- Joined
- Apr 6, 2006
- Messages
- 3,152
- Purraise
- 86
So I'm a poor college student... and I found two little creatures, both less fortunate than myself, and just couldn't turn them away! Nobody will adopt adult cats, and the no-kill shelters are closed... so what was I to do but keep them?
Baby Girl is a vocal, curious, intelligent tabby who weighs only 8 pounds at the age of 1 1/2. She's paranoid about other cats, and when approached, hisses at them. She used to be the neighbors' cat, but they moved away and left her (after neglecting her for quite a while). Still getting over the effects of worms, mites, and over 100 fleas.
Tiny is a 9 month old male, still unneutered (yipe!--yes, I'm talking to the Humane Society about neutering this week). He's a stray who must've been dumped as a kitten, since he'd evidently lived on the street quite a long time. He will pounce on anything that moves (including feet, and including Baby Girl).
Tiny and Baby have both been vaccinated and vet-checked now. Both are FLV/FIV-negative (whew!) and have their kitten shots. Tiny is on schedule to be neutered through a low-income neutering program from our local humane society.
But the vet care cost me a total of $230, since both had to be treated for fleas, worms, and ear mites... and that's just under half a month's income for me.
Food costs about $7 a month for Purina Naturals. Litter, about $3 a month for the cheap litter Aldi's sells and neither cat minds. They have two scratching pads and a post, three litter boxes, food and water dishes, and some cheap cat toys. Thankfully all those things won't be needed again for a while.
I make cat toys rather than buy them now. Toys are a necessity because Tiny's energy and male-cat hormones will have him trying to wrestle with poor Baby if his energy isn't bled off somehow. Right now Tiny's favorite toy is a fishing-rod I made out of a wooden dowel, some upholstery thread, a button, and some feathers. Total cost, maybe $1.50; and the feathers can be refreshed since I got a whole bag.
The vet bill meant I wasn't able to pay off my credit card this month, and with my interest rate (20% for a "student" card), that's a serious problem.
How do I cut costs? I need to take care of these cats--they haven't got anywhere else to go.
I won't do anything that will hurt the cats. But I would love to hear anything you can suggest that will help me take care of them more cheaply.
Baby Girl is a vocal, curious, intelligent tabby who weighs only 8 pounds at the age of 1 1/2. She's paranoid about other cats, and when approached, hisses at them. She used to be the neighbors' cat, but they moved away and left her (after neglecting her for quite a while). Still getting over the effects of worms, mites, and over 100 fleas.
Tiny is a 9 month old male, still unneutered (yipe!--yes, I'm talking to the Humane Society about neutering this week). He's a stray who must've been dumped as a kitten, since he'd evidently lived on the street quite a long time. He will pounce on anything that moves (including feet, and including Baby Girl).
Tiny and Baby have both been vaccinated and vet-checked now. Both are FLV/FIV-negative (whew!) and have their kitten shots. Tiny is on schedule to be neutered through a low-income neutering program from our local humane society.
But the vet care cost me a total of $230, since both had to be treated for fleas, worms, and ear mites... and that's just under half a month's income for me.
Food costs about $7 a month for Purina Naturals. Litter, about $3 a month for the cheap litter Aldi's sells and neither cat minds. They have two scratching pads and a post, three litter boxes, food and water dishes, and some cheap cat toys. Thankfully all those things won't be needed again for a while.
I make cat toys rather than buy them now. Toys are a necessity because Tiny's energy and male-cat hormones will have him trying to wrestle with poor Baby if his energy isn't bled off somehow. Right now Tiny's favorite toy is a fishing-rod I made out of a wooden dowel, some upholstery thread, a button, and some feathers. Total cost, maybe $1.50; and the feathers can be refreshed since I got a whole bag.
The vet bill meant I wasn't able to pay off my credit card this month, and with my interest rate (20% for a "student" card), that's a serious problem.
How do I cut costs? I need to take care of these cats--they haven't got anywhere else to go.
I won't do anything that will hurt the cats. But I would love to hear anything you can suggest that will help me take care of them more cheaply.