How much would you say your cats costs you per month?

bengalsmum

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Hi, im from the UK so this might confuse me a little as most of you will be pricing in dollars, but i just wondered how much does your cats/cat cost you per month and what do you pay for per month.I currently have 2 cats, one whom im re-homing soon, because i find it too expensive to pay for, 2 sets of insurance, food, litter, de-worming, flea repellant, vets bills in general.I really dont know how some of you manage to have more than 2 cats.Were not poor but i only believe in having a pet if i can afford to care for it.
 

phenomsmom

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I have to girls. The vet bills haven't been a problem. I took the older one for her annual shots and it was about 80 dollars and the kitten was about 40 per visit for her first shots and dewormers. I still need to get the little one spayed though. I spend about $40 on food and treats for them a month. Litter ris about the same. They are very worth it to me and if I have nothing my girls will always have something even if I have to borrow money from my paretns to feed them! They will alawys be cared for!
 

katiemae1277

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Ummm, I don't even want to know actually
and I have a few more than 2
 

gingersmom

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I think I would lose it if I actually worked out the numbers.
I just came from the pet store - went to get kitten food, came home with a bunch of toys and treats on top of the kitten food! Spoiled rotten little furbabies!

I have to buy cat grass every other week, I think I spend more for food in a week on the kits than I do for myself, LOL, and I only have two! Not to mention toys, treats, vet bills, brushes, petromalt, filters for the fountain, kitty litter, etc., etc., etc...

I think it is VERY responsible of you to think about rehoming a cat if you think that keeping it will put you over your means. Others might say that they'd give up their home rather than give up their furbabies, but I think that you have to be realistic and do what is best for yourself, FIRST, or else you can't take care of anyone or anything else.

You have to do what you think is best for all concerned. However, I DO have to ask, is it a dollar issue, or is it simply that you like the new kitten less than your older cat? If you are using the money to rationalize your decision to rehome the kitty, I'd say go ahead and find him a new home, and be honest with yourself about why exactly you are doing so.
 
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bengalsmum

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So US prices are cheaper then, a trip to the vets costs me anything from £35 per cat, its not been any less! and food and everything is costing over £50 a mth.,
 

gingersmom

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US prices are not necessarily cheaper, as costs vary from state to state. My last vet visit cost $70, which is about the same as 35 pounds.
 

phenomsmom

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It really depends on the food you feed. I have very picky eaters that will have nothing that is considered good for them. No nutro or anyhting else I have available to me here. Only fancy feast and whiskas!! And I try to buy on sale or at the military grocery store where it is a good 10 cents cheaper per can.

I agree that you are being very responsible to give up a kitty that wouldn't get the proper care. I know all of us on here would give up personal luxuries to make sure our fur babies were properly taken care of.
 

shimmer

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Lets see:

4 cats...

$20 week food (1 box of 12 food satchets, 7 seperate sachets because Sable ONLY eats fish, ONLY eats the most expensive brand), 2 boxes cat biscuits, 1 small carton of cat milk)

$12 cat wormers

$4 - litter (for Sable - lasts a whole month)

Total:
-----
$96 give or take, and worth EVERY penny!

no vets bills, they're all healthy, except for Ozkar whom I need to get neutered. Thats pretty much a typical month, of course they're are occasional toys and things I need to replace, and rare vet visits for sore paws and bruised eyes.
 

urbantigers

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I spend £100 per month on my 2. That includes food, litter, flea & worming treatment, insurance, routine vets bills (e.g. vaccinations), cattery fees (once or twice a year) averaged out per month, and miscellaneous stuff such as small toys, toothpaste, feliway etc. It excludes one off expenses such as neutering, cat trees, larger toys, cat carriers etc.
 

mirinae

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Okay, for two cats (and all of this being approximate and in Canadian dollars), I get this:

Food: $30 for canned food (one flat has 24 cans -- I think -- so 24 days); we buy two flats at a time because Spike and Oz eat different wet food; $30 for a bag of dry food, which lasts more than a month

Litter: $8 and lasts more than a month

Toys and Treats: $0 -- We don't buy cat treats because we've yet to find a brand our cats like, and a package of catnip lasts a loooong time. I prefer to make toys rather than purchase them, but we have two scratching posts and a large cat-tree, plus toys from the "grandparents."

Vet: Every three months we take both cats in for a weight check, but because they're quick and easy to deal with, we're only charged for one cat; this is $15. We also take both cats in at the same time for their shots and physical exams (Oz has a calming effect on Spike, so it's just easier on them both to bring them in together), so this is where the pocketbook pangs come in: the total for both cats comes to around $160, but this is only once a year or so, which I can live with.

So, doing the math (but I'm mathematically challenged, so I could have this all wrong), I'd say it averages out to about $86 a month. If the Bank of Canada currency converter is correct, that equals about $41 a month UK, which makes me want to cry over how sad our exchange rate is ...
 

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Now that we have Davidson, its not really much more than it was when we had just Harley. The only thing thats a bit more now, are Davidson's vet bills - since he's still getting his every 2-3 month checkups/shots.

