Costs & Considerations of Rescue House Cat??

Fire_Fox

I am a 30-something female who works part time, I don't have children and think it highly unlikely I ever will. I have previously owned two much loved rescue cats, who I left in the care of my ex-husband as I did not have a stable home for them and he did. I cannot tell you how hard that was, but it was best for them.

I have not now looked after a cat for nine years so my 'parenting skills' will be pretty rusty! The current Mr. Fire Fox and I are splitting up after three years and I am devastated. I wonder if now is the time to get another rescue cat .... this is to get me through the winter, but I know that any pet is forever.

I live in a good sized city centre flat so I would only be able to give a home to a cat that did not need to go out. The flat is owned outright, so this would be a stable environment and I don't need anyone's permission. My windows are opened daily, but I don't think a cat could escape unless very determined. There are three doors between my flat and the outside.

Is this a good home for a rescue cat, perhaps a deaf one? How much does it cost to keep an adult cat these days? Will the cat need wormer and flea treatment if it doesn't go out? I know I would need a travelling basket, litter tray, bowls and food ...

I don't have a lot of income but I do have enough capital should I need to dip in for unexpected vets bills. I don't go on holidays but do have a couple of friends/ neighbours who would pop by if I was away on a course. Is there anything else I should be considering?

Sorry if the questions sound silly, I am guessing a rescue centre will need to homecheck me and I don't want to be unprepared. Thank you!

lowis

well, you may want to consider a pedigree rescue - lots of cats in the pedigree rescues are 'indoor only' cats due to the fact they would probably get stolen!

lots of little souls here needing homes:
http://siameserescue.org.uk/homeswanted.htm

i would strongly recommend insurance for any cat you adopt as well...then you won't have to worry about unexpected vet bills - which can be extremely high these days. vet care has really come along since you last owned a pet - and they can now do so much for our pets, but at a cost (tomorrow I am expecting a vet bill for around £500 for a biopsy, chest x-rays and a day-stay in the cat hospital!). to get an idea of costs try doing some dummy quotes at axa, petplan and M&S (do not try the cheap policies offered by supermarkets, they are not good policies). i would guess though that it would cost around £10 a month for a youngish cat, possibly a couple of quid more.

feeding can be relatively cheap - you can buy bags of quality dry foods for as little as £10 a 2kg bag, which should in theory last about 4 weeks for 1 cat if measured out properly!

there will be more people along with much more concise advice than this. good luck x

Fire_Fox

Thank you that's a great start! :T I hadn't thought that vetcare had progressed along with human medicine (and I work in the NHS ... :rolleyes:). So I do need insurance, really glad I posted to ask.

My cats always used to eat supermarket own brand tinned meat and own brand biscuits, unless there was a half price offer on any of the brands then they'd have a change. One would have steamed fish and roast chicken with us, the other would only touch 'proper' cat food! The problem with wet food is flies in the summer, they would lay eggs within a couple of hours: yuck. :mad:

Value/ Smartprice cat litter is very cheap, would it be ok? How do I know what is a quality dry food - I don't remember there being more than own brand, Go-Cat, Whiskas, Kit-e-kat before ...

child359

I rescued two cats in March. They were indoor previously and so far I have kept them in as well.

I have still wormed and de flea'd them anyway as you can bring fleas in on your shoes and I have read a couple of cases recently where indoor cats have been covered with fleas because they were not flea treated.

Again I have insured them too! which I needed as one on them " Pants" found the whole rescue rehoming part stressful and developed Colitis which meant lots of vet trips and now he is fed on JWB which is relatively expensive compared to shop own brands etc.

