First time here. Have 22 cats, mostly 'rescues'

I live an hour outside of Atlanta in the country.  Need as many money-saving tips as I can get.  Myself and another 'rescuer' each have 20+ cats and each of us keep running out of money.  Vet/health tips are especially welcome!!

Welcome! I have 24 cats! :lol3:

Presumably you have the basics down, right? Using generic pyrantel for de-worming, splitting a large dose of Frontline or Advantage for fleas, finding low-cost spay/neuter, buying food in bulk?

Hi, welcome to TCS!  Bless you for the care you give to cats. 

Hello and welcome!!!!

I have a co-worker who does rescues and has over 20 cats as well so we frequently discuss pet costs and vet care options etc. (We have 9 kitties)

Dry cat food is much more affordable in bulk, 16-22 lb bags, and goes much farther, than canned wet food does. However, I've been to several vets, who do say that though Purina is a good dry food, wet food is much higher in protein, better hydrating, and overall better for them and will save on vet costs. We use 9Lives, Friskies, and Purina. My co-worker friend gives them wet, but then gives out a bag of dry for 'treats'. I put Purina dry in and mix it in with the wet food in each dish. Anyone who's on a special vet diet, I mix that in with some wet food as well so they will actually eat it lol. Many of the generic brand foods, dry or wet, are usually very low in any quality nutrition and end up costing more in vet bills in the long run as they get older.

Litter is tricky, because cheaper doesn't always save money in the long run there either. Special Kitty is one of the cheaper ones, but the dust is horrible, and long-term I've read that it can cause asthma and allergy problems as well as cancer after prolonged use in both cats and humans. Scoopable has always been expensive, but lasts the longest, if you only have a few cats. For major multi-cat homes, I'd say the best route is Tidy Cats. My co-worker uses a generic store brand natural all-clay litter at a local grocery store.

For spay/neuter if you have problems with money for the vets, there are low-cost spay/neuter groups in most areas, just try looking around the area, and call local shelters to ask. They should know of one, they may sponsor one themselves. Rabies vaccines are the same way, there are low-cost clinics for these too, usually only between $6-$10 per cat. (rabies vaccines are required by law in most states, that's why I'm mentioning it because by law most places don't have a pet number limit but they do require rabies vaccines as well as adequate food, water and care etc.) The issue with rabies clinics is they only offer 1-year vaccines. Vet offices offer 3-year rabies vaccines, and this way they also get their exam while they are there for overall health. Many vet offices do warn that there are risks with the 3-year shots, but there are still just as many risks with the 1-year shots. I've always had my guys get the initial boosters as kittens and a year old, then it's the 3-year shots until they get to be 10-12 years old, then you can request a written exemption from your vet due to the pet's age and/or health. You can also get a titer test instead to calculate if your pet still has enough antibodies to rabies. Most of the time, they do. I've heard that a 3-year shot can give immunity for up to 7 years after being vaccinated, which makes me think that getting the shot every year would make it build up in their system after a while (and also makes me think the every year or every 3 year law sounds absolutely ridiculous).

Chart:

Product                                        Average Cost

**Purina dry-16 lbs                        $12-$13/bag

**9Lives canned-36 cans              $15-$16

Friskies canned-32 cans            $15-$16

Special Kitty litter                        $3-$4 but has high dust, very bad side-effects long-term (can also use natural clay litter instead)

**Tidy Cats litter-nonclumping       $5-7

Flea/tick collars                           $4-$6 per cat, last about 5-7 months (can be bad for their skin, and does not actually kill fleas, only repels them)

Revolution                                   $10-$15 per tube, one month supply for one cat

**Flea/tick yard spray                  $10-$15 and lasts about 6 months, yard only needs to be sprayed 2x a year for most brands, may be best

                                                     route to go as far as cost and effectiveness. Then I would suggest Advantage or Frontline once a year for

                                                     each cat. This is what my co-worker does and I also started this last year. It works great.

Rabies vacc. -low cost clinic        $6-$10 per cat

Rabies vacc. -vet office               $12-$20 plus the $30-$50 for the exam, and anything additional that's done

Spay/neuter -low cost clinic         $0-80 depends on clinic (many clinics are around $50/cat, males are cheaper to neuter, and some offer free

                                                     spay/neuter events

Spay/neuter -vet office                 $100-$400 average is $120 for males and $250 for females

*Discuss with your vet and ask if they offer multiple pet discounts. Many vet offices do give discount rates for people with many pets or who rescue, but remember you must usually ask directly to get help.

Here we do have several folks having 20+ cats. 

Be careful. Having big heart means also having place enough for each in need "is there place in heart, there is also place for sitting in" as the swedish proverb says.

But the danger is it may easily get TOO many...   And you can easily lose controll, fareing into the hoarder instead.

Im sure many, if even not most hoarders, did began as rescuers, and some surely still fancy themselves to be rescuers.

Beware!!!   

Everybody can help someone, but nobody can help them all! 

Neutering is one help, adopting out another. Try to make a network for seeking out adoptions homes, and adopt out all the cats who are now saved, who are fostered well enough...

Organizing your place....

And sometimes it is necessary to say No, although  it hurts in mind, heart and soul.

Welcome to our Forums, Wynnt!

Tx a lot for your  work and your achievements of all your here.

God bless you all.

Good luck!

Hi there welcome along to TCS

Hi welcome to the site!

If you do yearly vaccines look into going to clinics.  I do not do yearly shots except rabies for the cats who go out/are known darters. 

Low cost spay/neuter(a MUST is everyone be fixed.  A regular practice near me has costs that are very low for spay neuter)

At home deworming

Supply of flea meds/fluids/eye cream and commonly used items so there is no er trips needed.

