what is the monthly cost for a cat?

Question

budgeting for a cat

Answer 1

The average monthly cost of feeding and caring for a cat
is about $30-$50 per month, and can be substantially higher.
http://www.mtlchs.org/catadopt1.html

The Real Cost of Getting A Pet
So what do you need to budget for before you get the new pet? There are more costs than most folks realize. The most obvious expense is food, which adds up to quite a lot over the lifetime of your animal. Some people think cheap, poor quality food is saving them money, but in the long run, it doesn’t work out. Cheap food is made of cheap ingredients with low digestibility, so you have to feed more, sometimes double the amount of a high quality brand. Low digestibility means that much of the food is passing though the pet’s digestive system unutilized, so there are more piles of poop to pick up. Your pet may also not be getting all the proper nutrients in the right amounts, which translates into poor growth, a bad haircoat, lowered energy levels, etc. Premium brands such as Science Diet, Iams, and Eukanuba have very high quality ingredients, which result in excellent nutrition and digestibility, a silky, shiny coat, and excellent overall health. These brands are expensive (about $40 for a 40 lb. bag), but I find they are worth it. Other brands that aren’t quite as expensive but are still good include Purina (Purina O.N.E., HiPro, etc.) and Waltham (Whiskas, Pedigree, etc.).

A quick side note ... For some reason, many cat owners think their cat(s) need to have wet or semi-moist food. Consequently, they end up spending lots more money on cans of cheap wet food than they would on one large bag of high quality dry food. Cat owners (or owners-to-be), here’s a tip. Stop buying cans and cans of cheap wet food (which is 70% water), and buy one 20-lb. bag of Science Diet or Iams. A 20-lb. bag will cost about $20-25, but it will last forever, and you will notice a big difference in your cat’s health. Dry food is also much better for your cat’s teeth, as it scrapes off plaque and tartar and keeps them white with every bite. A healthy mouth will save you the expense of a dental, which will be necessary to scour all the buildup off your cat’s teeth after years of eating mush.

Next on our list is veterinary care. Every animal needs a yearly exam and booster shots, and puppies and kittens need a series of three shots several weeks apart for adequate immunization. Don’t think you can skip the shots and hope to get away with it. Rabies is a deadly disease that will kill your pet and possibly you if there is contact with an infected animal. Distemper kills both cats and dogs, and parvo and feline leukemia are nothing to fool around with either. Other canine and feline diseases aren’t quite as deadly, but still, one shot a year for $20-35 prevents a whole mess of them, and is a lot cheaper and easier than diagnosing and trying to cure a preventable disease.

Along with shots are fecals and dewormings. Nearly all pups and kittens have worms (they get them from mom), and these need to be taken care of before they make your pet sick, kill it, or are spread to you. Next is heartworm prevention, which many folks still consider optional. Canine heartworm disease is in every state, and feline heartworm is on the rise. Mosquitoes are the culprits spreading this disease, and we all know how common they are. Get Fluffy tested yearly for heartworm, and keep him on a monthly preventative such as Interceptor or HeartGuard Plus. These preventatives kill heartworms and intestinal parasites with one dose a month, so for about $25 for a six-month supply, you have the whole worm situation under control. I think it’s a good deal, wrapped up into a convenient once-a-month tablet. Canine heartworm will cost you over $1000 to treat, and there is no treatment for feline heartworm.

Our next consideration is flea control, which is another area not to skimp on. Flea collars don’t work very well, and applying weekly powders and sprays is a pain. And who wants to bathe Fluffy every Saturday with flea and tick shampoo? Fleas and ticks however, are worse than skipping the treatments. An untreated pet is vulnerable to an infestation that spreads throughout the whole house, with fleas breeding in your carpet, bedding, furniture, and sucking blood from you and your pet. Aside from the yuk factor, there’s the discomfort and itching associated with the bites, and possibly a case of flea allergy dermatitis, which means your pet is going to scratch until well after the fleas are gone. And we all know what diseases ticks spread. Dosing Fluffy with a once-a-month spot-on treatment such as Frontline, Advantage, or BioSpot is the most convenient and effective way to prevent this mess. Frontline and Advantage are through veterinarians only and are a bit pricey (about $30 for a 3-month supply), but they are extremely effective. BioSpot can be purchased through a pet supply catalog for about $15-20 for a 6-month supply, and will serve you well. Warning - Do not give cats the BioSpot made for dogs! It can made them very sick. Make sure you use the correct product for the correct animal.

