Adopting an 8-year-old boy?

Hello all,

We're looking at a middle aged cat. His foster mother says he is an 8-year old cat who has free reign of the house and is extremely laid back and affectionate. She says the only problem with him seems to be a kink in his tail that he sometimes growls at (so she's taking him to the vet to see what can be done). After hearing him described, he is most of what I want in a cat. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how much I am likely to spend on vet bills for a middle-aged to older cat. We've budgeted somewhere around $1000/year for a cat, figuring that that may be average. I realize things can happen which may cost much more than that out of pocket. Can anyone tell me what I might be getting into before I take home an older cat? I want to be able to take very good care of him if we bring him home.

That's a tough one to answer, because some people end up spending a fortune in vet costs for a young cat who develops a serious health problem, while others have very healthy senior cats who only require biannual vet exams.

Some TCS members have opted for cat health insurance, while others put some money aside every month or so for such contingencies. You can go a couple of years with minimal costs and then be hit with 4-digit bills. It's really a roll of the dice.