Considering a Cat: can we afford one?

[Osquito]

Hi, cat owners:

DS is now 6 and, we feel, ready for a pet. We would look at getting a cat (hopefully from a shelter, we aren’t fussed on breeds) but before all that I just want to know if we can actually afford one!

How much does your pet insurance cost? Have you had to suddenly pay out £££ on something? I prefer cats, grew up with them as a child, and DS would really love a pet but here in the UK I’ve heard about high vet bills and seen several ‘Go Fund Me’s to pay for operations etc... the thought of not being able to pay for urgent treatment for a pet is really putting me off, but am I overreacting? We aren’t the type to have much in savings, and what we do have is prioritised (house deposit), but it seems a furry friend* is really important to our DS.

Thanks for your advice.

*am aware that cats, sometimes turn out to be the Devil incarnate, and not the pile of floompf you had planned on cuddling, but bridge/cross/later

Oh my gosh. I think that a cat is very affordable. I would say insurance is about £10-15 a month for a young cat with not health conditions.
You are looking at about £15-20 a month on cat food. Maybe a bit less depending on what you feed. Then flea stuff about £10 a month in the summer months.
I don’t vaccinate mine past their initial kitten jabs and in forty years we have never lost one to illness. I appreciate I’m probably just lucky. I am actually very pro vaccination.
If you adopt from a shelter they arrive fully vaccinated and neutered.
Good luck and enjoy! All my cats have been lovely delightful characters. I lost my latest one last year, and as soon as DDog (who is very old) has departed I shall be off to get some kittens. Just don’t think it’s fair on the poor dog in his dotage 😁

Have a look on MoneySavingExpert about pet costs, they usually have a good breakdown.

So insurance is about £9 pm
Then his vets pet plan is something like £12 per month and this includes all his vaccinations, yearly vet check, worming tablets and flea treatment.
Then food is from farm foods 3 boxes of felix for £11 each box has 40 pouches and he has 3 pouches a day.

That's all the costs I can think of off the top of my head.

He also cost £50 from cats protection and he was neutered and microchipped.

We have a house cat.
£20 on wet food every 3 months
£5 dry food a month
£6 litter a month
£12 litter tray liner every 4 months

We've had 1 trip to the vets in 18 months.
£75 on cystitis meds.

The good news is that basic moggies are usually a healthy mix and shelters do get them chipped, vaccinated, etc.

I agree with the above poster about cat food (plus a litter tray) and insurance is cheap before the age of 10. If you are concerned about the excess or covering medicine after that, set aside an extra £5 a month in a savings account, alongside insurance. Assuming no major health problems beforehand, that's £600 buffer for old age.

And don't bother with any fancy pet toys or climbing frames or beds. They'll play with a duster, climb your furniture and sleep where they damn well please, minion! (Your bed or better yet, somewhere you've expressly told them not to sleep. I'm looking at you, kitchen chopping board loving twat cat!)

We pay £14/month insurance for ours, so no horrific vets bills when she's done something silly (only a couple of times in 9.5yrs). She has her annual MOT at the vets which includes the annual vaccination (and I get them to do a worming tablet as they are so bloody good at it) and was about £50 last year. We spend about £40/month on her food, which is not the very best, but good quality. I am hoping a good diet now will buy us years and save us vet bills in future.
She is currently sleeping curled up next to my legs with a paw balanced on my shin to catch me out if I try to sneak off. She definitely brings far more value to our family than she costs us. She's even nice to the kids sometimes

Forgot the flea stuff! We don't bother with it in winter as she rarely goes out. I have no idea how much it costs though as DH buys that.

My little monster is £17 per month to insure, he is 7 years old but l had a massive claim when he was a kitten tonight be why premium is £17. He has yearly jabs which are approx £90 and other than that, just food. Wouldn't be without him!!

Don’t forget the cost of keeping it supplied with cardboard boxes!

Thank you all for your replies. Very promising answers, looks like insurance (generally) isn’t as high as I thought it’d be... Looks like a cat could be a real possibility, we can dare to dream now!

Our cats hardly cost us a thing! £12 something for their insurance which is top notch insurance and less than £10 a month in food I imagine - I don’t actually track how often we buy it.

They bring so much joy to our lives I’d pay that 100 times over for them.

Hi Op,
We have a rescue moggy and have never regretted it. As pps have said, day to day they do not cost a lot and they bring so much love, amusement and joy. Do shop around for a decent insurance cover though. Our puss has recently incurred a vets bill of £1700, so we are very glad she was covered.

Costs before getting a cat are a carrier (I just bought a new one for £17), bed (less than £10), litter tray (less than £10 for a hooded one) and a few toys. Mine loved squeaky mice and dangly things on a string but most toys are a waste of time. B and M is a good place to buy basic cat supplies.

Ongoing costs are food and litter which for my cat it is around £15 on wet pouches and about £2 on dry. I currently use Catsan smart packs which is £7 for two inlays which lasts a fortnight but you can do it far cheaper.

Neutering costs vary, but £100+ if you get a kitten.

Pets at home did a vaccination scheme where you pay £150 and that covers them for life, I don't know if they do that any more but worth phoning them to ask.

My biggest costs were for my old cat who sadly passed away recently. He was diagnosed with cancer and lived for 6 months, his meds cost £30 a month, the vet plan allowing unlimited visits was £22 a month and I spent a fortune on expensive food to keep his weight up. The initial scan to diagnose him was £150, I estimate in total he cost around £1000 including euthanasia and cremation.

My other cat has cost me less than £200 in vets fees in 10 years when he needed his teeth cleaned.

I have three cats. Insurance is around £12 per month for the two youngest cats who are aged 8. It goes up quite a bit the elder they get - my 18 year old cat is £63 per month.

I pay £12.49 for a vet payment plan per cat per month. This covers all annual vaccinations, two check ups, all worming and flea treatment - plus
I think I get 10% off the vet fees too.

Cat food - I buy in bulk and pay about £60 per month in total which covers all the dry and wet food and cat litter for all cats. So assuming any cat you get isn't super fussy then about £20 per month on food would be reasonable.

The biggest expense is the trashed sofa and carpets that between them they've ripped to shreds. Brand new hallway carpet destroyed in a year. Sofa torn up. Numerous plants snapped off where cats have jumped on them. But despite the hooliganism they're very sweet and fluffy!

Great to see some more replies. I’ve written down the recommendations and a basic budget to look over with DP.

I grew up with pet cats until I left home. so I’m well used to caring for them day to day, but clueless about the actual costs! These replies have been very helpful.

@Gingerkittykat Very sad to hear about your old boy x

My cats cost me a fortune. As I've had no end of health issues with them. Their insurance is £75 a month. But as I've had 21k of claims it's needed!
They are so worth every single penny I spend on them.