Raising one Cat - How much does it cost?

Hi guys!

I love it here, I'm pretty happy I found this forum!


I was wondering, how much does it cost, per year, to raise one cat?

Does breed matter?


Any help would be great!


Thanks again!
Barry

Gosh, there are so many factors, like if you're going to feed a premium food, which you should BTW what kind of litter, how much medical care your kitty might need The only thing I can say is that different breeds probably don't make much of a difference, and 2 cats really don't cost that much more than 1

It's different for everybody. I've had Bean for just over a month and he's already cost me over $1200 in vet bills. Now this was completely unexpected, and someone that got lucky and got a cat that was completely healthy obvioulsy would have spent alot less. So what I'm saying is you need to have money saved up in case something happens. But I'd say on average without any health problems around $300-$400 a year.

hahahahah how much does it cost? less than sending a kid to medical school...

okay let me recall:
adoption fee at humane shelter or cost of purebreed- $50 up to hundreds
initial shots - possibly free to $150
sterilizing - $50 if you get a deal from the shelter to more
really GOOD food - $1-2 dollars a day at least
toys - infinite
litter: depending on what you use up to $50 a month
litter pans, dishes, grooming tools, clippers - maybe $30? I am guessing
furniture, cat tree, perches, scratching posts - infinite
routine exams at least annually- $75
license when required $15 approx

then there are the illnesses/parasites and chronic conditions : worms, fleas, conjunctivitis, herpes, allergies, UTI, URI that are common and we are not even discussing the extraordinary things like diabetes cancer etc.

Being a cat owner is a serious responsibility and your cat quickly becomes a family member. SO if you are not willing to spend the time and money to properly care for a cat, don't get one. But if you do, their love and beauty will fill your heart forever.

If I left anything out, I am sure ithers will chime in.

for this past year for my 2 cats it cost devided by 2 about $550 each. that is including their shots, bloodwork, food and litter and the numerous cat toys strewn about my house.

I think I'm going to try to keep track this next year, then again maybe I don't really want to know

I guess it depends if you just have to buy stuff for them every single time you walk into a pet store!

no really, a rough guess.....

****dry food $10 for a small bag (I use good dry food, Nutro) that lasts over a month, I leave it out all day for them, oh & I have 2 cats

****wet food....I feed them each a small can of wet for brkfst & dinner, so it depends on the brand, I mix the nutro wet & the fancy feast elegant medleys that they love so much....but I want to get some nutrition in them, so I mix it together....I get the FF on sale for 59cents a can and buy cases of it for that cheap (it's usually 89 cents for 1 sm can) so that's $2.36 a day for 2 cats

****litter, it's not so much the brand, but how often you scoop. You can get the petsmart brand clumping exquisicat litter in a 40lb box on sale for $9.99, this will last me a month, or maybe 5 wks.....but I scoop their business everytime I take out the trash (almost everyday....maybe it'll go overnight), this cuts down on odor too!

****don't forget vet care....kitty will need vaccinations, unless you adopt, all vet costs are covered in the adoption fee....otherwise you have rabies shots, distemper & a booster for this one, and then the neuter/spay (very important).....

****and there is all the start up stuff, bowls=glass or stainless, don't use plastic! and a collar, and tag..... and don't forget a litter box....those will run you about $20, and I use litter liners! This way the litter box doesn't get so gross when you clean up, it makes changing litter a breeze! And you don't have to get so caught up on toys, a kitty will make a toy of anything!

Hi guys!

Wow, you guys are active in this forum - it's great!

Yes, I plan on feeding the cat premium food. etc.


Here's some specs:
Food: Premium
Toys: as per, many...
Vet: All shots, vacs, as necessary
Dishes: Pans, Dishes etc.
Litter: Good brands


Hopefully that clarifies things a bit!


