new cat or kitten advice (merged)

ceebeeby

Hi, welcome to the site :j

My cat costs me:

£5 - 7 per week food
£14 per month insurance (she's very old)
£5 per 3 months for one-spot flea protection
£2 ???? for home-made toys
£10 (one-off) for personalised Xmas stocking
£5 for bed (once per year)

I think that's about it!

I'm not sure if the CPL helps with costs, I'm sure I read somewhere that if you're in receipt of benefits or a pensioner that there is an organisation that may assist, but don't know who.

HTH

oneandonlyboy

Hi,

I have a 15 month old Ragdoll cross and my cost for him a month is as follows.
Cat insurance £10
Food( Royal Canine) £15
Cat treats(includes fresh chicken,wild rice, chews and cat milk)£5
Cat litter £20
Cat litter bags and litterlocker refills £5
Toys £2-4 depends if he misplaces his toys
flea treatment £4

Thats the monthly cost me my cat, that doesn't include his yearly jabs £35 a year nor does it include cat sitters.

SkipE

I actually thought being a cat owner would cost a lot more than it actually does for us. However, our cat doesnt use litter she goes outside. We also buy all our cat food (biscuits etc) in bulk from places like costco. We dont buy her toys other than a few plastic balls from asda.

I would however say that if you dont feel you can cover the cost fully ie in your post you mention getting assistance from cat protection etc. Then please seriously consider your situation before getting a cat. Last thing you want is to bond with your new little buddy then have to give him or her away due to costs. Its your decision on taking on a pet but please dont do it if you cant cover the costs yourself. JMO.

foreversomeday

MSE ideas:

Toys for cats can be made from toilet roll tubes, rolled up balls of kitchen foil (the foil from 1 kit kat is exactly the right size and most cats go crazy listening to you roll the ball between your hands!) a plastic bag left on the floor for them to pounce on, a bit of string, sticks from outside, old socks rolled up.

Grow a catmint bush (start it in a pot or the cat will never let it flourish!) and pick the leaves, dry them and you have catnip. Stuff this inside the old sock or rub it on other toys and they will go mad for it. Or you can buy catnip sprays from pet shops and supermarkets. If you move the bush from the pot to the garden once it is established the cat will love rolling and lying in it in the summer.

Make friends with other pet owners/neighbours with lots of pot plants and look after their pets/plants when they go on holiday in exchange for them looking after yours.

Buy a sturdy cat basket made from wicker or plastic, and line it with old towels and/or old clothes. Replace with another old towel or old clothes when it gets too hairy to be saved!

Have a real think about whether you need pet insurance. IMO it's much more beneficial for dogs as dogs are much more likely to get themselves into sticky situations. My mum always put aside £10 per month towards our cats' vets bills (and didn't use this to pay for the jabs) and then she had some money stored in case they did have an accident or develop a health condition. The downside of this is if they do have a really big accident or develop a long term condition and you use up all the savings, or if they have an accident when you have only just started saving.

Drea

I have a cat, just over 1 year old.

I spend:

£4 a week - food
£4 a week - litter
£10 every 6 months or so - scratching post

To be honest that's about it apart from the vets bills now and then but he's only really had to go twice to the vet. My neighbour gave me lots of toys when we first got him and although I've bought him a few more he seems quite happy with the ones he has.

Kimberley

You could try getting accessories from your local freecycle group It doesn't cost much keeping a cat, all they need is love and food. The food/litter costs less if you buy it in bulk. Please do consider your finances though, even for in 16 years time which is the lifespan of a cat.

el-o-l-a-lola

I have two cats and weekly cost for them is:

£3 cat food (they eat 1 tin of tesco or asda own brand between them a day and maybe a few biscuits (tesco own brand about 40p a box)

£1.14 bag cat litter (tesco value)

Every three months they have bob martin spot on for fleas which is £16 for the pair and worming spot on too which i think is about £4 each

They have a few toys but will generally play with anything going in the house! They do have a material mouse each with catnip inside. When they get bored of it i spray with catnip spray and they go mental over it again! Both will sleep anywhere but love curling up in boxes so a cardboard one with an old pillow or towel in it works perfectly.

savemoney

About £3-£4 per week for food. £1.50 cat litter and preventative treatment (annually) £50-£60 for jabs THIS IS A MUST

arthur_dent_2

I have 2 cats and they probably cost £3.76 in food (2 x catfood 6 tins, won't eat dried) about a £1 a week for vet wormer and flea stuff and unfortunately due to the stupid non cat flappable doors £1.14 for cat litter. So about £2.95 per cat per week. Goodness they might have to go on a diet.

arthur_dent_2

Jabs are not a must, I have never given them to any cat I own and they all have lived to a ripe old age if they have been fortunate not to have met with a car.