advice needed from cat owners / lovers

milkydrink

Hi,
First off a HE cat thats a year old needs fixing ASAP. Because if he starts to spray he might not stop & you couldn't live in a house with a cat that sprays, get this done yesterday.
Where do you live??
People might be able to point you to low-cost clinics if they knew where you lived, I would say roughly from about no more than £50. BUT its often possible to get it done much cheaper. I help out with the CPL (cats protection league) & they sometimes do free neturing in certain areas, other animal charities do similar schemes.
Vaxinations, you need one now, then one about 3 weeks after that, then a yearly booster. You can get the basic vax or get the basic vax plus lukemia, obviously its more expensive to get the extra lukemia vax. The price for this varries also around the country, Celia Hammonds do a low-cost vax, neture & microchip clinic, again need to know where you live.
Microchip, some places do this lowcost, sometimes pet shops do it, good idea to get it done during neturing op. Max £20.

FOOD, DRY FOOD DOES NOT CAUSE BLADDER OR KIDNEY PROBLEMS, years ago there were some concerns about this, but modern formulations are great for cats health. It will also NOT smell, NOT attract flies & will be a MASSIVE benefit to teeth.

Agreed buy the best food you can afford. Iams from the supermarket is OK, don't get anything cheaper from the supermarket. Even better is Hills Science Diet, you often get offers in pets at home or even local pet shops. My cat likes Royal Canine - thats more than hills but is reckoned to be the best quality ingredients in a complete cat food.

Here is a link for CHEAP meds.

http://www.petremedies.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=275&strPageHistory=related

You need Drontal (worms) every 13 weeks & frontline (fleas) every 13 weeks will be fine for an indoor cat on their own OR every month for an outdoor cat.

That web site is far cheaper than a vets & as cheap as animal charities, you can't get them any cheaper. Do not bother with stuff you buy in pet shops, you will be wasting your money.

A covered litter tray will be nicer for you (& him). Also you can get cat litter from the supermarket & pet shops that looks like white/clear bath crystals, its fab. When my cat had a tray I used it. Bob Martins Crystal is one name.

Good luck, it's really nice of you to take him in. With the CPL I see lots of sad homeless cats.

Kim

daphne_descends

kimevans, thanks for clarifying the dry food matter - my opinion on it is admittedly a few years old following a poorly cat we had. I do feed our two a mix of wet and dry food. My bad habit is leaving dry food out and it's something I must stop. Cats are not grazers are what they don't eat should be discarded - they will certainly let you know if they want more.

It is really good to see someone recommending Hills. Whiskas, Felix etc might be just about alright but contain meat derivatives

I take back all I said about other peoples vets being pricey. Took one of ours in today as we woke up to find him with a very swollen eye and £50 later we have some eye drops!

But I don't want my money's worth when it comes to their health - by that I mean I don't want £50 worth of illness ('they charged us £50 but hey at least he was REALLY ill'!).

The one thing we do scrimp on is cat litter - because we're finding that the cheaper stuff from local shops smells less and is more absorbent than the super pricey stuff. I count us as lucky that the cats aren't fussy about what kind of litter they're given!

I think routine is very important - but perhaps more so with outdoor cats (they will know when it is dinner time and come home accordingly). Somehow our two took a liking to being fed at 5am :eek: When the clocks changed we had two days of peace until 6am... yet somehow they've started the breakfast demands at 5 again. Still, it's quite nice being woken up by a cute cat, I have to say...

milkydrink

fac37,
That old story about dry food still hangs around, lots of people still believe it to be so. Perhaps the makers of dried food would do well to publicise the facts as they stand now.
Actually the "good" makes of dried food now contain ingrediants that are good for the cats urinary trait & kidneys.
It's best to stick to a complete dry diet, but as yours are on mixed you know they will only eat mixed now (just as mine will only eat Royal Canine:mad: ). But starting anew (as this cat here is only 1) go with all dry. My boy is 6 & the vet always says "great teeth".

Don't moan about you vet too much, my cats eye infection a few months ago cost me £150!!!:mad: !!!

Unlike yours mine is a grazer, but as hes on dry its not a problem. If his bowl is less than a third full he goes mad:rotfl: Greedy !!!!!!:rotfl:

Mine started life as an indoor cat & started going out a year & a half ago (moved rural), so he goes out to do his business in the front garden, but does really spend much time out. Which is great, because he likes a scrap now & then, & YES I DO KNOW HE LOOKS LIKE A BIG PANSY:o , BUT HES A BRUISER REALLY:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
He comes back from fights with eye infections that cost lots of money at the vets:mad:

Kim

Ellie2758

If the cat is not going outside I dont think it will need flea treatment, will it?

Ditto the injections - somebody else has dared to raise the subject of not vaccinating I see. There have been recent debates about the necessity of yearly vaccinating, by vets themselves.

