How much does it cost to keep a cat?

*sandymogs*

WELSH-DRAGON wrote:

Thanks for all your tips on here, we have rehomed 3 kittens and here are some piccies:





The first two kittens, Misty (tabby) and Bob were dumped at a local vets by a lady who said she could not cope with them. They are gorgeous and have been with us for 2 weeks.

The 3rd kitten, called Diesel joined us yesterday from a local rehoming centre, his mum was feral and it was touch and go whether we would have him as he was very poorly and was in an isolation unit for awhile. He is fine now, although very sensitive to any diet changes. He is very affectionate and loving.

Thanks for all the great tips on here, just insured Misty with M&S and will follow up tomorrow on the phone with them to insure the other 2. Next it's the jabs - all the best Welshy x and kittens xxxxx

They are so cute. The little grey one on the bottom looks like MIL's cat when she was a kitten.

My sister is looking for a kitten, so if anyone knows anyone with who needs a good home for for one of their kittens in the Port Talbot area of South Wales - please PM me .

WELSH-DRAGON_2

Hello Sandymogs I have pm'd you with the website where I found my kittens. They are a charitable organisation and have lots of kittens and cats available, although it may be too far to travel ? as they are based in Sully near Barry.

Thanks for the compliment re kittens, they are lovely and really helped lift our moods when our tabby cat of 16 years died.

Welshy x

dbelle

First of all a picture:
(she doesnt have a collar on cos I had to clean it, not because I am a bad owner!)


She costs us about £30 a month I think.
We buy the value cat litter from Sainsburys which she doesn't mind, and Bob Martin flea and dewormer which is fine for her.

The only bigger cost with her is her food because she doesn't have any teeth (the last place she lived was full of other cats who never let her eat properly so they went rotten and the vet had to pull them out) so she has wet food, mostly Whiskas or Felix cans which are £2.99 each for 6 from Sainsburys, lasts her just over a week as she eats three times a day.

I'd say we probably spend an extra fiver on her per month on special posh food and a toy (although at the moment she is content with an old shoelace or a box) or some catnip.

ashleyrossuk

Hello i just bought two 7 month old male cats from the cat protection league yesterday. (after our bunny sadly departed, my son then wanted a cat, i then some how got conned into getting to cats).

I spent £80 on two cats.
£100 on stuff like beds, scratch post, litter tray, toys, bowls etc....


My vet said it would cost £76 per cat for vacinations, £30 on microchipping per cat (first injections tommorow).

The cheapest pet insurance i can get is £75 per cat, with no excess is from m and s.

Still have to get frontline, worming tablets and probably a million other things that i havent thought of yet!

You might have noticed that these are my first cats!

Any ideas how to cut any of these costs??????????

Eels100

Well, the spend on bedding and toys etc is way, way more than you need! An old fleece or something would be as good as anything for them to sleep on - chances are they'll avoid whatever bed you've bought and hop into your laundry basket instead (awkward animals!). Cats make their own toys, and my large covered litter tray cost around £15. Bowls are Tesco Value crockery ...

Vaccinations are vital but if you are unhappy with your vet's pricing then consider changing practices. Likewise worming - Drontal and Frontline are available online but Profender and Frontline Combo are easier/better respectively and are only available from your vet.

Pet insurance truly is a 'get what you pay for' market to a large extent - providing you have lifelong cover I don't think you've done too bad with M&S.

I'm afriad overall they're not cheap to run - but I think you haven't done too bad so far . Have fun!

tealady

Are you sure your cats are not already chipped, all the ones I have had from CP (7 so far) were already chipped.
Beds, I have tried various sorts, my current cat likes to sleep on a hard windowsill or in a cupboard.
Bowls are often cheap odd saucers ask friends or try charity shops.

Bendybops19

I imagine the cats will be up to date on their jabs - well ai would hope they will be if you got them from the cats protection league. And they may actually also already be micro chipped - you'll need to find this out.

You've spent waaaaaaaay too much on bedding etc

For 2 cats i would say you need:

2-3 litter trays (a couple of quid from Wilkos)

A scratching post is fun for them - maybe save up for one of the big scratching frames but thats a luxury not an essential

A few food/water bowls - about 60p from wilkos

Some toys - i wouldnt worry too much about too many until you know what your cats actually like to play with. My kitty is seriously fussy and only plays with one toy very occasionally! Catnip toys always seem to go down well!! These are prob about £2-£4 from pet shops.

A big cat bed because they will probably sleep together! A nice thick soft warm one, it doesnt need to be expensive - they cant tell if its expensive or cheap! Radiator beds are always loved by cats!!

Cheap cat brush, important if they are long haired.

Uuumm, i'm thinking hard!!

Insurance is a very good idea, esp as they are still young. M&S is good for paying out when need be.

Tori_Bellatrix

Hi,

I have 2 cats but only 1 litter tray and that's always been more then adequate - it just needs to be cleaned out regularly. I use wooden pellets as they are cheap and seem to last longer as well as omitting less odours.

The cheapest places to get Frontline and Drontel is here http://www.vetuk.co.uk/

Also, I don't know if you've heard of Quidco but if you purchase pet insurance via them you will can get cashback (I'm considering Direct Line - £30 cashback per policy ..:D )

A catbed is a good idea ... I brought one recently and one of my cats always sleeps in it ... It cost about £20

HTH, Tori ..

borderlakland

stop buying things now. we spent a fourtune on our 3 cats but they will eatout of what ever the food is in will sleep only where you don't want them to.play with whatever is in their way(loo rolls ping pong balls,bits of string,my hair phone wires etc never what you give them)check with cpl but they should be upto date with jabs,flea worming etc and prob micro chipped.look at links on here for cheaper places to buy flea and wormers for future. m&s seems like good deal for insurance (will prob change to them as soon as ours is up for renewel) basically cats will make your home theirs whatever you spend on them.
also check to see if they have been "done" if not they will help towards if not pay to have them done

avfc4life

Is the Cat Protection League where you brought them from a charity. If so you can get them neutered for half price. A bed isnt really needed. I have 3 cats and they all just sleep wherever. Probably on need about 1 cat litter tray as most cats prefer to go outside to do their business. Any cheap plastic plates & bowls will do for their food drink. Cats can be costly. Last year i spent over £1000 on one cat as it was ill and has some hormonal problems but do i regret it? Not one bit! Im sure everyone on here would agree they are worth every penny. Hope you enjoy your 2 new members of the family:D