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?

It can be wise to give cats annual vaccinations against certain diseases like Felv and cat flu. It's personal choice but bear in mind that cats can have Felv and FIV and you might not be aware. My cats are also healthy but one of mine had Felv (he died) - and I'm sure he got it on the streets as a stray and I had no idea - so I do understand why people vaccinate particularly if they have multiple cats

It's not always a scam. A friend of mine had a cat with cancer and the insurance paid for chemotherapy for it to prolong his life. I don't have my cats insured but I understand why people do make that choice

If you aren’t going to bother with boosters why bother with the initial vacs , they don’t give a lifetime of immunity . When you say worm as required are you sending off poo samples to check or waiting until the cat is riddled with worms and hence showing signs of having them ? Frankly if people aren’t prepared to do just the basics of care they shouldn’t have animals .

If you put your cat into a cattery when you go on holiday, they may ask to see proof of vaccinations to allow your cat to go there. If you have someone who will visit the cat in your home that won’t be a problem.
we pay for the monthly vet plan (£20 where I am) and it covers vaccinations, health checks twice a year and quarterly flea and worm treatment. Ours needs this because 1) frontline and similar don’t work and 2) she is allergic to fleas and the irritation causes her to pull her hair out.
no insurance as I can cover it without, plus as my cat is now 8 starting insurance would be very expensive.

If you have insurance then you have to get them vaccinated annually, otherwise most insurers won’t pay out

I would not put CatOfHate through all the stress of protracted medical treatment like that.

The OP was saying that insurance was a scam and I stated not always. With respect this was my friends and his partners decision. My point was that insurance does pay out sometimes - no more than that

You can get frontline on amazon and it is so much cheaper than the vet.

If you are keeping rhe cat indoors then you dont need to vaccinate although after the first couple of years our vet told us not to bother as they are fully covered.

I dont have insurance for the cats but do for the dogs.

Absolutely people who can’t afford good pet insurance shouldn’t have a pet. This is the cause of so much animal suffering. I had an ex who was a vet and he hated it. He said that so often, people would take a sick animal to the vet, not want to pay for treatment, and then take it home again untreated. It was awful because he knew how much that animal would be suffering, but there was nothing he could do. Not to mention the ones who didn’t take their pet to the vet at all for fear of vet bills, and then by the time the vet finally saw it, the animal was so sick that nothing could be done, and it would have been suffering for a long time.

Our cat is an indoor only cat and we still get her vaccinated mainly because if she needs to go into a cattery for any reason then we don't have to get her jabbed in a rush.

If your cat goes outside then I would always get them jabbed yearly. The jabs protect them from some very nasty diseases which can sometimes be fatal. Our girl was a stray before she came to us and when she was rescued by the shelter all of her kittens had cat flu and one died. The others were very sick and were lucky to survive.

None of mine are vaccinated beyond their first year boosters and we don’t flea or worm either. They go outside and never get sick and have never caught fleas.

The oldest isn’t insured anymore but the 6yo is as he roams and I worry about being able to afford treatment if he got in a fight or hit by a car. We only pay £19 a month though.

Rubbish. There are people who pay a fortune out in insurance and it doesn't pay out when they claim. My cats have never been left untreated

What do you mean rubbish? Are you saying he was lying?

Obviously if you can afford to pay for the treatment up front then fine, but lots of people can’t or won’t

And if insurance isn’t paying out, then it’s probably because they haven’t read the terms of conditions, or followed basic instructions like getting their pets vaccinations.

I mean rubbish to your statement that people should not have pets if they don't insure them - my mum paid thousands in insurance - and more for treatment for pets when insurance wouldn't pay out.

Wrong. That wasn't the case with one of my mums cats. I honestly can't be arsed with people who make statements like - if you don't insure your cats don't have cats. My oldest boy is 20. I've had him since he was 18 months. Should I have left him in the shelter because he's not insured?.

All of my cats have had vet treatment if they have needed it and all of them are very well looked after - he was abused by his last owners for context.

I will pay vet bills for my cat if she needs treatment. But I wouldn't pay let's say £10K for cancer treatment. In that situation, I would have her put down once she got to the stage of not enjoying her life. I'm not sure where I would draw the line, as I've never faced that situation, but the chances of a full recovery and the cat's age would be relevant. I think that someone who can afford to pay for the occasional fairly standard treatment should feel that they can afford a cat, especially one from a shelter whose life will be vastly improved if they're adopted into a loving home.

Because you said you have had her for two weeks and are already thinking of rehoming her. So she has two weeks in your home and then what? Back to the shelter?

And because the OP seems ignorant of basic economic concerns like affording flea treatments, and seems to think wild animals 'manage' when they're sick or injured

She’s just urinated on my bed.

Which is something cats and other animals will do when they have had a change of routine due to stress. The first rescue cat I ever had peed on my bed when I took him home.

She might be ill, or access to her usual toileting place is blocked. They don't urinate outside the litter box for no reason.

Which is something most cats do at some point or other - either because they're elderly, or unwell, or stressed, or scared. It's not uncommon. Did you do any research around cats and cat behaviour before you got her?

It happens. You adopted an animal, sometimes they will behave like animals. Pets can be expensive to keep, but monthly insurance and vet plans are pretty cheap.

Yes, this.