Otherwise the litter is the same (I pay $7 for a 45lb bag of Tidy Cats litter and that lasts for more than a month at a time), even tho we have 2 boxes, food is about the same (they eat Maxximum from WalMart, thats about $6 for a big bag. And then about... $3 for the Meow Mix pouches that I get ever so often.

I'd say...about $50 per month. Thats not counting the vet visits tho-just litter, food (dry & wet) and treats/toys/bedding.
 

gingersmom

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I'm going to repeat myself, but I would like to see BengalsMum answer the question I'm asking. This question is posed only because of a separate thread I've been following:

I DO have to ask, is it a dollar issue, or is it simply that you like the new kitten less than your older cat? If you are using the money to rationalize your decision to rehome the kitty, I'd say go ahead and find him a new home, and be honest with yourself about why exactly you are doing so.
 

lionessrampant

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Raphael goes through 2 cases of food a month, so that's $50.
Leo and Gracie go through about 30 cans of wet food, that's $30
THey also eat about 1 5lb bag of Felidae for $9

Litter costs around $40 a month

Vet bills....usually about $100 for each to have a comprehnsive exam and vax ($300 total every year). They don't usually need anything else (since Raphael gets all of his heathcare for free...and he needs lots of it), but I can usually count on at least $100-200 in extra vet bills per year.

I just spent about $100 on a bunch of new litterboxes, which I replace every year or so.

Litter liners (I live in a studio and was getting in trouble for litter in the pipes from using the tub to scrub them) cost $7 a month

And we'll add another $75 a year in treats and toys and other nonsense.

The brings us to....$136 a month on litter, liners and food, times 12 months...$1632 annually.

Plus about $500 on vet care each year

Plus $175 on incidentals....

That brings us to about $2307 each year.

And I'm a college student. If I can do it....
 
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bengalsmum

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Originally Posted by GingersMom

I'm going to repeat myself, but I would like to see BengalsMum answer the question I'm asking. This question is posed only because of a separate thread I've been following:

I DO have to ask, is it a dollar issue, or is it simply that you like the new kitten less than your older cat? If you are using the money to rationalize your decision to rehome the kitty, I'd say go ahead and find him a new home, and be honest with yourself about why exactly you are doing so.
Hi there, i was interested in how much people are paying out for their cats as im finding it more expensive than i thought, but mainly because we ended up with 2 cats when we were only going to have one.Money is a huge issue for us at the moment i wont go into it exactly but things arent good.
The truth is i only wanted one cat for the time being, but somehow ended up keeping Tiger after we found him and he wouldnt leave us (odviously attracted to our nice warm home) and we couldnt find out where he had come from.My cats are indoor/outdoor cats and i want to keep them both as healthy as can be, without having to keep them in, in my other thread i didnt mention the money issue straight away because this is on top of the issues in that thread .
 

booktigger

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I have answered this recently, but can't remember if it was when I still had 2 or when I had gone up to 3 - think it was nearly £100 a month though, no wonder I dont have hols!! My biggest issue has always been vet bills though, so I am glad I can now get mine insured.
 

gingersmom

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Thanks for your response to my question, I do appreciate it. And I'll repeat myself again: I think it is VERY responsible to consider rehoming a cat if you can't afford it.

You have to do what is best for all concerned, period. I'm glad you are taking a look at the big picture.
 

sharky

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Ohh do I really want to know ..lol

the fish run me about 5 dollars a month for housing and food ...

Gigi my dog likely runs about 50 for food and treats a month plus vet bills

Zoey runs about 45 a month for food toys litter plus any vet bills

Kandie runs about 60 a month to feed as right now she is eating mainly wet food instead of raw .. her accupucture is 60 a month and general vet bills is about 50 a month ... litter runs about 15 $ for both cats ... I am lucky about half of Kandies food is covered by her owner ( my MOM) and so is her accupucture I pay half the vet bills as I can
 

skippymjp

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I'd better not even go there, I'd probably shock myself. I know that when I go shopping, I seem to end up with more stuff for the cats than I do for myself. New inserts for the turbo-scratchers, a roll of sisal to patch up that scratching post, new catnip balls because the olds ones have been whacked into the wall so many times that they won't stay together.....

My vet charges $70 USD for an office visit, but that can be from 1 to 3 animals....so we do the vet in triples
, except for emergencies. And I don't use pet insurance. I pay out of pocket, and have a credit card with a $5000 limit just for the vet in case of something big.

I completely agree with having no more than you can afford to care for...but I'm single, have a quite good job and a large house with lots of room (the cats actually get 2 rooms, 1 for playing and 1 for napping)
 

trouts mom

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Trout is a very low maintenance kitty..She only eats a whole bowl of food every 2 days maybe..she eats a little food a few times a day instead of gorging..AND, she only gets treats when she's being rewarded for doing something mum says..which is usually just a few treats a day...and then litter like once a month I buy it..

So maybe..$50 a month..not very much..

But I did spend $800 to keep her alive in March..so that was expensive, but of course WELL WORTH IT.
 
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