Next veterinary service is a spay or neuter. Again, people like to think this is optional, but for Fluffy to have a long healthy life, this just isn’t so. Unspayed females have a much higher rate of mammary cancer, and are at constant risk for pyometra, a life-threatening uterine infection. There are also negative behavioral changes and unsightly vaginal bleeding with each heat cycle, as well as the swarm of neighborhood males who come calling. And of course, the litters and litters of unwanted offspring. Unneutered males are aggressive, domineering, and love to pick fights and urinate all over everything. They are also likely to develop prostate or testicular cancer, which are common in older intact male pets. Animals aren’t like people - they don’t have a sexual ego. You are not doing your pet any favors be leaving him or her intact. The spay or neuter is probably the most expensive veterinary service your pet will need, barring emergencies. The cost is a serious consideration when deciding to get a young puppy or kitten, or an already neutered pet. Neutering a cat or small dog will cost about $50-65, and spaying a larger dog can cost $115 or more. Of course, prices vary by region and veterinarian.

Some people like to use the excuse, "But I may want to breed Fluffy eventually ..." as a reason for not spaying/neutering their pets. Unless Fluffy is an outstanding example of the breed or has many championships, there’s no reason to add more unwanted animals to an already over-crowded world. Many breeds of dogs such as Dalmations, Rotties, etc. have fallen prey to this breed a litter, make a fast buck scam, and the animals are the ones who are suffering. Genetic problems such as hip dysplasia and bad temperaments are rampant due to unscrupulous breeding, and this just leads to more animals being dumped or euthanized. Unless you have an exceptional animal that has been screened and is free of genetic diseases, please do your pets a favor and spay or neuter them.

Next on our list of essentials is a collar, leash, license, and ID tags. Those are things you can’t live without, and aren’t very expensive. You will also need food and water bowls, a litterbox if Fluffy is going to be a cat, toys to play with while you are not home, and some kind of bedding. Giving your pet its own bed will keep if off the expensive furniture and out of your bed, unless you like that sort of thing.

For housetraining a puppy, a good crate is better and faster than confining the pup to the kitchen. Some people think crating an animal is mean, but there are many advantages to crate-training a new pup. First, the puppy is reluctant to pee in its personal space, so house training is a breeze. Second, confinement to a crate will keep the puppy out of trouble while you are not home. So you won’t come home to poop on your bed, urine on the Oriental rug, your best shoes eaten, and all your tax paperwork in shreds. Confinement can also keep the puppy out of dangerous situations such as chewing electrical cords or licking the socket. Third, a crate become the dog’s bedroom, which he will go to if he wants to be left alone. This portable house is also comforting when traveling. Crates are also great for older trouble-makers who can’t keep their teeth off your stuff when you are not home. Crates range in price from $30 to over $100, depending on the size and features. For cats, a carrier for traveling ($10-25) is much safer than roaming around the car, and is refuge from molesting dogs while at the vet’s.

For those of you who have a yard, fencing it in so Fluffy can run around in the backyard while you aren’t home is going to be expensive. Your pet will also need some shelter if the weather turns nasty, so add $50 for a doghouse. Chaining your dog to a tree is a miserable option that leads to boredom, destructiveness, and nuisance barking. If a fence is out of your price range and you still want to be able to leave your dog outside on nice days, consider an overhead dog trolley, which costs about $20-30, and gives your dog freedom to run without getting into trouble. Leaving your pet unattended outside with no form of restraint is asking for trouble. Fluffy may be great about obeying boundaries while you are there, but the first deer or jogger that runs by is going to change all that. Releasing your Fluffy from the pound isn’t cheap or fun, and being hit by a car is an expensive (if not fatal) emergency that is 100% preventable.

This pet cost list is really adding up! And we’re not done yet. Some form of obedience training for dogs is essential, as untrained or poorly-trained dogs are most likely to develop behavioral problems and be euthanized or brought to an animal shelter. Obedience classes are great, as they give Fluffy a chance to socialize with other dogs, and teach her to obey even though there are distractions. If obedience classes are out of your budget after building a fence, a good book on dog or puppy training will give you lessons to refer to for the rest of Fluffy’s life. There are many great ones out there for about $20.

Then there are costs that are essential for some pets, optional for others. Declawing a feline Fluffy will cost you about $75, but it may be worth it to save your furniture and drapes. Grooming can be done at home with the appropriate brush for your breed, or may require a trip to the groomer’s, complete with a clip and bow for the hair. Dentals may be skipped if you brush your pet’s teeth at home regularly and feed dry food, but some animals have chronic problems with nasty teeth, even if preventative measures are taken.

And last, but certainly not one to forget, is the expense of emergencies. Although we don’t like to think it could happen to our Fluffy, being hit by a car is very expensive to deal with. And then there are minor emergencies such as ear infections and deep wounds that require stitches, which still need to be taken care of. Remember to take into account the expense of emergency treatment for your pet. It’s a better option than having to euthanize Fluffy because you didn’t.

Wow! All this really adds up! How can anyone afford to own pets? Let’s take a look at ...