Neutering is your priority - especially if it is a boy! Eeek, you wont want that smell in your house. If you are on low income/benefits the charities (Blue Cross/ Cats' Protection etc) offer reduced rates. Ditto vets bills.

Nobody had mentioned insurance yet, unless I've skipped over it. I have 3 cats. One never needs to go to the vet but the others have both had chronic conditions over the years. Vets round our way (south east) are expensive but even here they vary. Ask around for info from other pet owners.

Good luck! Cats are brilliant pets as they are independant but still there when you want them.

Oh, and to save on cattery bills could somebody feed the cat when you go away?

milkydrink

sticher wrote: »

Can't help with the vaccination/neutering cost as mine were done years ago now (I don't believe in vaccinating every year - that's another debate, lol)..

I've heard breeders say this & some "cat" people. Personally for peace of mind I pay it once a year. If you need to put them in a cattery urgently or just routinely you need them vaxed.

sticher wrote: »

I have two cats that go outdoors and they rarely need flea treatment. I last treated them with frontline almost a year ago - and still no sign of fleas. I will probably do them again soon though as the warmer weather is on its way..

On this I think you've been lucky. My cat got fleas once, actually I think they were possibly in the new house we had just moved into. It was a nightmare, luckily I was ripping all the carpets up anyway, I got acclaime from the vets & sprayed the matresses, bed bases, sofas & chairs, skirting EVERYWHERE, I would never skimp on flea treatment, as much for my sake as his.

milkydrink

Ellie2758 wrote: »

If the cat is not going outside I dont think it will need flea treatment, will it?

YES< YES & YES!!! LOL mine was an indoor cat when he got them, as per last message I'm not sure if he got them from new house or doormat or where.

Ellie2758 wrote: »

Ditto the injections - somebody else has dared to raise the subject of not vaccinating I see. There have been recent debates about the necessity of yearly vaccinating, by vets themselves.?

She will need them if she ever needs to use a cattery. I feel for me they are worth the peace of mind. Especially boys, because if he does slip out they are much more likely to fight & thats how they often contract these illnesses.

Ellie2758 wrote: »

Neutering is your priority - especially if it is a boy! Eeek, you wont want that smell in your house. If you are on low income/benefits the charities (Blue Cross/ Cats' Protection etc) offer reduced rates. Ditto vets bills. .?

Yes, get them off ASAP before he sprays, LOL

daphne_descends

kimevans wrote: »

fac37,
Don't moan about you vet too much, my cats eye infection a few months ago cost me £150!!!:mad: !!!

Kim, can I ask what your treatment was like - do you feel ripped off?

About two weeks after we got the cats (only October) Hurley suddenly had a horribly swollen eye so off we went, and after parting with £40 had some ointment and tablets - and were told to take him back in three days.

We did, and spent all of three minutes with the vet, where they literally just LOOKED at his eye (no dye, no torch) and said 'oh that's looking better, bring him back in three days' and charged us another £25 for it :eek: We did as they said twice more before deciding that actually, vigilant pet owners can see if something is healing and wouldn't hesitate to take him back if there was no improvement or if it deteriorated.

We spent around £120 in vets fees - as I said I wouldn't put a price on their health but there's a line, that felt more like giving away money, or an entrance fee. And I would MUCH rather shell out for a relatively minor problem than get my money's worth with a terrible illness, I am grateful that it is only an infection, my mum had a kitten some years ago that cost a fortune in vets bills and got into several accidents before dying at a very young age But do the vet's play on our worries and lack of knowledge - I can't diagnose a problem because I haven't got a clue! I found a large scab on Hurley's leg a while back, consulted my cat book and decided it could be ringworm, I'm pregnant so panicked, off we went to the vets and she just picked it off and said he was fine!

Here we are again - eye infection - I am not so keen to return again and again to have the same 'treatment' as before.


Sorry, this is getting so off topic in reality I think this particular kitty is TRYING to cost us money :rotfl:

daphne_descends

Oh and regarding fleas, touch wood we've been very lucky so far, I think we've only had to treat them three times in six months :money:

sleepymy

Just wanted to say it's lovely to see a positive thread about cats for a change!

For those who are interested in more ethical pet foods http://www.uncaged.co.uk/petfood.htm

milkydrink

fac73 wrote: »

Kim, can I ask what your treatment was like - do you feel ripped off?

Yes. Very similar to you. I took him in, got 2 injections (one pain & one anti-biotic) & some drops nearly £60!!! Come back tomorrow they said. Back in the next day, same vet, new drops & one injection for pain, £40 come back in 2 more days. Went back in 2 more days, she looked at it, said healing nice, took 30 seconds cost £25 said bring him back in 2 more days. Went back (different vet) took 30 second look at him & said "healing nice - but I think the other vet would like to see it again as shes been treating him, bring him back tomorrow when shes in £25 please!!!!!
Needless to say, I didn't bring him back for a 30 second check up:eek: :eek: :eek: