How much does it cost to keep 2 (young) cats?

larmy16

I acquired a four year old cat recently, took him to the vets to get him checked over, he had a booster injection (was already neutered) microchipped (£15) and some eardrops and an all over health check + a bag of Hills prescription diet to help his teeth - was about £75 in all.

The bad news was he needs dental treatment which will cost up to £300!:(

More bad news, he does not care for the Hills diet one bit.:(

He is now insured with M&S - £8.00 odd a month.

I by his litter from Pets at Home - huge bag for £5.49. He does go out but wants in quick too! He likes the Felix in jelly and supermeat. All in all he probably costs about £5 a week to keep fed amd insured.

He does have a flea collar at the moment, but when the three months are up, I shall buy Frontline online as advised by some here.

Now saving madly for that dental bill. Just spent £260 on my own!!!!

All in all though I would say he is worth it! I was waiting for a cat to come into my life as opposed to looking for one and he appeared! My DS has just gone to Uni so he (the cat) has proved a great companion.

Gingham_Ribbon

Food bill will depend on what you feed them on. Supermarket own brand biscuits are very cheap and can be mixed with better quality ones, or tins.

Flee and worming stuff can be bought on line cheaper than in vets.

Litter may not be needed after a while if you intend to let them be outdoor cats.

Catflaps are very cheap in Wilkinsons and can be fitted yourself.

I don't put collars on mine as they are climbers, but it's worth getting them microchipped. I'm not sure how much that costs now but it is peace of mind.

They will need annual boosters of their vaccinations at around £32 each per year.

Use the link in my signature to have a look at the insurance board re insuring them or not. You can always put a regular amount away each month to cover vet's bills.

2 should play with each other well and they'll enjoy a few toys but to be honest, mine have never liked ordinary cat toys. they find their own amusement. One plays 'fetch' with my hair bobbles.

Have fun.

sexymouse

Just a tip to keep the cost of the food down, is to go to somewhere like MAKRO, and buy the huge bags of Iams there. It works out much more economical (my cat is 2yr old male piggy) as it lasts for about 6 months or more (think we paid about £25 for the bag). If you can't get to somewhere like Makro, the 3kg bags are often on offer (£9.99) at Tesco, so I just stockpile them when they are on offer. Sometimes the 1kg bags are on offer and can work out cheaper still, so just keep an eye out.

My vet recommended Iams for us, as it's as good as Hills, and the dry food keeps their teeth clean.

larmy16

Sexymouse did you mean the Iams help with the teeth or were you talking of other dried food??

Do you think I should try to get him to eat other dried food if he prefers it?? I would really like to feel he is getting some help for his teeth to avoid any more build up of tartar.

Can anyone advise? Cheers.

sexymouse

The vet said that Iams is the best cheaper alternative to Hills for keeping his teeth clean, and for containing all of the nutrients they need for a balanced diet. We tried our cat on wet food and on other dried food (go-cat) at first as we thought it would be cheaper, but it gave him a really upset stomach, and the vet said that the best food is Iams.
She said that dried food is much better for him than wet food, but if we want to give him a treat, to give him poached chicken.

Cat72

I would urge you not to use Imas. Iams used to be a good company but were bought over several years ago and their food is not as good as it was details here. Also Iams was found guilty of cruelty to animals and their is a very well published video on the internet showing how they did experiments on cats and dogs in order to produce cat food. Im not an extremist but after seeing articles like this which tells how badily they treated animals ( the video is there but you have to very brave to watch it ). I feel sick that I gave money to this company who then used that money for funding experiments on cats. My local pet food supplies refuses to sell Iams now.
Dried food is good for cats but I now prefer James wellbeloved and I seen a huge differance in my cats coats, teeth and toilet habits .

TheBannister

flee wrote:

Are flea collars a suitable alternative to the injection thingy? Are they any good in comparrison?
Ive got two kittens and will sonn be letting them outdoors and I hate fleas!!!

Injections aren't for fleas, they're for things like feline influenza, which, even if your cat is very healthy, can make them seriously ill or even kill them. Obviously if the cats live indoors, its not that much of a risk (although I'd never risk it myself), but if the cats are going to be going outdoors, I would get them yearly injections. Feral cats, and even other domestic cats, can give them all kinds of infections. As well as thinking about the heartbreak your cat's illness would cause you, think of the moneysaving! £15-25 a year for injections, versus the outrageous vet's bills if they need treating.

Carter_2

Cat72

I had heard about IAMS and their testing but after watching the video I feel truly sickened by the extent of their mistreatment of those poor animals.

To the OP I have a cat at the moment, only got him last month from an independant rescue. To date I have paid for £52 vaccinations, over a 3 week period (2 separate injections), a thermal microchip £27 but the normal is £25. He was already neutered but I think it costs about £30ish for that?

Food wise he is fairly non-fussy. I feed him Felix pouches - 2 per day. I also leave out dried food Purina. The pouches cost £2.98 for 12 so at least one box a week. The bag of dried food was £8 and has lasted me about a month so far! I was told wet food was good for their kidneys as it contains a lot of water. if they eat dried food and dont take in enough water their urine gets too concentrated and crystals form in their kidneys.

I buy cat litter and one bag costing £5 lasted me about a month. The cheaper ones I find need changing more regularly as they dont absorb smell or clump. I am hoping he will do his business outside when it gets a bit warmer!

Flea treatment is about every 8 weeks and is Frontline spot on (the liquid that is put on the back of his neck). This stops fleas and is far better than supermarket alternatives and flea collars. Its about £9.39 for a pack of 3, not sure of postage from https://www.Vetuk.co.uk. Worming is every 3 months and is £1.59 for one tablet (same website)

Please consider insurance! My kitty is just over 1 year old and I paid £68 pound for the year with M & S. I think it was nil excess. I had a cat once and within 6 weeks of adopting him had a fight with a neighbourhood cat and needed surgery under his eye which cost £265. Luckily I had insurance and it paid out no problems.

All in all I guess my cat costs me £32 per month in food, insurance and worming/flea treatment.

Then there's the toys, bed, scratch post....The initial cost I admit is high as you want your kitties to settle and feel at home. I wouldnt be without my cat, it is true they do de-stress you (thats when he is not trying to get my dinner off my plate or chase my coat tails while I am walking in the door!

Maybe if you are wondering about the cost now is not the right time to get a furball or two?

If you do decide to adopt, there is an excellent forum that can give advice etc from other cat lovers:

http://www.chaptanservices.com/purrs/index.php

sexymouse

OMG! I had no idea about Iams testing on animals like that. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Now I'm in a quandry, as I don't know what to feed my cat any more. He still has 3 kg of Iams to get through, but as someone who tries to only buy free range eggs and is a vegetarian, I definatly won't be buying Iams again now that I know. Trouble is, he has a sensitive tummy, so I need to find something that won't upset him. Any recommendations for a good dry food that isn't tested on animals, and that isn't really expensive?

sexymouse

Have just found that James Wellbeloved also test on animals.
See here:

http://www.uncaged.co.uk/petfood.htm

Hope the link works. Haven't used one before.