How much does it cost for month for a cat?

[Qqbank01]

Just moved to a new house and planning to get a family cat.
Can anyone share their monthly budget on a cat? I can only think of food/treats, vets, litter and toys, did I miss anything?

Cattery or pet sitting fees when you go on holiday.

Cost of new carpet/sofa when DCat prefers that to whatever lovely scratch post you've bought.

Cleaning wipes for the hairball vomit.

You will want to feed him/her only the best so will buy £££ organic grain free cat mousse in jus rather than Whiskers and GoCat.

Be prepared that at some point your cat might need their teeth cleaning/extractions at the vets - it's not usually covered under insurance and costs a few hundred quid. My cat's only seven and has needed this done twice already.

My pet health plan (vaccinations, flea and worm preventions, annual health checks and 10% off dental work) is £15 a month, insurance about the same. Litter £12 a month and food about £13.

We have 2- £11 a month on insurance for both, maybe £10 on dry food, £27ish on wet food..don't buy toys as they are older and go outside. Flea and tick treatments, maybe £21 every 3 months. Annual jabs about £75 per cat I think.

Insurance. I paid £137 each for our kittens and thankfully we did because one ate a lily in October resulting in £1800 worth of treatment and a 2 night stay. We had to pay that upfront and wait 4 weeks to be reimbursed. Was very stressful as we thought we may lose him plus the money side, thankfully we had the money on credit card to cover it. We also have a monthly plan that covers vaccines, worming and flea treatment which is £10 each. Neutering cost too. If I'm honest I have no idea how much they cost montly in food and litter as it is just part of our shop.

Thank you all.
So I would say basic £50-60 per month if everything is okay.
@JamMakingWannaBe thanks for remind of the cost of furniture/carpet😂

If the cat isn’t neutered factor that in. If you get it from a shelter they will expect a hefty donation, which is fair since they will have housed, medicated and fed your cat. Microchipping. Micro chip Cat flap if the cat is going to be an outdoor cat, expensive but worth it because it means your house won’t be filled with the local freeloaders looking for a cosy bed and a free meal in exchange for their fleas and sprayed urine.

We probably spend around £4 a week on food, no cat litter as she goes outside. She's 12 now so insurance is around £5-6 a month. Plus annual vaccinations and health check around £40. She doesn't have any specific bedding, just sleeps wherever, and just a few catnip toys which are £1-2 each. You'll also need food/water bowls, collar with personalised tag (if he/she will be going outside) and a basket to transport to and from the vets or cattery if using one.

£12 a month pet insurance
£12 to vet monthly health club (two health checkups with Vet per year, monthly flea and wormer and annual vaccination booster all included)
£40 a month on food maybe £30
£20 a month cat litter
£2 plasters for my chewed ankles

Neutering was £89
First/second vaccinations and microchip were I think £99 bundle deal

Toys/scratching posts/beds -as much as u want to waste, especially on beds

We got a kitten and he's chewed phone cables, put holes in curtains, scratched up leather dining chairs etc, but after a year now he's settled and he only scratches his posts and my ankles

I would consider to adopt instead of buying so shelter donation is expected.
I expected equipment like food/litter tray, cat tree would be one off payment.

About the indoor/outdoor cat, we are living in a road which is near to school, school time is quite busy but other time should be quiet so I would prefer indoor cat/garden only. Is it okay to keep a cat fully indoor?

I have 2 cats I did have 3 but my old boy died recently 😭. You need to factor in the following:

If you get a kitten they need a set vaccination program which I think worked out about £90. Spaying or neutering is around £100. Then flea and worming tablets monthly maybe about £10 a cat.

Food is maybe £6 a week per cat.

Cat beds are pretty reasonably priced from B&M so maybe £15.

If you need a litter tray that's about £5 plus a weekly litter cost of around £5 though I only ever use that until my kittens are old enough to go out and spayed. Cat toys are fairly cheap and don't tend to last long in my experience. If you have an indoor cat or kitten you need a scratch post so maybe £20.

I would say overall 1 cat costs is easily £40 a month. However my old furboy who died in sept cost us about £800 in a year on extra vets bills as he needed painkillers, a x-ray etc.

Our cats are part of the family though so worth every penny. Kittens are quite hard work compared to older cats on my experience and far more destructive (wrecked chairs etc in my house).

My cat’s insurance is about £37 a month. It was cheaper to begin with and I have claimed each of the 2 years we have had him, but I think it is worth getting the most comprehensive coverage and it covers dental. My cat has FIV.

My DD is a vet and regularly sees animals with awful rotten teeth that insurance doesn’t cover and owners won’t or can’t pay for. So the poor cats and dogs suffer terribly.

We have to pay for the routine vaccines and annual checkup, worming tablets etc but everything else is covered by insurance less the excess, until he reaches the age of 8. Then it’s 50 per cent.

Food and litter (he’s an indoor cat) maybe another £40 or so. It’s worth paying out for a higher spec food Hills etc.

Then toys etc maybe £15? Plus initial outlay for bigger toys and puzzle feeders.

So perhaps £90-100+ a month.

Also the price of cat sitting (£15 per day around here).

My husband saves £100 per month for him. We had a massive bill for our old cats final illness - over £4000 and by then our insurance didn’t cover most of it. So taking out our own insurance for the future!

Depends what quality of food you want to give them.