Budgeting
Many people think nothing of spending $35 once a month for the cable bill, but balk at $35 once a year for their pet’s annual check-up and shots. This is because they don’t take into account all the expenses associated with pet ownership. The key to affording pet care and giving Fluffy a long healthy life is to take all expenses into account before you get the animal. Saving up for a few months for the initial vet visits for a new kitten or for a fenced-in yard for an older dog before acquisition of that animal is the first step. The second step is to put aside $3-5 a month for pet care in a special account. When it’s time to spay/neuter Fluffy or an expensive emergency crops up, the money will already be there. Another thing to consider is not just how much money you have to spend, but how much you are willing to spend on pet care. It does Fluffy no good if you save up for vet expenses, but then blow all the money on a new stereo. If you are not willing to pay for the expenses associated with animal care, then the answer is simple - don’t get a pet until you are!

Notice I haven’t said anything about the cost of purchasing the pet. You can pay as much as you want for a dog or cat, ranging from the free kitten from farmer Ted or several thousand dollars for a show dog. Where to get a pet is another article in itself, but it boils down to one thing - all pets deserve proper veterinary care, no matter what you paid for that animal. This means that if the $12 parakeet develops a respiratory infection that requires $35 worth of antibiotics, it needs to be treated or humanely euthanized, not left to die in its cage. Let me repeat this one more time - If you are unwilling or unable to pay the costs associated with animal care, both in sickness and in health, then don’t get that animal! (No matter how cute it seems.)
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/reallen/COST.html

Answer 2

Monthly Cost Of A Cat

Answer 3

With 5 cats we were going through five 20 lb bags of clay litter a month, with 3 cats (we lost one to cancer and one to heart disease) we're currently doing 2 bags a month. We have one box they all share. I get the cheap clay litter from WalMart so that's $2.55 a bag. IF the cat has no medical problems that they need regular medication for, figure one trip a year for a checkup and shots -- $35 for the exam, $15 for the rabies shot, $18 for the other vaccination. One of ours has a thyroid problem and her meds cost $35 a month, our other older cat has diabetes so he's on 2 shots a day of insulin. Be prepared for some medical bills--if you budget $300 for the year you'll be ok most of the time. Break that down for monthly costs and put it aside for them. Food--a good quality dry food will be from a pet supplies place, not the junk style food sold at grocery stores. Take your pick--each bag lasts one month for one cat--- Wysong Vitality $8 a bag Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul $9 a bag Royal Canin Siamese 38 - $12 a bag Felidae $11 a bag Wellness $14 a bag Raw Instinct $11 a bag Evo $17 a bag (this is 50% protein) Food should not have meat by-products listed in the first 5 ingredients, there should be no corn in the first 5 ingredients, and out of the first five, three should be actual meat. Protein level on dry food should be 33-38% or higher. Canned food should be at least 10-12% protein, have no by-products in it and few vegetables.

Answer 4

That would depend on which way you went with needed products.
If you go cheap - generic cat food and litter, probably <$10. But I like the idea of putting away some for vet bills so that you aren't hit too hard for shots and check ups. Neutering is a MUST - and can cost >$100 at the vet. But there are "neutering clinics" held in some areas that will charge about $45.
If you go with a better line of foods (I would recommend, so that the ingredients are consistent - less problems with developing allergies to things like wheat - a big allergen) - and a good clumping litter (I recommend Fresh Step Cedar - I have 6 cats and NO litter odor if I clean them every other day) then you're looking at more like $15- $18/ mo.
Cats are GREAT companions - and please keep your car an indoor cat/ they are Heather, live longer, don't get fleas or diseases from other outdoor cats, don't get into fights with cats, attacked by dogs, run over by cars, tortured by horrible people or sold to research labs. (Did you know there is a whole industry built on people stealing animals that are outside - even out of people's yards and selling them to research labs!)
Enjoy your new friend and take good care of him or her! You have years of unconditional love ahead of you!

Answer 5

Well, I have 4 indoor cats and I spend about $10 a month on food (I buy the bulk bags), $30 a month on cat litter. Those are the absolute basics. Then you've got yearly vet checkups with needed shots, which are about $100 per cat. And spaying and neutering is between $50 - $100, but of course that is a one time expense.

Answer 6

Ted's answer is absolutely excellent and every food he mentions is of really poor quality and something I would never consider feeding a cat.

CA Natural, Natural Balance, Nature's Variety are some of the best foods you can purchase for your cat. Wellness is also a quality food which I have fed my cats in the past. The company recently changed their method of processing their food and my cats do not like it anymore.

Answer 7

A veg is a plant or part of a grow used as food

Answer 8

2

Answer 9

Both are good for you, each fruit/vegetable has different vitamins. Thus as more variety, as better. Vegetables have generally less sugar than fruits.

Answer 10

1

Answer 11

Food, litter I would budget $12-15 a week. Really depends what you feed it. Add insurance on top as well.