How much does your cat cost you...

[JCMSD]

...and what does this cover?

Thinking about getting a cat and trying to work out whether we can afford to. The Cats Protection website says average annual cost is £1,100. Does that seem right? How much do you spend each week?

[issey6cats]

i have 6 cats at thew moment as i have two fosters, so 1.5 tins of food per day £6 per week, 2 bags of biscuits per week £6, i buy a large spray bottle of frontline which lasts around 6 months thats £30 from the vets and worm tablets milbemax are £3.50 each once every 3 months and i dont have insurance but put £20 a month in a bank account for the cats and over 7 years for current mob have probably only taken out around £200 for minor things like conjuctuivitis in one and a tummy bug in another, so normal expense without extras food per cat around 50p a day

[issey6cats]

sorry cat litter around £3 a week

[JCMSD]

Thanks v much guys

[sashh]

£26 a year for vaccinations and health check at the vet.

Food - I don't know I get the big things of dried food so probably £3-4 a month, maybe more.

I don't have insurance. I do have a credit card with no balance for if I do need to pay out.

Treats and toys - I've bought loads and she prefers a cardboard box.

Also she goes out to poo so I don't pay for litter.

[ManAliveThisThingsFantastic]

I have 3 cats.

£15 a week on food (sachets and dry food)
£120 a year on regular vaccines
£6 a fortnight on litter. They very rarely use it and we scoop straight away if they do!
£30 a month on insurance.

All together I calculated it to be £1396!

[thecatneuterer]

If money is tight then you will have to get insurance and factor that into your budget. Costs vary greatly so it's worth doing some research, and make sure you look not only at the price but also read the t&cs very carefully.

People who have plenty of savings to call upon if necessary can risk not having insurance. People who don't have to have it, as it's either that or face having your cat put to sleep for the sake of a few hundred pounds (or even thousands if we're talking road accident etc).

[thenicknameiwantedisgone]

We have two cats and it costs nowhere near £1,100 pa for the two of them. Mine will only eat go cat, much as I know that is not popular here, that is literally all they will eat. I'd guess at £10-15per month for that.

One gets matted fur on her back but we groom and clipper that ourselves, total vet bill for the year is usually £100ish. One year it was £450 as one cat got antifreeze poisoning and had 48hrs on a drip in vets intensive care. We do not have insurance but will pay for bigger bills if we need, the £360 for the poisoning was the most we have paid so far and they are both 13 now.

I think if you are unable to pay for the odd large vet bills you would be silly not to have insurance. I would get insurance in retrospect as ours are getting older now and we cannot insure them, but it would be nice for peace of mind especially now they are older.

[catameringue]

You can get budget cat insurance for £50 a year but only covers about £1500 of vet bills. The decent insurance is a lot more but covers more. It's worth sitting and thinking whether you are someone who wants to be able to throw medical science at your cat in its hour of need or whether you feel you wouldn't want to subject your pet to that.

My cat budget was £70 a month for 3, budget insurance, 3 months of flea treatment as they are indoor/garden only, including vaccinations but not other visits. I say was, as the blighters are now eating prescription food as one of them has an allergy.

[girliefriend]

My cat costs

£6 a month pet insurance (with argos!)

£10 a month pet plan - this covers flea treatment (advocate,) worming, yearly booster and vet check up.

£5 a month (approx) food, this is one sachet of wet food a day (morrisons own brand) and iams cat biscuits.

So just over £5 a week I suppose.

[VivaLeBeaver]

£12 a week for food.
I don't insure them.
Whatever the boosters cost.

Two cats.

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

Bear in mind though that you're committing for the whole of the cat's life, and just like us, older cats tend to have more medical and dental costs than young ones. Insurance costs for older cats reflect this (and don't cover routine dental work.) I speak as an owner of a fifteen year old cat with a chronic condition that needs two types of medicine every day (£32/month) and has had to have several teeth extracted under general anaesthetic (£250 ish) on top of vaccinations, food and litter this year. He is worth it, of course, but you need to think long term.

[Deux]

Funny you should ask this as i recently worked out how much our cat costs.

Annual health check and vaccinations at vets - £30.

Frontline spot-on flea and Profender spot-on worming from the vets - £84

Food - he's a big boy - his favourite is Aldi pouches + dry food -£4 a week, so approx £200 pa.

I've not had to seek any vet treatment since he was a youngster and i don't have insurance.

