Cost of a kitten/cat?

[mustbetimefortea]

Thinking of homing a couple of kittens but not sure what it would cost to look after them properly. How much would you need to allow for food, equipment, litter, vets bills etc.?

Don't want to risk getting them and then not be able to afford to keep them. Thinking of two so that they would be company for each other.

[mustbetimefortea]

Definitely moggies not pedigree cats. My last cat died 15 years ago so rather out of touch.

[thecatneuterer]

If you're rehoming kittens that are too young to be neutered, then first of all you need to budget for that. If you're in London you can get them done at Celia Hammond's for £20 for a male and £25 for a female. Private vets are likely to be twice that or a bit more. Pets at Home vets tend to be good value.

Then there's annual jabs.

And very, very importantly, insurance.

The first few pages of this thread covers all this and more besides:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/1681116-Were-probably-getting-a-rescue-cat-soon-What-do-we-need-to-buy-and-how-much-will-upkeep-cost

[HadABadDay2014]

So far my kitten has cost me £200.

That's for 1st and 2nd injections, microchip and neutering. Bedding ( which she doesn't like) a scratching post and toys and a litter tray, bowls and collar.

That's not including food.

[cozietoesie]

I would never buy special bedding, toys, bowls etc. They really rook you for cat-labelled things in the supermarkets and pet stores so it's a lot easier to utilise what you have around the house/ask family/visit a charity store for eg old fleeces, small kiddy toys etc - which can just be popped in the washing machine.

[mustbetimefortea]

Thanks for all that, especially the link to the thread.

[TheDoctorsNewKidneys]

We got two kittens last year - they're indoor cats. They cost us around £35 a month in food/litter (we have two indoor trays). You also need to budget in flea treatment, jabs, neutering and annual boosters.

We didn't buy them anything special in terms of bedding. They sleep on two old beanbags and a fleece banket we got from the market. Their favourite toys are old tennis balls and a bouncy ball we got for 10p from the market. They also have a few balls on strings they can chase around, and the best thing is to get a laser pen.

We got them some cheap plastic bowls for food/water because they're clumsy and broke their original china ones by knocking them over

[cozietoesie]

I've found that the best bowls for food and water are fairly small china cereal/dessert bowls - the sort that you get in 6s in china sets. Family and friends are likely to have extras knocking around cupboards (and not use them) and very often you can get them dirt cheap in charity shops or market stalls. I'm not keen on plastic because I've found that it doesn't clean as easily.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I pay £3 a week in aldi on food, £5 a week on poncey litter & about £40 a year on jabs.

I bought mine a medium sized dog bed, he loves his bed.

[cozietoesie]

You could save a bundle if he didn't insist on his scented stuff.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I know but he wees on the wall if it isn't talcum powder scented.

Cats are weird.

[Queenofknickers]

Again another vote for Celia Hammond (they are in sussex as well as London) - our kittens were already vaccinated and they arranged low cost neutering (£50).

[Queenofknickers]

Litter tray was 2.99 and their favourite toys are ping pong balls - 24 for 80p. I wouldn't worry about a bed - I don't know any cat that sleeps in a cat bed - they always prefer your bed or a cardboard box! I would redommend microchipping but again CHAT did it as part of neutering.

[mustbetimefortea]

So does this sound about right per month to look after 2 kittens/cats?

Food - 25
Litter - 20
Insurance - 10
Vets bills - 8

Total = 63

Anything I have missed?

[Cailleach]

If you're in Yorkshire I have a little black kitten up for grabs...4 and a half months old, called Fudge.

Let me know if interested :)

[thecatneuterer]

I think insurance might be a bit more than that, but I'm not an expert on that.

Flea and worm stuff - £10 a month approx for the two cats.

[mustbetimefortea]

Cailleach sorry we're a long way from you.

[mustbetimefortea]

Insurance was based on a quote from Tesco.

So jabs + flea treatments + worming averaged out would be about 16 per month.

I make that a monthly total of 71.

Hmm. That's starting to look like it could be a struggle, but better to find out now rather than later :-(

[thecatneuterer]

Of course one cat would be half that amount. There are lots of cats looking for a home without other cats. Lots and lots ....

[mustbetimefortea]

It's just that I'm at work all day and thought it would be best to have two to keep each other company.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Cats are pretty self sufficient if they are on their own. Mine only misses me until the food dish hits the floor, then he buggers off out again without a backwards glance.

[cozietoesie]

Cats sleep much of the day anyway and tend to adjust their routine to yours. In the days when I worked out of the house, my boys used to sleep when I was at work and cavort when I came back. They had loads of play when I returned though - and used to sleep with me every night so were completely topped up on love.

[moonbells]

Watch out for excesses on insurance. Moonkitten got bitten on the bum a month ago, got a temperature and stopped eating, but thanks to having read about cat bite abscesses on here, I got him straight to the vet and came out £80 poorer which was still a fiver less than the excess! (He was fine the day after.)

[Ghirly]

I have 3 cats and 2 of them sleep in their bed. The other one sleeps on blankets, they were from the pound shop so not expensive at all.

[thecatneuterer]

As long as you get a young adult cat, rather than a kitten (which hate to be alone) then one cat should be fine. Rescues always have cats that are looking to find a home where they can be an only cat. We've got more of those than I can count at the moment.

As people have said they largely sleep during the day anyway, and if you have a garden and cat flap then he or she would be perfectly happy.

[cozietoesie]

How many cats are awaiting homing at CHAT at the moment, TCN? I'm wondering how you'll all cope when main kitten season comes upon us.