I had never owned a cat previously but found this website www.catchat.org a fantastic insight and resource Not only do they have links to rescues with cats but also have a forum for questions etc.:T

Good Luck. Personally it is the best thing we ever did!!!:D

Fire_Fox

Indoor cats Florence and Fox for those who need a fix!
http://adel.cats.org.uk/index.asp?m=gallery&id=3&p=0
http://adel.cats.org.uk/index.asp?m=gallery&id=3&p=5

Thanks Child359 I hadn't thought fleas could come in on shoes, just that we don't have grass or cats or dogs much in the city centre ... but we do have rats so I guess we have fleas! I don't like using unnecessary chemicals, so maybe I could just treat seasonally. We always used spot-on stuff from the vet with our two and was well worth the money.

lowis

cat food has changed a lot since you owned cats too

the quality dry foods are sold by vets and the online pet retailers. Hills Science Diet is one of the best sellers, but they are getting very expensive at between £14 and £18 a bag. James Wellbeloved is also very good, and costs around £10-£12 a 2kg bag. There are organic foods and foods with no additives such as Arden Grange and Applaws. Within these categories you can buy food for kittens, young adults, adults, seniors, indoor cats, diet food... Then there are also specialist foods for cats who suffer from such things as dry skin, food allergies etc. And one manufacturer even makes food for specific breeds - I think it is Royal Canin. it can get as specific and complicated as you wish...i just stick to Hills Senior and James Wellbeloved Senior for two old boys the quality dry foods usually end up costing far less than the cheap wet food or biscuits from supermarkets.

oh and here is a link to a full list of pedigree rescues, just in case you don;t like siamese (i am terribly biased, i adore meezers!)

http://www.catchat.org/adoption/pedigree.html

catchat is a super website!


x

foreign_correspondent

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Indoor cats Florence and Fox for those who need a fix!
http://adel.cats.org.uk/index.asp?m=gallery&id=3&p=0
http://adel.cats.org.uk/index.asp?m=gallery&id=3&p=5
.

Florence is a real beauty - but I just looked at Fox, who is also lovely and spotted Noah - on his link it says to look at the 'feature page' to see Noah when he first came in - poor, poor cat! He was in a terrible state, but looks fab now!

lowis

Fire Fox

Have you considered getting two cats? Indoor cats sometimes like to have a companion (unless of course the rescue place specifies that the cat should remain an only cat)

two cats really aren't that much more effort than one...maybe florence and fox could be friends...
x

spookylukey

If Adel CP is your patch then how about Noah http://adel.cats.org.uk/index.asp?m=gallery&id=3&p=5

He needs an indoor home with carpets - here's his story, be warned the photos of the state he was found in are very graphic

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,22570.150.html

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,24283.0.html

Fire_Fox

I had to discount Noah (lovely as he is) as I have laminate flooring all except the hall and bedroom, and the hall carpet will eventually be hard floors too. I am not sure about two, I can imagine escapes! We had two before as we couldn't choose between a black female and tabby male.

They'd never been together: we shut them in the spare room the first night and the boy cried and scratched to come out. He then spent the next three days straight in my company - on my lap or my pillow, but the little girl stayed under the bed for a week. One night she came out a little just as he was coming up the stairs ... they both jumped!! Within a couple of months they were teaming up to beat up all the neighbours cats. :T

I like the idea of organic or additive free cat foods and will derfinitely look into that. Really glad I posted, I knew I was out-of-date but not so much! Really helpful, thank you all.

nementai

I'm a big fan of Applaws (and so are my 2 rescue cats) - it looks and smells like 'real' food and the cats actually have to chew it up because it's chunks of chicken or fish (about 75% meat - the rest is rice or water). My two go crazy for it and eat the whole lot in one sitting, whereas with other brands (14% meat! God only knows what the rest is) they licked up the gravy and left most of the 'meat' until they were really hungry! They don't like the applaws dried though, for some reason, but adore the Royal Canin dental food. Luckily they have the same tastes so we don't have to pander to their tastes too much!
The applaws large tins (size of a tuna tin or similar) are about £1.15 most places, web and shops. Our local pet shop gives us a generous bulk discount though. One tin does my two for their evening meal, and then 4 weeks worth of royal canin is I think about £25-30. More expensive than tescos, but worth it in my opinion!
As for health care, yes, it's amazing what they can / will do these days. Most insurance also covers alternative treatments, like acupuncture, homeopathy and hydrotherapy, which is nice!
I rescued 2 cats about 8 weeks ago and I have to say that I'm pleased I picked a pair - they've supported each other through the stressful change period and do keep each other wonderful company while we're at work. I must agree they're no extra work - if you're changing litter anyway, the extra tray(s) don't make much more work, and feeding is very simple.
Good luck, anyway!