My biggest savings is around black friday when the wet food goes on a great sale and I use coupons.  Also the tidy cats has been on sale last few years.  I know it is many months away but keep it in mind

Vet care I think the best thing is find a vet you like and stick to them, even if it is one in a multi vet practive.  It makes life easier.

I love fresh step and they have the rewards program.  

The most cost-effective way to feed while also keeping everyone hydrated is to mix dry food into canned food and add water. Right now I don't have to do this but if money gets tighter I will. I agree you don't want to go too cheap on the dry food---the really cheap stuff is just flavored sawdust, really, and increases the chances of illnesses caused by poor nutrition. Purina Cat Chow would be the cheapest I would use. I've yet to see a really horrible canned food so any brand should be OK, but try to avoid fish flavors; they increase the possibility of urinary issues. Larger cans cost less per ounce.

You can do vaccinations yourself if there isn't a low-cost clinic. I don't vaccinate after their kitten shots (or one round for an adult stray) but it sounds like yours are outside. So I'd vaccinate once every 3-5 years, I think. Rabies vaccination may not be legally recognized if not done by a vet, so look into the laws first. But at least they wouldn't get rabies.

Spay/neuter is an absolute necessity, or you'll end up with hundreds of unhealthy cats. If there's no low-cost place in the area, see if you can make a deal with a local vet.

Petsmart's Black Friday sales are good. Also keep an eye out for their "friends and family" coupons--15% off, I always stock up on canned food. Dry food is cheaper at Walmart.

And also if doing dry you can score higher end brands on markdown-30% off if trying to move it with few months and usually 50% if less then a month at petsmart and Petco.  If less then month and marked otherwise I always ask and have gotten it 50% off.  Friskies forever has coupons!

Thank you for all of the effort you put into that.  I personally use Dollar general's brand ($2.50 for 20 lb) cat liter and, ys, the dust is horible so I cover my face.  I TRY to only have certain cats inside (to use it) in the evening when I'm home.  There are 3 newspaper-lined litter boxes in the garage's bathtub, so most of the cats, who sleep in the garage at night, use it...or on a rainy or cold day.

  Canned food says right on the side 10-11% protien and dry food is between 30-34% protein, though how USABLE that protein is when digested is questionable.

   Joyce and I have been using Atl. Humane Society's mobile unit for our tame cats...only $20.

WOW!! THANK YOU!  That's a HUGE savings.  For a while I was feeding them an ultra cheap brand called Nunn-better and their fur began getting white spots in it (the black cats).  They are on a cheap Purina brand now, I forget the name.

I get their Purina dry food in 16 lb or larger bags at Walmart and it IS cheaper.  I will keep an eye out for Petsmart deals...GREAT TIP! 

Every evening, I mix a large Tupperware container full of dry food with left over from my dinner...rinsed-off dishes from sauteeing veggies or cooking salmon, ect.  By 6 am the next morn it is soft and yummy.  They now dislike just dry food without these 'leftovers'.  I feed the elderly, sick, or kittens wet food.  Thank you.

Thanks.  I USED to vaccinate them all myself without a problem, but then began feeling guilty about the pharm's 'test' kitties.  I do get the 3 y rabies when I can.

I will not adopt out my cats.  In the past hav given 2 of my cats to friends and wasn't completely happy about how that turned out.  neithre were a horror story, but then neither went the way I had hoped, either.  But, I do need to say no more often, you are right on that!

I do all except the flea meds...I dislike using it except in the case of an emergency... a cat with allergies to fleas.  I flea comb them often and most love the attention.  The splitting of a large-dog triple wormer (Saergant's at Kroger for $7) has saved me SO much MONEY!!  A woman at Petsmart told me about it so I did some online research and it is safe.  One pill (coes with 2 pills) can worm 7 to 8 adult cats!!!  What a deal!!!

Welcome to the site!  I hope all of your cats are happy kitties!

wynnt said:

  Canned food says right on the side 10-11% protien and dry food is between 30-34% protein, though how USABLE that protein is when digested is questionable.

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The thing about comparing protein percentages in canned vs dry is that you have to figure it on a dry matter basis---how much water is in it. Wet food is usually 78% moisture. Dry food about 10% moisture. So once you take that out of the equation, even cheap wet food is usually around 45%-50% protein, and, like you said, is usually more digestible and has more meat. So even though it looks lower in protein, it really is higher than almost all dry foods. And hydration is just SO important for kitties since they don't really drink enough---that's why I said mixing canned with dry and adding water is the most cost-effective way to feed many cats.

Kit'n'Kaboodle and Alley Cat are just as bad as generic dry foods, even though Purina makes them now. Meow Mix is almost as bad. That's why I stick with Cat Chow for my ferals. . .it's nothing special, but it does have a meat product as the first ingredient, while the others all have grains first. It only costs maybe a dollar more for the big bag anyway.

I'll have to look into the Sargent's de-wormer. I'm not inclined to trust store brand de-wormers like that, but sometimes they're OK. I use generic Pyrantel Pamoate, usually sold for horses or as pinworm treatment for humans. That's what my vet recommended, and it's very inexpensive, and you only have to use 1/2-1 ml instead of 5 ml like some other products.

As for litter, the cheapest I've found is Kitty Diggins at Walmart. It's only 99 cents for 10 pounds, so it's even cheaper than Dollar General's brand (assuming you have a Walmart within reasonable distance). It's not terrible dusty, either. Although, personally, I find clumping litter to be a better value, because I don't have to change it as often. But that's totally dependent on circumstances, so maybe non-clumping is better in your situation.