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For cat owners, how much does it cat? How much do you spend for the food, when it gets sick, etc.. Any inputs would be helpful..
I want to have a cat when I move out of my parents' house. I always loved cats but not parents....
I want to have a cat when I move out of my parents' house. I always loved cats but not parents....
haha
Hmm, $25 for a big bag of food that lasts forever, lol. In a normal year I pay something like 100 bucks or so to the vet as I do a normal checkup every year and make sure the shots are up to date. Add to that litter (I use the Breeze System) which costs me about $12 a month to maintain. Last would be a flea treatment if you think you need one but those aren't too bad and usually have like 3-6 months worth of treatment per box.
Up front you should be prepared for higher costs as you need that initial checkup/shots and all the goodies that go with pet ownership (litter box, scratching post, bedding, toys, etc). Day to day though cats are a really cheap pet to own though, as with any other pet, you should be prepared for an unexpected vet bill should something happen.
I buy Innova EVO (one of the few decent pet foods out there most is garbage) for under $20 at pet land... raw diets are the best of all provided the cat or kitten is healthy and doesn't carry FIV or FeLV
The scratching post should be rough and tall.... and the more then better, you can get sprays to protect furniture or use Soft paws.
I would be wary on adopting cats if your going to be renting in the future, many landlords will require/want such legalized crimes as de clawing go to LittleBigCat - Declawing a rational look. Your probably better off putting a cat down or not even fixing it (the sexual behaviors are annoying but they can be handled/tolerated by stud pants/pills/keeping them inside) rather then getting it de clawed IMHO.
though if you do that your cats will not live as long and be very aggressive/unhappy- unhealthy- they will be more like wild animals then pets but that could happen anyway with de clawing though, lol at least you don't have to worry about having their paws cut off, walking/balance issues, pain ect.. And that ( not fixing) is in itself AWFUL as besides health/behavior issues there are millions of cats/kittens that are unwanted.
A cat can live to be very old over 30 in some cases.
PP You keep stating cats can live over 30yrs of age. While it may be remotely possible, please don't lead others to believe it is the norm. You know that. When is the last time YOU had a cat live to be 30 or even know of one. NOT one you read about on the internet.
Sorry OP, I just wanted to clarify. Yes, by all means, have a set aside fund for the occasional vet visits. Intial cost has been stated above...but don't forget the toys!
The trouble with that kind of thinking is most cat eat garbage or are dumped or pts before they can live that long... I'm sure if human beings ate garbage and lived like cats do on a regular basis they wouldn't live to see 80 90. People in 3'd world countries eat and sadly live like many cats do and they only live to see 50 or so.
I have personally known 1 cat that lived to 28 on a garbage diet but then again humans can too... its not common but it happens..... take the woman that slept in bed and ate bacon, died at age 115! Aquraland/fish store has a cat that 27 years old eats Science diet-(Garbage), buts still kicking, they also have the largest Mata-Mata turtle in captivity, over 3 feet long!
Da-bird is a MUST for cat toys BTW!
TomSd sounds about right. Plus whatever rabies tag costs you. I would also try to put a little extra money away for emergencies. Most of mine were all healthy until about 13-14 yrs of age when they got older. I did adopt 2 kittens that both had feline leukemia. They only lived for about a year, and they did have more expenses with meds.
Good luck getting a kitten! I know I'll always have a cat and dog in my life.
Finally...someone doing their homework before making a decision about a kitty in their lives. BIG HUG TO YOU! Its my opinion with that question alone that you would make a great pet owner.
Best to you!
I can speak to unexpected vet bills. My cat is otherwise healthy but got a bacteria infection that resulted in complications because of pilling. My vet bill is at about $500 and I still need to take her in because the issues have not yet been totally resolved. I have 2 options put down an otherwise healthy pet or pay the vet bill. I'll pay.
For 2 cats, just pet food and litter is about $60 per month.
A must have is a scratching post and that cost can vary from $20 up to a couple of hundred dollars depending on what you want.
Your initial costs will be a little more than maintenance because of the supplies you will need to buy, for example a litter box, a poop scooper, toys, etc.
RE: scratching posts, cats really prefer the ones that don't rock/move/tip at all when they scratch at them. Most pet store sell the small ones, which don't weigh much and can wobble when a cat really gets going on it...This is why cats will sometimes choose the furniture even if they have a scratching post. A cheap alternative is the cardboard scratchers. Trader Joe's has a really nice double wide cardboard scratcher for $7.99 - a really good price. It even comes with catnip to attract your cat. They do need to be replaced every so often, but if you can't afford a huge cat tree that will stay put, they are an alternative. My cats have 3 huge tree-type cat furniture pieces, and they still love to rip on the cardboard things.
I prefer to use Rubbermaid/Sterlite 37 gallon totes (you need to cut out a door, don't cut it too low or litter will get kicked out, I found out) for a litter box. They're cheap (I paid $6.99 each) and they are bigger than the boxes sold as litterboxes which are often too small. If you have a standing pee'er (like me - a long haired princess who hates to let her fur drag where she's just peed) the tall sides are great! And buy the largest scooper you can find - it really makes scooping go much faster.
Indoor-only cats stay healthier overall because they aren't exposed to parasites, fleas, cat fights, cars, dogs, diseases, etc., so keep yours in if you want fewer vet bills.
catinfo.org has lots of good advice and is a must read for cat people, IMO.
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at least you don't have to worry about having their paws cut off, walking/balance issues, pain ect.. And that ( not fixing) is in itself AWFUL as besides health/behavior issues there are millions of cats/kittens that are unwanted.
