would you have more cats if vets didnt cost so much?

It's not the routine vet bills that get me, it's the emergency cost potential. I've only had 3 cats in adulthood and each one of them has had chronic health issues. Between that and the cost of decent food... If food and emergency care were less expensive I might have more pets.

I would love to have more if I were younger, I didn't work, had more money and these two weren't contagious.

My Vet bills are huge and putting a severe cramp in things plus I had 3 sick animals for 2 years prior to getting these two, and they have been sick from the start.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

Not only cats, I'd have more animals in general. The other day a stray black lab came by with one of his eyes missing..I'd totally take him in if it wasn't for expenses...

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If the lab is a stray, why not take him/her to a local no-kill shelter where they might be adopted out? I wouldn't just leave it out there on it's own.

Back on topic, I've only ever had one cat at a time until Mika came to live with us. It was nice having 2 cats but I must say the annual vet visits and vaccinations sure add up with 2 cats plus the cost of food and litter.

well, my situation is a bit unique in that i don't get my cats shots because of their FeLV status and, sad to say , most of my kitties do not live long enough for them to have age related health problems. So honestly vet care, even the vet care that is required when they get sick, is not that prohibitive. I have 15 right now and if I were to take in anymore I think we all would have a breakdown

Of course I'd take in an infinite amount of cats if money and space were no object! I'd be like the guy in Florida who runs the cat farm!

Mostly I don't add any because my allergies and asthma to cats would end up having ME rack up doctor's bills instead of the cats.

It's a daily dose of medicines just to keep symptoms at bay with the ones I have - but I always tell them that they're worth it

Yes. I am already considering another kitty and the one thing that I am still weighing is if I can afford the extra veterinary expenses. I definitely have the room, time and love for another and could afford the additional ‘day to dayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] expenses that would go along with them such as routine vet care, food, litter boxes, toys, etc. but I worry about the expenses of a major illness or emergency and if I could afford to cover it, so I have not yet decided.

I am very lucky that my routine vet care is very affordable but my regular vet doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t handle emergencies or major problems so I have to keep money available should something happen and I have to go somewhere else. It breaks my heart to see kitties in shelters or on the street with no one to call their own and I want so badly to give them their very own human to love (me).

If vetting and feeding weren't so expensive, then yes I would have the max allowed of 5 cats. I wouldn't be married anymore, but I'd have 5 cats. LMAO

We have 23 cats and 10 dogs. We can afford vet care for all of them, so I guess we are very lucky. If we couldn't afford vet care we wouldn't have them all.

As for space, we have a very big house. Lots of room for all of them. We feed kirkland, and its a good quality for a good price. Kitty litter we get at Costco too, but most of the cats go potty outside, making life easier for them and us.

Cat wise, vet prices haven't been as bad as with dogs! Chad was the only one who had a hefty vet visit of 2,000 a couple years ago. And they are all spayed and neutered, and cost for that wasn't horrible as we have a low cost spay and neuter clinic.
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Our dogs though! Our youngest got parvo when he was a pup and we spent 10,000 on him, and barely paid that off last year (hes now 3 1/2 years old).

I wouldn't minding getting two more but I'd also have to take more food and kitty litter into account... I'd also have to get a bigger place.

If money were no issue, I'd own a no-kill fabulous shelter for all kinds of animals.

I don't know how many personal animals I'd have (probably more than I ought, if I ran a shelter!)

Cost is prohibitive, but so is time. Working full time + social life + etc, means I can't really give myself to the cats all the time (even if I were super rich, I'd be doing SOMETHING with my time (ie... running the shelter!)) and wouldn't want more cats/dogs/etc than I could give enough time and love to.

I would probably accumulate a few more cats if cost wasn't prohibitive, but like so many on here have said, it's not just vet care, it's the rest. Two cats means one cat-supply trip each month, adding just one would make that two trips, and that's just more than we can afford right now, so we stick with the two. Once our student loans and the second car are paid off, I'd be more than happy to reevaluate this, but for now, the two fuzzballs are the limit.

I would LOVE to have more cats. The only problem is that it would break Bella and Cindy's little hearts and I could never do that to them. Cindy is quite shy although she is slowly coming out of her shell and I think a new cat would just wreck any progress we have made with her. As for Bella, well, she already thinks she is the baby in the family and gets horribly jealous if she thinks Cindy gets more attention than her so a new cat would never be tolerated. She would just look at me with such sad eyes that my heart would break!