him twice a year with him being an indoor cat - use bob martins at Ј5 a box for 2 doses.....he uses flea shampoo - bob martens that lasts forever as he only gets a bath twice a year (if he doesnt need it lol)....
  the joy cats bring are enormous but also watch out as they are very unpredictable like dogs they too can bite and scratch so watch your tot doesnt treat him/her rough - teach them to love him but be gentle with him - i hate to see how rough some kids are with animals and their parents dont teach them.....
  enjoy
• Do not forget the cost of your cat to the environment
  Cats are protected perdators - they kill millions of birds, amphibians, mammals and insects every week in the UK.
  Cat litter helps to fill land fill sites.
  Rach - put some bird feeders, nesting/insect boxes up in your garden, or window - encourage wildlife into your garden, let your lil one enjoy the natural world, not a barren lifeless one - destroyed by an alien hunter.