Cats - how expensive are they really?

Rambosmum

3 cats - 2 of them no issues, annual jabs about £60 6 pipettes of frontline, about £20 and lasts 3 months. Food about £15 a month. A few toys, scratching posts and food trays, about £50 at the beginning. They don't need litter trays so we have one 'just in case' but it never needs changing but gets cleaned, disinfected every 6 or so weeks or if it's used. so about £10 on cat litter every 3 months. So about £400 a year for 2 cats.

Cat 3 - a bit disabled and has epilepsy. Petplan insure for life -£14 a month, thank God. So far we're at £1700 for less than one years medical bills, but because of insurance it isn't anywhere near that expensive.

1234catlady

Me and my bf are students so we have either been on JSA or student loans/bursaries since we have had our cats and tbh, they have never left us out of pocket. We got our cats 3 years ago. They were 6 at the time and brother and sister. We pay about £6.99 for 12 tins of Felix and that does them around a week roughly so that would last a long longer if you only had the one cat. We don't use cat litter any more as my bf trained the cats to use the human toilet but before that we paid maybe a fiver a fortnight for a big bag of litter. Litter boxes you can get in Poundland as well as toys. Maybe some of your friends and family with cats would maybe have some old toys or cat stuff lying around?

When it comes to vets and insurance, that can be a bit expensive. Touch wood, my cats are in great health and in the three years I have had them, only one of them has been to the vet and the other hasn't (excluding check ups when we first got them). Turned out to just be a hair ball but the initial appointment and some medicine came to £60. Quite expensive! Some vets let you pay up weekly or monthly rather than on the spot which is good. For insurance, I think we are about £12 a month but my mum pays that from her account along with her own pet insurance.

ElusiveLucy

It does vary so much from cat to cat. One of mine (both 12yo) only goes to the vets for annual checkup, whilst the other has been really ill and last year went through in excess of £8000 of vet/consultant bills!

The insurance (with Petplan) goes up each year and now they are 12 I am paying nearly £30 per cat per month, but they paid out up to their maximum £6000 last year on the ill one, which I was really thankful for. I would have hated to be in the position where my cat couldn't have treatment due to cost.

bitemebankers

It certainly does vary a lot. My cat is now uninsurable, due to having a recurring bladder stone problem. Over his 13 years thus far, he's clocked up about £3000 in vets bills and now costs about £70 a month to feed. Not cheap.

woodworm001

We have had several cats over the years (all rescue) and 2 of them have had conditions that required ongoing veterinary treatment of some sort which could have made them 'expensive to run' - fortunately they were insured. Our other cats have been healthy and our food bills are similar to everyone else's.

I really wanted to post as some people have suggested fostering and I'd like to highlight a charity called the Cinammon Trust who are always looking for volunteers helping elderly people to look after their own pets when they are less able or short term fostering if they go into hospital, etc.

hampshirebabe

Our cat was run over at about a year old, she had a broken leg, thankfully that was all, but it cost £5000, if we didn't have insurance we prob wouldn't still have her, so i wouldn't be without it now.

splishsplash

Vets are definitely the biggest expense - spaying/neutering; flea and worm treatments, vaccines, accidents and illnesses.

Over the couple of weeks, we've had:

Cat 1: teeth descaled and cleaned under anaesthetic, Felv/Fiv test, antibiotics and anti-inflammatories: €125

Cat 2: EUA (throat): €36

Cat 3: # pelvis: x-rays under sedation x 2; laxatives; anti-inflammatories: €125

Crate to contain cat 3 for a couple of months: €70

Cat 4: stuck up a tree, had to get son out of bed so both of us could rescue her: Priceless;)

rising_from_the_ashes

It's possible to make huge savings if you can bulk buy things when they're on offer - if poss, a separate account that you stick £x into each month quickly builds up and you can then take advantage of these

Zoo+ is great for most things - they do a huge range of good quality foods at great prices

Scratching posts - I have loads of these around the house - great value, lovely and tall and hugely cheaper than elsewhere http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/scratching_posts/small/small_cat_trees_height_80_cm/33681

Litter - clumping is great. Initially it might seem expensive but if you clean the clumps regularly and top up when needed then it will last for ages (I only do a full tray change every 3 months :T) so it works out a lot cheaper. I use this http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/biokats/fine_grain/137226 usually £13.99 for 2 bags but currently the single bags are on offer for £5.71 so have been stocking up!

They also do a loyalty discount scheme (you pay a small sum but it's valid either a year or 3 years and you can save loads) and a rewards programme which is a bit like te*sco clubcard points!

Initial costs:
Litter tray - good covered one, about £20 (take the flap off if you get one as many cats don't like these)
Bowls - as mentioned before, having several makes washing easier! I use ceramic for their dry and either stainless steel or becobowls for their wet
Bed - start with a couple of cheap ones to see a) if they'll get used! and b) what style they like (Mia likes igloo & Archie open and neither would set foot in the other type!). B&M / £stretcher etc usually have something that would do

Vets - yes it does vary both in cost where you live and animal to animal. I've been lucky with my 2, Mia has had 1 illness which was about £150 (she's 7) and Archie has had 2 about £300 total (he's 10). I have them insured but will probably switch them to accident & injury policies when they get a bit older

TBH you can spend loads - but it's also possible to do it on a budget if needed

I do agree with the earlier posts re quality of food though - eg this is a great, grain free, high meat content food at a fantastic price http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food/porta_21/porta21_feline_finest/170885

You'd struggle to get *everyday* stuff from the sm for that price and they'd not be a patch on the quality - which usually results in, amongst other things, having to feed more (so they work out even more expensive!)

Mixed with some good wets, that should last 1 cat about 6 months! (it will be fine if you keep in an airtight container)

HTH a bit

pinkteapot

krlyr wrote: »

Colleague is nearing the £500 in vet bills over the span of 5 weeks. Young cat, no previous issues, he just started to lose weight and go off his food. Vet thinks it's IBS so he's now on a diet costing her about £16 for 1.5kg..hopefully not a longterm cost!

Is the food a Hill's Prescription Diet one? If so, Zooplus sell it much more cheaply than the vet.

LaoCapon

UPDATE!

Some friends of my parents are going on a 3-week holiday and I've offered to look after their moggy - I have said that as I am looking to dip my toes in the water re owning a cat of my own, I will pay the costs over the 3 weeks and see how I get on, so they've told me the food brands/flavours she likes, what catlitter they normally use, and the rest is up to me
I will be trialling various measures from this thread...!