I wish I could just pay for my cats with love and not money

Hi everyone,  

I have landed myself in a bit of a predicament.  I recently made the decision to rehome my cat, Piper, because she seemed unable to tolerate living with other cats, to the point where it was affecting her health.  After finding her a new family, I adopted a new cat, Comet.  The resident cat, Cricket, really needed and playmate and I needed to fill the cat-shaped hole in my crazy cat lady heart.  Well, things didn't work out with the new family and Piper is back living with me, my roommate, Comet, and Cricket.  But things are different....before Piper and Cricket didn't get along at all, they would get into tiffs every day, but now with Comet around, everything is much more calm.  For whatever reason that I can't puzzle out, she seems so much more at ease around Cricket and just in general now that Comet is living with us as well.  Actually, as I'm writing this, Cricket and Piper just started playing together which is a FIRST.  It's great to be able to see her happy in the company of other cats.  

But this is the thing...I really can't afford two cats.  I'm a college student who has been out of work for some time now and have been struggling to find a new job.  I'm pretty strapped for cash and my savings is going to run out at some point and eventually my cc's limit will be reached.  Between my (evil) credit cards and the support from my family, I have been able to care for Piper just fine. I'm pretty committed to feeding my cats healthy food but I know if I have two of them we would probably have to downgrade.  If I set a strict monthly budget for food, litter, toys, etc (which would involve some sacrifice for both me and the quality of "stuff" I can provide for the cats) I could probably keep up with month-to-month costs. But the big issue is that having two cats also doubles the chances of an expensive cat emergency.  I have had those in the past and have handled them, but if something happened to both of them at the same time I would have no way to pay for it.  I am currently working on paying off some pretty hefty cat emergency debt, which I really don't mind doing because to me it's worth having some debt if it means I can keep my furbaby, but it becomes more of a question of if I will have the means to care for them both if something were to happen.  The odds of me suddenly screwing myself over financially are significantly higher with two cats.  But the idea of getting rid of either one is heartbreaking, especially since Piper seems to be doing so much better now.

So, is it irresponsible for me to keep two cats?  I got into this situation by trying to solve one problem, but by accidentally solving it I ended up with another.  Now that Piper seems happy and comfortable, there's no reason to give her up and I really don't want to if she's happy.  But Comet's presence changed the dynamic to the point that things are much better between her and Cricket.  I just adopted Comet, and I really, really don't want to give him up either.  I want both.  I could see myself being able to afford both of them eventually, but in the interim....I'm not so sure.  Help

So, you're buying toys and treats, too?  I would just cut it down to the minimum for now... Their food and litter.  Toys and treats are nice but not necessary.  You need to keep that money in case a health scare arises and a visit to the vet is needed.  Cats can make toys out of anything.  And treats are just like candy to them. 

It may make Piper anxious and cause her problems to rehome her yet again.  Cats do not like change and need time to adjust.  You got really lucky this time.  You really did.  Best to keep it to what you HAVE to have for now  and save the fun stuff budget for possible emergencies. 

Bottle caps, balls made out of paper and foil, different objects tied with a string and dragged around, all can be fun toys. My cats have tons of toys but Sophie inly plays with my hair bands.

As for food and litter, there are cheaper ones and more expensive ones. Do your best, look into different options, maybe try ordering online in bulk after you put some money aside, look for discounts, coupons, special offers. Budgeting is an aquired skill.

What are you feeding them? You could probably cut back a bit on food too, quality wise. Dry food can be light on budget, and there are some cheap decent canned food too (Fancy Feast Classic). Don't worry about premium food until you can afford it. 

Do you have at least some budget set aside for small vet visits? Things like vaccines, office visits, physical wellness exams. 

Is pet insurance something you can consider? 

It's not irresponsible as long as you're aware of your limitations and are determined to work with it, which you are.

Thank you for the suggestions!!  Cutting down on toys is a good idea, but I don't buy them too often.  Usually they prefer cutips or wads of tape over anything I buy them. 

I think I will downgrade their food and litter.  Because I think eventually I'll be able to supply fancy stuff but if I'm on a ramen diet, I guess it's okay if they're on a ramen diet too.  I've been using pine pellet litter upon insistence from my roommate but I've found that we run out of it MUCH faster then clumping litters.  I prefer the litter, both for cleanup and environmental/health purposes, but it just isn't economically efficient.  The pellets disintegrate pretty fast and you end up scooping so much out...and I think downgrading the food won't be as difficult as getting Piper to eat wet food.  She has had two UTIs in the past year and I think a combination of stress and dehydration caused them.  I've found I can trick her into eating it if I can mix the wet food and dry food together.

I have some money set aside in savings, but it's been disappearing as I haven't been working.  I do have two credit cards that I have limited myself to use in case of kitty emergencies, but I racked up a lot of debt over the past year since I got Piper.  I am a first-time cat owner and there were a few unnecessary trips to the vet, mostly because I didn't really have any idea what what normal and really didn't want anything to happen to her.  

I had pet insurance before, but it was too much money and ultimately made no sense for me to have it.  I don't have it right now, I may consider getting it again if I have two cats.  I will probably have to make sacrifices in my own life but I think it's worth it if I can keep both of them.   I think I've decided I will!! I just can't see myself giving either of them up at all.  

Clumping is expensive upfront, but cheaper in the long run. It's always recommended to use clumping ones for home kitties (shelters use the cheaper non-clumping ones due to volume). I use Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract for my one cat.

You can also try stuffs like Fortiflora to use as toppers. You sprinkle some on the wet food to entice picky cats to eat them. Or crush the kibbles that she will eat, and sprinkle it over the wet food.

I do have one more concern:  I live in a small apartment, about 600 sq feet.  The cats seem fine, but is that enough space for three?  

As long as you provide them with play, and a window, and food, litter, , and love , they'll be fine.

Also, as long as each has it's own "spot" or two, they can be very happy.  Cats don't need a lot of space.  They just need at least a little corner to call their own!

Cats don't need a lot of space. Just make sure you play with them a lot.

You can get a 40-pound bag of pine pellets for about $5-$6 at the farm store, if there's one in the area. Hard to beat that for cheap litter! If not, a mid-grade clumping litter would be best. You don't want to go too cheap or things will be smelly and you'll have to change it too often. Tidy Cats is decent.

Same with food; you don't want to get the cheapest because that could make them sick and then you'd have vet bills. Something in the middle is fine.

I think 600 sq feet is fine.  I think they will enjoy to have an owner who loves them and cares for them.  Look at the poor cats in shelters, stuck in little cages or pens. We have a medium size home and our cats usually hang out in just two rooms.  I have ledges on my windows so they cat lay in the sun and look outside. We have a cat tree also, but mostly they like to lounge on us.

You can create more space for the cats by making it vertical space. The cats would probably love a cheap but sturdy bookcase with towels or blankets on the shelves or shelves staggered on a wall.

I have 3 cats in 600 sq feet. We have a tall cat tree, shelves and a bookcase. They all get used. I don't think they have the notion of 'oh, we would like a bigger place'. That is something that humans think.