Thanks!
Barry

Well for my two yr old...for a month

20.00 for dry food another 10.00 for wet and what I try to get her to eat

4.00-10.00 for toys

36$ for accupucture( havent started yet) but with the old one it saves money

10.00 for nail trims or free if I manage to do it

31 for vet exams as needed ( once a yr or more) so say $6 a month

shots well talk to my vet... she is fairly sure no more since Zoey had bad reaction

15 for misc ( ie she wanted a new type of treat )


for the 18.5 yr old

60-90 a month for accupucture ( if she misses vet bill is usually 200-350 so cost effective)

food varies on season and how much canned ...15.00-50.00 per month

toys see younger ..lol

15.00 misc

shots she is too old no worries

2 25 lb bag of chn feed about 11 $ litter

Here's some specs:
Food: Premium - I Feed Eukanuba vet diet witch is aprox 40.00/10 kg (canadian)
Toys: as per, many... - I get these at the dollar store or for minimal at petsmart
Vet: All shots, vacs, as necessary - I would set aside about 100-200/year for this depending on health of kitty
Dishes: Pans, Dishes etc. - Dollar store again
Litter: Good brands - I get an 11 kg box at Walmary for less than $15

Like someone said, if you get a healthy, it doesn't cost much more.

Getting a cat from a shelter is "cheaper" than finding a kitten off the street because they usually have all their shots and are spayed/neutered. We adopted Orion from the vet for 80$ and he had all his shots. That's just a little more than a neuter would have cost.

Initial vet visits are about 150$ depending on what shots you need. That's how much it was for Isis.

Other than the unexpected vet bills, i think people's assessments are right. Isis has already cost me more in vet bills than my other 3 put together in the year i have had them all.

I don't have much to add except that maybe if breed doesn't matter, size does. Obviousely a larger cat will consime more food and create more waste.

Hi again!

Ok, so what I'm getting from this, after all the initial stuff has been purchased, I'm looking anywhere from:

$200 to $300/USD for one cat.


Does that make sense? Generally?


Thanks.
Barry

Originally Posted by BarryK

Hi again!

Ok, so what I'm getting from this, after all the initial stuff has been purchased, I'm looking anywhere from:

$200 to $300/USD for one cat.


Does that make sense? Generally?


Thanks.
Barry

Click to expand...

That's probably close, but make sure you have some savings for unexpected vet bills (illness).

Food: Premium - We feed Evo at about $20 a month per cat
Toys: as per, many... I easily spend $10 per cat per month
Vet: All shots, vacs, as necessary - shots for mine along with annual check ups and bloodwork comes to about $500 for the 4 of them, plus any unexpected vet bills and insurance of $45 a month for all 4
Dishes: Pans, Dishes etc. - Don't buy cheap and they last and are cheaper per day, mine get new litter pans 1-2 a year ($12 each rubbermaid storage boxes), raised feeders with bowls $50 for the 4 cats, water fountain $45
Litter: Good brands - we use WBCL at about $30-40 a month for the 4 cats

Hi!

water fountain $45

Click to expand...

A literal Water Fountain for the cats?


Let me know!

Thanks.
Barry

Originally Posted by BarryK

Hi!


A literal Water Fountain for the cats?


Let me know!

Thanks.
Barry

Click to expand...

Something like this:
http://petmate.com/Catalog.plx?ID=205

You don't need one, but it encourages drinking, and cats can get dehydrated easily. Mine love it.

Wow...

That's really cool - and I good price...what does it do, keep recycling the water in the tray through the fountain?


Man, sounds lame, but you guys are getting me excited about getting a cat!


Thanks.
Barry

It's good to be excited and very encouraging that your doing so much research before being owned by a cat. If only more potential cat owners were as pro-active as you.

I have the fresh-flow (linked above) and it's great. It keep their water clean and circulating and for me (I'm prone to laziness) it's great because I only have to re-fill it every few days instead of every day like with standing water.

I have a fountain you have to put more water in it evcery few days but it is great I had to take mine to my parents when they were cat sitting the cat's wouldn't drink out of a bowl, it had to be running water.