What should I budget for cat care?

LittleLauz

Hello all, I will be becoming the proud adoptive mummy of an aboned 18m old male kitty cat tomorrow - at least for a while.
And it's been years since I've owned a cat, so just need a quick re-cap of the costs.
He is likely to be an indoor cat, as this is what he's used to.
So,
obviously food to start with, do they need a mix of wet and dry foods?
And what is the rough cost per month.
Litter I know I can get fairly cheap as already use that for my house rabbits litter tray.
Do they still need to be flea and worm treated as indoor cats? Even if they do I remember this to be fairly cheap with the frontline treatments.
I shall get him microchipped, so he shoulnt need a collar should he? Plus the fact that he will be indoors unless on an escape!!
And insurance I've guessed at less than £10 a month.
Anything major I'm forgetting?

onetreehillgrrl

+

Good luck

LittleLauz

Haha oh yes, forgot about those scratchy claws! Though to be honest, much of my furniture is covered in bunny nibbles anyway, so a few scratches will only add to the 'animal distressed' theme I'm aiming for..... Ahem

dgtazzman

We adopted our Maisie at the beginning of December, also 18 months old, so the costs as we've had them so far: - Food: most seem to say good quality wet food is best, have a look at Bozita on zooplus.co.uk, same price as supermarket brands, but better quality. Costs are around a pound a day.
- Insurance: 5 to 7 pounds a month depending on your cover, use a cashback site to get around 40 pounds of that back. Petplan or policies underwritten by Axa seem to be favoured.
- Litter: many different kinds, many different prices. We use a clumping litter, 12 pounds odd a bag, lasts about 1,5 months. This isn't the cheapest stuff though, but Maisie likes it and it works well.
- Worming/treatments: I'd still worm an indoor cat on occassion, not too fussed about fleas and ticks though. Think Frontline is about 15 pounds for a 3 month supply.
- You forgot vaccinations, costs vary per vet, can be as much as 40 pounds a year. Vets4pets offer vaccinations for life for about 100 pounds if you have a surgery near you. These are required for your insurance.
- Chipping: Don't know where you are getting your cat from, but the RSPCA sent us a voucher to get Maisie chipped for free.

I'd say about 2 pounds a day would get the job done.

Having a happy kitty: priceless

cjmumto2

Dry food works out cheaper in the long run, I use Burns pet Nutrition, they only need very little and then she has half a tin of Hi Life in the evenings to ring the changes so food is really a negliable cost. I suppose my biggest expense is cat litter but when ever on offer I stock up. I paid £20 for a microchip at my vet (I phoned 5 vets to price things us) Annual vacs are between £40 and £50 again call around the vets. Pets at home do microchops for £15. If you can afford it I wouldnt use up the RSPCA finances on a microchip. Scratching post is a must

Get your frontline online from something like VETUK it is much cheaper than the vets but as an indoor cat I really wouldnt worry unless you saw a flea, ditto with the worming less than £1 per tablet online but again if indoors you probably only need to do it twice a year to be on the safe side.

Tescos came up with the best quote for insurance for me.
Enjoy your kitty.

tosker

you can save on annual vaccination boosters if you leave out the leukemia element - but only if your cat never goes out

and you may change your mind about this