I regret getting a cat

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It is too expensive. Annual vaccinations, insurance, flea and worming. I wish I hadn’t got her to be honest. How do poor people afford pets?

We don't do any of this.

My cats aren't insured. My oldest boy is 20. They are indoor cats. Not annually vaccinated either. Sorry you feel that way.

If you are on any help from gov , you can go to your local pdsa or blue cross . They are charity vet care and they give either low cost or donations for vaccinations or any treatments u need . Have a look at pdsa website and see if you qualify

It’s all relative though, our two cats cost us the same each month as having two takeaways which we no longer have. Worth every penny plus you can’t snuggle up to a Chicken curry.

My two:

£35 vet plan (vaccs, two check-ups and felpreva)
£38 insurance
Grub, good stuff: £100ish
Cat sitter: £12.50 per day x 30 = £32.50pcm
Extras: cleaning stuff, dreamies, toys, Indorex £10

North of £200pcm. Mone definitely need good flea and worm stuff - they bring in a mouse at least once a week and eat it all, except for the entrails and sometimes the nose and tail.

They are worth it.

You can get reduced cost vet care if you’re on a low income or in receipt of benefits - PDSA and Blue Cross offer this. If it’s just the cost, could be something to consider. If you’re not gelling with her and it’s just not working, you’d be better returning her to the shelter.

No PDSA in my area.

Did you not do any research before getting a cat ? Did you not realise they need feeding, vaccinating etc ?? Some people I give up !

No not annual vaccinating

We got our cat from a shelter. She was already spayed and tagged when we got her. She doesn't have the annual vaccinations or treatments and we don't have insurance for her. Moggies (non-pedigrees) are generally pretty problem-free (unlike dogs), so I'd rather pay for treatment as and when it's needed. She had her first medical problem recently, aged 18. I took her to the vet's, who had a look at her, said she was too old for them to run any tests and charged me £70. They commented that she was in a very good condition for her age. Since then they've been bombarding me with emails to try to sell me different types of membership and treatments. It's not necessary. And this is how poor people have pets, and how almost everyone had cats until recently.

And she doesn't need a catsitter or a cattery if we just go away for a short break. She's extremely independent - all round happy.

It’s awful isn’t it. Poor bloody cats.

It's not essential to get them vaccinated annually particularly if they are indoor cats

I’m not sure why you’re saying ‘poor cats’. My cat is happily sitting on my lap having had a nice dinner and lazing in the sun all day.

It's unbelievably bad to not de-worm your cat. Dangerous for human health too.

Is your pet quite young? We’re paying about £200 a month for three elderly pets 🥴

An unvaccinated cat or dog is at risk of multiple preventable infections and cannot be put in a boarding kennels or cattery. If you keep your cat indoor-only and use a sitter during holidays, you may consider the infection risk acceptable.

Animals cost money and, if you don't want to pay it, don't have a pet.

CatOfHate needs regular tooth cleaning, costs ~£650 each time. Worth it.

How do you not have fleas and a worm-filled cat?

So why are you moaning that you can’t afford to keep him?

Fleas can become resistant to shop-bought treatments. This happened to CatOfHate about three years ago. He's been on prescription flea killers ever since. It was horrible seeing groggy, half-poisoned fleas crawling on him.

I also absolutely freaked out, nearly threw up, when a tapeworm segment that had come out of his arse started crawling up my arm (yes, they are motile) a fortnight after giving him shop-bought wormer. Reader, he now gets prescription wormer.

We don't. The things you mentioned in the OP is why I don't have a cat. I would have loved to. Hope you find a way to afford it.

If they get fleas, and you have to treat the cat, do you then have fleas in all your soft furnishings and on you?

Yes, but you can stop the larvae from pupating with Indorex and the treated cat acts as a death trap for the adults emerging from the pupae if you keep the cat treated.

My last cat had vaccinations every 3-4 years, the big one followed by booster. He reacted so badly to vaccines I couldn't put him through it every year and the vet told me that 'unofficially' they lasted 4 years. He never got sick and he was into everything.

But yes, pet ownership is expensive. But I knew that. I don't go on holiday because of my pets but it's a nice trade off. They make me happy!

Have had the cat for 15 years. She's goes outside but she's never had fleas. She's never had any flea treatment either. It's easy to exaggerate these potential issues.

At one point I had 6 cats, I'm on benefits, never bothered with vaccinations, they had Tiger wet and dry food (supermarket home brand) if they ever got fleas I flea bombed the house, they always had £1 flea collars on and it was incredibly rare they got fleas, none of them ever had worms and they would hunt and bring home anything from mice to rabbits. None of them was insured either. They all lived to a healthy old age.