One of mine is on specialist food after recurring bladder stones (which cost £100s to sort)

So he costs me about 60-70 a month plus vet trips

For us I'd say £100 a month with meds and insurance and food. Our cat is almost 12.

My insurance for two senior cats (one has had huge claims) £118
Health plan £14 each, £28
Food £10 (buy in bulk)
Litter £15 a month.

What they give back= priceless!

Donations for rescue cats are far from 'hefty'. The charge usually barely covers the cost of vaccinations, neutering, microchip and flea/worm treatment, let alone any further vet treatment for illness/injury which is quite common in rescue animals.

Some cats can be kept indoors but many rescues won't agree to this, and won't agree to rehoming near a busy road, due to the high risk of the cat being run over. It depends very much on the needs of the cat, sometimes cats with conditions/disabilities need to be kept indoors, so if you're able to take one of these cats, you have more chance of being able to adopt one.

It depends on wether you intend giving your cat the works or hoping for the best.
The expenses for my two include
Cost of getting cat flap put into glass door £150
Weekly wet food and biscuits, they like whiskers, 2 pouches a day each.
Pet insurance £15/month each
Yearly vaccinations around £70 each.
Spaying or neutering.
Dental work when needed £400 each time on the whole. Just paid out £800 for teeth removals for the elderly cat. The kitten should be ok for a few years.
Cattery for when I go away.
Toys, collars, cat microchipping and registering on the national site £15 I think.
My last cat cost my insurance company £10,000 and lived to 20 so not insuring your cat isn't really an option.
Cat litter I buy big £20 bags on Amazon.
Cat litter tray for each cat.
I have 1k in savings for stuff the vet doesn't cover. I don't have any credit cards.
No cat beds, they prefer my bed and shun them.

It will depend on what you choose to feed/what the cat decides to eat, for food costs. I buy good quality stuff in bulk online and as it is high meat content rather than the crap that is in Felix, Whiskas etc. you can fill a cat up for about the same price as you need less.

Our rescue sells beds, carriers etc. that have been donated, some of them are very good condition (I donate to them too) and very inexpensive. A good wash or clean and they are as good as new. I sometimes buy used to support the charity especially if it something the cat may not like and may be given away.
They also sell food and litter.

We paid £110 recently to adopt our cat who has already had surgery so do ensure you have insurance set up in good time as you need 2 - 4 weeks before you are covered if something goes wrong.

You will need regular check ups, flea & worming treatments, best from the vet as the shop stuff isn't great, dentals, possible flea treatments for the house, throws to keep fur off the beds, nail clippers or extra vet trips, brush/comb, bowls, water fountain (not essential but good to have), more than one litter tray plus litter, scoop, possibly poo bags, furball paste...

As for indoor cat - choose one that likes to be around you, isn't bothered about going out. Mine have been happy to be with me or asleep, although they do have an outside catio to take the air and survey their kingdom/watch the birds.

Indoor cats, once you are sure they are flea free, will save you flea treatments and cleaning up bits of dead creature or the vomit resulting in eating of them. Cats can be happy indoors as long as they have company and are played with, and are a lot safer. Some will not be, choose carefully. We were told ours liked other cats and would like to go out. Nope. Hates cats, doesn't want to go out. Get to know the cat before you take him/her home.

Rescue cats are usually already chipped and mostly come with 4 weeks PetPlan.

Sorry, that was my hefty!I agree with you, the donation barely covers the shelters costs, but some people seem to think shelters are happy to give animals away for nothing which is why I put “ hefty”.

Insurance is £11 for two, food probably £100-150 (including treats!), toys maybe £20 a month. So £100 for one cat for one month. Ours do only eat ridiculously fancy fish food.

Ours is probably £30 a month on food / litter (we buy in bulk) and toys for him to ignore as and when we see a nice one.

Petplan is about £30 per month now as he's old.

His vaccinations are about £85 a year, plus any dental not covered by insurance.

He's an indoor cat (by choice, before anyone starts) so we only flea treat him before he goes to the cattery as it's a requirement.

Cattery is £13 per 24 hours when we're on holiday.

Don’t bother with a bed. Mine sleeps in a box lined with and old fleece. If she sleeps in anything.
Cat carrier?

Vaccines were £75 and need done every year.
Get insurance.
Ours would’ve cost us £1200 in the summer due to an injury!

I keep my cat indoors. We have a lot of hawks and the odd coyote here, plus raccoons and possums, and I live on a busy street. Dcat is happy and healthy.

About £15 a month for healthy pet club - that gets the microchip, monthly flea and worm treatments, 2 check ups a year, annual vaccinations, 20% of dental treatment and some other bits and bobs.

Another approx £15 a month insurance. The unlimited one.

£30 ish a month wet cat food. She has one tin a day. Applaws tuna.

I get a 10kg sack of James wellbeloved and that lasts bloody ages. That's about £50

Treats - webbox lick e lux, toothies, hearties and so on. Probably another £30 a month.

One offs like cat litter tray, cat bed, scratching post, water and food bowls and so on. I bought her a big tower, covered litter tray, fleece rug, cat sofa, raised food and water bowl shelf so she doesn't have to put her head right down to the floor to eat and drink. ( It's far better for them to not have to do that). I can't remember how much all that was, maybe £150.

Cat litter is about a fiver a bag but it barely gets used because the git uses my strawberry patch instead. 🤬

Toys and Christmas. Probably £50 a year.