Please tell me honestly how much your cat costs a month including insurance

[Squirrelsnut]

I would love a cat, so would DS. DH is understandably worried about the cost of living crisis and is reluctant to take on more expense.
So please tell me how much a youngish cat costs to look after.

If you get a cat/kitten from rescue they will already be neutered and have had their initial course of jabs - this makes rescue an absolute bargain. Moggies also tend to be healthier in general.

Insurance prices vary depending on what sort of cover you pick, but bear in mind the price goes up every year both with the age of the cat and inflation. By the time you have an elderly cat, and really need the insurance, it's a lot compared to a kitten.

Self-insurance is a risk - £4K doesn't go far if your cat needs emergency surgery, or you are at the night vet, or paying for an ongoing condition such as thyroid. I've done all of these.

Food to some extent depends on the cat - you can go cheap or luxury, but if your cat decides to have a health condition or just be fussy, you will be stuck with your choices. For example out of 5 cats so far, 3 of mine have had urinary problems (it's very common) and so I have to pick the appropriate food.

Two cats, never had pet insurance.

£22 a month on flea and worm
£70 ish a month on food & treats

Our boy is 4 with no health problems.

Food: £20
Insurance: £11
flea and worming medication £10

We take him to the vet annually and which is £60.

3 cats
£65 insurance
£40-50 cat food
£15-20 flea and worm treatment

Then £50 a year each for health check and vaccination.

I have 2 sphynx so costs are likely higher as worse risk to insure and are iouse cats. They come close to £45 food £30 insurance £15 litter as a basic each month.

Ours will only eat Asda's own tinned food , so that's probably £20 a month , no insurance , £5 on flea treatment and booster at the vets once a year . So not much at all . I can't say he's worth even that though - he attacks me daily for no reason and lets me stroke him about once a week !

I've had cats for 42 years, never had insurance. However -

vet bills are high. My cat had to have an eye out last year, following a scratch from being in a fight. It cost £1100. We have a credit card specifically for vet bills. Food, probably £40 a month, flea and worm treatments a similar amount.
If you get a rescue cat, they are always already microchipped and have been neutered. RSPCA charge about £100 for a cat from them.

We do it the basic way. Food only. A scratching post. That's it.

@Storminamu - do you not treat them for ticks, fleas, worms?

No. Haven't had any problems. The occasional tick to remove.

About £50 a month.
£15 pet insurance - it's a "for life" plan so the premium should stay the same as she ages and she remains covered for repeat issues
£15 vet club (working, flea treatment, vaccinations and 6 month health checks)
£20 on food because she's on a prescription diet due to allergies
Litter was about £5 a month but she stopped using it after about 6 months.

We got her as a rescue 3 years ago, she's nearly 7 now so I expect vet costs to start climbing.

She was DPs cat but when we split he moved into rented so she has stayed with me and I've taken over all the costs. More than I expected and not ideal with rising costs, but she's part of the family now and I wouldn't scrimp on her - I can still make cut backs elsewhere.

I'm not sure I'd choose to take on a pet right now though, but if you do, please adopt. So many pets being given up due to rising costs and it's going to get worse.

@Storminamu - lucky. Must be area. Ours would get riddled with ticks without treatment.

£15 pet insurance - it's a "for life" plan so the premium should stay the same as she ages and she remains covered for repeat issues

Ha ha ha no. Mine have "for life" plans - the premium goes up the following year if you make a claim, and for ageing. On the other hand they stay covered for ongoing conditions.

For life just means you get chronic conditions covered, not that the price stays the same for 20 years.

Looking at the insurance costs - you're likely to save a lot of money by not insuring and putting some money aside to pay the occasional vet's bill. I've had 3 cats and I'd estimate I've saved around £5,000 that way.

It's all very well saying "put the money aside", but what happens if you get a cat, don't insure it but start saving the premiums (say, £20 per month) and two months later, it comes down with a condition that will cost you several thousand in vets bills?

It happens. My three cats now have cost me maybe £300 in vets bills since we got the first one six years ago, but my previous two cost me around 3k in a matter of months between them - both totally unavoidable conditions.

I agree you might be better saving the insurance money. I had two cats who lived to 18 and 19, and never needed insurance. My current cat is 5 and has never needed insurance. I have it because I've heard horror stories of cats being run over and it costing £££££.

£8 insurance £8 petplan £30 food
If we go on holiday it's £15 per day for the cattery
Toys are pointless for mine, he's outside most of the time and when he'd inside he's sleeping

per month:

Food:£22
Litter: None
Flea and worm treatments :£10
Insurance:£15
Vet: we haven’t needed one lately but I’ve heard that costs have gone up massively for procedures such as dentals

Ours doesn’t bother with bought toys - a lot of them are too heavy or noisy, he’s more interested in ones we make for free such as a feather on a piece of string.

If we go on holiday, friends who live nearby with cats of their own feed and check him, and we return the favour when they go away. So it might be possible to do some things for free.

About £30-40 a month I think.

Yes, for life just means conditions, not the premiums! Or that would be the most popular plan ever. After the first year they usually hit you with a big increase.

I buy her a giant box of pouches once every few months and a sack of biscuits so, maybe a little over a tenner a month? Worming/flea treatment is every 3 or 4 months for something like £8-10 for the spot on from the vet. No insurance because in 8 years I've only needed to take her to the vet once. It did cost £450 (broken leg needing pinned). Insurance would have been over double what we have paid so far. I don't mind paying out of pocket for her.

Forgot to mention, she's 8 now. Did originally buy her a covered litter tray for around a tenner which we filled with fuel burner pellets (little wood pellets) that I bought a 1/2 pallet of for £3 a 10kg sack about 10 years ago. We still have most of the pallet left in storage because we use so little. Wood pellets are much more expensive if bought in the packaging of cat litter rather than solid fuel. Better for the environment too.

We don't buy her toys really. Maybe a B&M thingy at Christmas but her true love is empty cardboard boxes and pipe cleaners.

£75 a month on food, he has to have special food for medical reasons
£7 monthly flea treatment
£75 ish a year for vaccines and worming
£100 a year insurance, used to be about £50 but he got poorly & they paid out about £1000 so well worth it.
£10 per night, cattery if we go away
£30 one off for his water fountain
£20 a month for feliway & water filter replacements
£100 a year on new basket/blanket, toys etc
The joy he brings is priceless and he's worth every penny 😻

I have one cat and don't have insurance. I would pay any vet costs if needed.

She's 8 and I buy a large bag of high quality food every 6 weeks or so and she has half a pouch of wet food twice a day. No litter. I buy dreamies etc

So I'd say she costs me about £25 a month