How much does your cat cost each month?

[Moaningturtle]

I am researching getting a cat. I’ve finally moved into my own home and can have pets again!

I've owned cats before, but in the early 2000s so need to do my research. My plan is to go on a waiting list at my local rescue and wait until a suitable cat is available, however long that takes.

Ideally a cat (or kitten) under 5 with no known health complaints. I have older children (9,12) a house with a small garden and live on a quiet estate. I know it might take a long time to match with a cat, but I’m fine with that!

So my question is, how much do you pay each month for your cat? Insurance, food, flea and worming treatment, litter, miscellaneous toys etc?

Any advice?!

One cat, probably about £75 per month, includes insurance, pet health club litter and food(big 5kg cat who eats about 4-5 sachets a day, dry food is limited as he had a urethral blockage)

Food is £14 a month on repeat delivery. Probably another £5 on dry food.
Insurance is £9 a month.
Cat collars get lost regularly, £1-2 a month to replace.
Litter about £4 a month as he rarely uses it (uses a big patch of leaf little at the back of my shed before anyone worries about cat poo in their garden)

So less than £35 a month.

My cats are on an all meat food that is delivered costing £62/month; vet plan £14/month and they are in and out cats but still use a litter tray so about £12/month per cat. Add in a cat toy or two, treats, whatever, about £100/month. No insurance - I used to have it for one of my dogs but when it crept up to £70/month after a few years without ever making a claim I stopped it. I do have funds to pay should they need it, and my vet plan takes 10% off.

Insurance £20
Flea/worm £20
Food £25

Insurance 28.50 a month
Food 18 a month

That's all .

He is 8 years old and his insurance has gradually risen from £8.50 a month

To be fair I have claimed over 12k in insurance on him over the years ( he was hit be a car who he was 1, poisoned when he was 3 and developed allergies when he was around the same age ! I'm.wondering what next! )

£10 a month Pet Plan including flea and worm treatments, annual booster jab and check up (highly recommended)
£16 a month insurance
£10 approx wet food (1 per day as she’ll only eat Sheba)
£12-15 biscuits
So around £50 a month. No litter as she hasn’t used a tray since around 6 months.

Occasional new bed and brush.

I forgot to add occasional purchases such as toys, new bowl ,think he is on his 3rd scratch post bed etc but all these are few and far between.

And of course he prefers to play with random bits of string, eat out of one of my bone china dishes claw the sofa and sleep on my bed! so not sure why I bother!

I think part of it will depend if they are an indoor cat or an outdoor cat.

We had two, both indoor and we paid for food, litter, toys occasionally and vaccinations yearly and a 6 month check up. We didn't use flea treatments or worming treatments and we didn't have insurance (just paid what was needed when).

We lost our last girl about a month ago and when we are ready we will get another (or two 😁). If they are outdoor cats we'd flea and worm them obviously and I'd think seriously about insurance too.

Food costs can really vary depending on whether you choose the cheapest rubbish dry with 2% meat content or the super artisan handmade 100% fresh meat personalised deliveries... Mine prefer a mid-range food, mostly wet, and it works out to about £15 per week per cat.

food (wet and dry) £60
litter £10
flea/worm stuff £10

I pay a cat-sitter when we go away, which is £9 per 20 mins visit, so £126 a week

The biggest cost is vet treatment. My old boy had 3 lots of antibiotics in a week, to treat an eye infection (another cat scratched and damaged his cornea) then had to have the eye removed = £1200

Something awful like £200 a month - my £60 kitten is now a 19 year old with high blood pressure and arthritis. She won't take tablets so she has to have special human medicated gel that we massage onto her twice daily. It's lucky for both her and us that we have a decent income and can afford to keep her going!

DCat is on meds that cost about £1 a day. His food costs about £1 per day too. His medical insurance is about the same - £1 a day. On top of that we pay £10 a day when we go away as we have to hire a professional sitter to come twice a day who knows how to medicate him, and we pay the excess when he has medical attention, as well as worming, defleaing etc which all adds up to about another £600pa, plus toys, scratching posts and beds for him to ignore, so in total about £150-175 pcm but he's old. He was a lot cheaper when he was young and healthy, He doesn't like cat litter and always uses the garden so there's no expense there.

Her pet insurance is about £15 a month. She has 'healthy pet club' membership which is about another £15 a month and gets her annual boosters, a health check every 6 months, monthly flea treatment, worm treatment and other bits.
Her food, she has James welbeloved dry cat food, about £40 for 2 X 4kg sacks but they last a few months so I'll say maybe £10 a month, that's just a guess.
Applaws wet food 1 can a day it's about £25 a month.
Toothies and hearties as treats another 6 every couple of months, call it £3 a month
Webbox lick e lixs. She is addicted to the bloody things. That's about a tenner a month too.
Cat litter that she never ever uses because she goes in my strawberry patch instead 🤬 ten pounds a month to replace unused litter.
So that's £88 a month.
I spend about £50 on her at Christmas. This year she's getting a cosy igloo bed and a couple of musical toys.

So call it £90 a month more or less. Occasional purchases eg replacement food and water bowls, other stuff add maybe another £50 a year.

Of course you also have to plan for insurance excess and stuff like that in case of illness or accident.

No insurance as cat was too old when I got her to be covered.

Mine costs me about £40/month in food, litter and flea treatment

2 cats both under 2 years....24 pack of classic tinned cat food is 10.00, 2 x 2kg bags of harringtons dry about 12.00, dual flea & wormer from vet about 20.00 per mth for both. Treats about 8.00 per mth. Don't tend to use litter trays unless in overnight so about 5.00. 10.00 on toys & lost collars. No vet insurance as I pay out of wages/savings.
Roughly about 65.00 per mth

If your cat is happy to toilet outdoors, you won't need to spend anything on litter.
Cats are microchipped, so don't need a collar.
Own brand supermarket food is relatively cheap. (Although my madam won't eat it!)
I have owned cats for 40 years and never insured any of them. In all that time I have had one vet hospital bill of £400.
Routine immunisation, health check and one off worm/flea treatment is about £100 once a year.
My cat has never had a visible flea infestation, and I avoid exposing her to unnecessary repeated insecticide. The annual dose works for 3 months, I've never seen her repeatedly scratching and I've not had bites myself.
For holiday cover , I use a good local cattery at £80 per week. But if you have a friend or neighbour who could pop in and feed, you won't need to spend anything, just return the favour yourself.
A scratching pole is a good idea to protect your furniture- about £15 for a basic one that lasts 6 months. Some catnip is always appreciated and v cheap to buy dried, or you can grow it in your garden, it's perennial and very hardy.