He goes to the cattery a couple of times a year at £10 a day so I have to factor that into the cost of any holidays. So if he's in the cattery for 3 weeks over the year, that's a minimum of £210 pa.

I don't buy toys, may get him a catnip cardboard scratcher, about £4 each. So maybe £10 pa on sundries. He doesn't have a bed, just choses the comfiest place in the house.

So probably spend in the region of £550 pa.

You'll also need to think about one-off start-up costs, eg neutering, microchipping, buying and fitting a catflap (i have a microchip operated one) buying a cat carrier (my advice would be to get a top opening wire one not a plastic one as they are more sturdy and a bit easier if your cat is reluctant as you open the top, pick up cat and set them in.)

www.medicanimal.com/product?product_id=204067&locale=en_GB&ptc=googlebase&utm_source=uk_googlebase&utm_medium=uk_googlebase&utm_campaign=uk_googlebase&CAWELAID=720013290000014257&gclid=CJGRisHs3LsCFSbHtAodiVQAUQ

[Lottie4]

I have two cats, so would say after initial things mentioned by Deux:

Vaccinations and vet worming £40

Flea treatment £80 (they have a quality one from the vet which works much better)

Food approx. £160 a year

Mine have been quite lucky over vets bills and average about £20 a year. We've had them since kittens and put £15 a year in a bank account (the cost of health insurance at that time) and have never used it. They are now 14, so have £2,000+ sat there just in case, which I'm sure will come in handy in old age.

One of my has cystease as she has a sensitive bladder which is about £55 a year. She won't go during bad weather, so spend about £70 on cat litter a year.

They like simple toys like old boot laces, foil rolled into balls, sticks to chase after and ping pong ball so this doesn't cost anything really.

[Noodles123]

I've never worked it out before but:
Cat biscuits, they love the Hills Science Plan which isn't cheap, about £20 a bag and that probably lasts 2-3 weeks for the pair. Wet food I buy 28 of the small cans every week on my Internet shop as they are on offer at £5 for 14 and that easily lasts the week. Litter, probably £5 a week, one cat goes outside unless weather awful, the other one uses the tray quite a bit. Insurance is about £12 a month for the pair I think - my DDebit is £27 and that covers the dog as well. Vets, usually just an annual check and jabs so about £60 I think. They aren't especially expensive to keep and I could certainly do it cheaper with cheaper biscuits and cat food but they are very healthy and sometimes I think cheaper food possibly a false economy in the long run...
They are worth every penny though!

[incywincyspideragain]

That is probably about right if you are looking over the whole of the cats life

We've just signed up to a monthly pet plan with our vets too,£9.50 a month for each cat which gives free 6monthly checks,free vax,money off neutering (although cats protection will help with this if you need,they had done one of our cats and gave us vouchers to help with cost of other 2)money off dental - I'd look into that before you get a cat as well as continuing the pet plan insurance that cats protection star for you,go for life cover not short term

There are also start up costs like cat flap if they are going outside (cheaper than litter - see if you can borrow a tray for the short time you keep them in and for after ops) a cat carrier is useful,cats protection ask for £50 per cat as a donation,they usually have vaccinations done - kittens are cute but more expensive than cats initially (only have first set of vac done and need neutering) kitten food is more expensive too (up to 12 months)

Cats protection will also micro chip them for you.

Getting food online also works out cheaper - pets at home do click and collect and you get a discount

But on the whole they are deceptively expensive (trying to find money for dental work our cat needs.... not covered in the insurance)

[incywincyspideragain]

Oh pet plan monthly covers flea and worming too

[girliegav]

About 15 pounds a month. .. hope this helps

[bakewelltartandcustard]

Why would a cat need 6 monthly vet checks? Humans don't. I think pet plans are a rip-off.

[Ohwhatfuckeryisthis]

As well as food etc, a grand and a half on ruined sofas, and a few hundred on carpets.

[incywincyspideragain]

The plan works for us because each consultation is £36 so our oldest cat needs teeth taken out and then he recommended we bring her back 6 months later = free on monthly plan, insurance was a waste of money as it doesn't cover dental
I don't see doc every 6 months but I do see dentist that often...

[MimiSam]

We got 2 rescue cats recently - one has cost us has nothing except her food, the other has cost us approx. £680 in vet fees in just 3 months (cat fight injuries, problems with bum, eye, mouth, you name it). So there is an element of pot luck to it.
One tip - get your cat insured as soon as you get it - we dithered and by the time we did it, cat fight injuries had been excluded, so we will have to pay for these ourselves - for ever, presumably!