Costs of owning a cat?

midnightnoodles

We are thinking of getting two kittens and are trying to work out costs of ownership. I've done quite a lot of searching online but can't find any particularly up-to-date links with an indication of costs. From my searching I have come up with the following rough approximations on a per cat basis. Can any moneysavers let me know if I'm looking at the right ballpark? Are there any costs that I have not included? Are there any cost savings arising as a result of having two cats or will the costs be pretty much doubled?

One off start up costs (Total - £170)
Rehoming kitten from Battersea Dogs Home/Cats Protection League (coming neutered, microchipped, vaccinated etc...) - £70
Other start up costs (litter tray, cat flap, toys etc...) - £100

Ongoing annual costs (Total - £550 per year)
Food - £260 (£5 per week)
Insurance - £120 (£10 per month)
Routine vet bills/vaccinations - £30
Cattery - £140 (based on a 2 week stay, £10 per day)

Thanks in advance!

jungle_jane

Are those costs you've listed per kitten?

I find it better to get the catsitter to pop in when we are away - less stressful for the cats and a bit cheaper at £8 per visit (we currently have 2 cats)

How exciting for you OP!

pigpen

1 cat on its own costs more! The dangers of a lone kitten include wild hours when we charge about shelves bouncing everything off, swing on curtains, eat the plants, 'help' with the washing up by shoving a full pile of plates onto the slate floor.

Don't forget the costs of replacing sofas and carpets and curtains and redecorating every couple of years when they trash everything.

I have 6, I love them.

I have someone come in feed mine when we are away, do you not have a nice neighbour or friend you could ask?

jungle_jane

pigpen wrote: »

1 cat on its own costs more! The dangers of a lone kitten include wild hours when we charge about shelves bouncing everything off, swing on curtains, eat the plants, 'help' with the washing up by shoving a full pile of plates onto the slate floor.

Don't forget the costs of replacing sofas and carpets and curtains and redecorating every couple of years when they trash everything.

I have 6, I love them.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

rising_from_the_ashes

midnightnoodles wrote: »

Ongoing annual costs (Total - £550 per year)
Food - £260 (£5 per week)
Insurance - £120 (£10 per month)
Routine vet bills/vaccinations - £30
Cattery - £140 (based on a 2 week stay, £10 per day)

Are the above for 1 cat?

Obviously the costs for rehoming will be set (and I assume you've checked this out before posting) - not sure if these would be doubled, you'd need to check with them.

The start up costs would be a bit more but certainly wouldn't be doubled as you'd have most of them.....

A lot of costs for things like insurance / vet bills depends on where you live eg my cats' boosters are nearer the £50 mark but their insurance is £7.29 (big cat is 7) and £5.39 (wee cat is 4) so a lot cheaper than you've quoted

Would agree with the others about seeing if a friend / neighbour could pop in while you're on holiday ..... they really do much prefer staying at home!

I budget £50 / month for my 2 for everything except insurance, and usually have a slight underspend at the end of the year - HTH

You can make HUGE savings by bulk buying so it's worthwhile trying to set up a separate account for pet costs so you can do this ohhh - and 2 will keep each other company - much easier to do it at the start then to try to introduce a 2nd cat later down the line

midnightnoodles

Hi all

Thanks for the responses - yes the costs quoted above for one kitten. Will definitely look into options of trying to get neighbours to come in when we're away but am trying to get realistic worst case scenario type costs in terms of budgeting.

Cheers!

AMO

I would say that the startup costs are a bit more as you'll want to buy nice things for the kittens to play with and live in.

On going costs really depend. I think if this is the first time you have kittens, you'll want to try different types of litter and food and you'll probably spend more than average - every time you go to the supermarket you suddenly want to see what offers are in the cat aisle to see if you can pick up a bargain on some of the more expensive branded foods to give your kitten more variety and see how they react etc.

Also, we went for only one kitten. From a cost point of view it's cheaper and so you can treat it more.

Spudsey

Hi
I have two cats aged eight, the costs below are for both of them.
Cat food is about £430 a year mine are on Yarrah tinned and Arden Grange light dry food.
I use chick crumb as litter and this is about £104 a year.
Insurance is £26 a month.
Cattery costs £13.50 per day based on two cats sharing one pen.
Vaccinations £150 ish a year.
Worming, flea treatment £70 ish a year
Other stuff bought, Hairball treatment, feliway, Zylkene (for stressed cats), Cystease S for cats with cystitis plus I do tend to buy my cats something new most months as one of my cats is indoor only.
Other things to consider are vet bills. One of my cats had a problem with his paw which took a while to sort out, you never know what problems are going to arise and cost you money at the vets.
Hope this helps!

tuttifruiti20

These are my approximate costs per cat at present:

Start up costs were about £115 including everything needed, hooded litter tray, radiator bed, toys, scratching post, big scratching post house thing and bowls, mat etc.

Food approximately £25 per month

Insurance £12 per month

Cattery free - friend comes in and I do the same when they are away

Boosters £37 per year

HTH