Is it expensive to have a cat in UK?food wise,sand for waste or the cat itself?

Question

i wanted them badly but i have no idea what the cost of keeping one with my limited budget

Answer 1

Not really, cat food can be cheap or expensive, depends what you buy. I always keep a huge bag of dried food in case I cant afford to buy wet at the end of the month (I am pretty skint!).

Littter can be cheap or pricey, at the end of the day, they all do the same thing - hold cat poo and wee, so probably easier to buy the budget branded stuff. I let my cat out and she does her business in the garden. I just use nappy sacks to clean it up (much much cheaper than any litter).

If you want to insure the cat its only about £5 a month. Its worth getting insurance, especially if you have an outdoor cat, they do have accidents (mine fell out of a tree - some cat, huh?) and would have cost me a fortune if I didnt have her insured.

Food is the main expense, dont waste money on cat scratching poles, they will use what they want, and ive never known a cat use a purpose designed pole. Mine uses the garden shed for a good scratch.

I usually but whatever cat food is on offer, ive found that my cat tends to get bored of the same brand and starts to leave her food, so I switch brands a lot, sometimes feed wet, sometimes dry, so she doesnt get bored of it and waste it.

Overall, they are great pets, independant, but very affectionate and can be great for a cuddle when you are feeling low. Mine sleeps curled around my head at night, and I absolutely love her to bits.

xx

Answer 2

Food is about 25p per day. Initial expenses - inoculations against cat-flu etc, about £50. You need spend nothing on cat litter (sand) for waste - if you let the cat out, it will find somewhere to do its business. If you do buy cat litter, cat-san is the best. About £4 a bag which should last 2 weeks or more.

To sum up, food - £1.75 per week. Litter, £1-2 a week. , so about £3-4 per week.

An excellent expense - a cat repays everything.

Answer 3

The day to day costs are not too bad but make sure you have pet insurance. The monthly fee (about £8 i think) is well worth it.

I didnt bother when i got my kitten and he came down with cat flu pretty much straight away. In the last 4 months he has cost us over £400 in vets bills. Once an animal has had an illness the insurance companies wont cover them anymore so you need to sort it before you get the cat.

We love our little Charlie but he has proved to be a very expensive rescue cat!

Answer 4

Oh dear cats are no trouble at all. I had four once and it was lovely having them around. In UK most people are lovely and give animals away for free to the right homes and the food is cheap if you know where to go.
Dont worry about stuff like that worry more about chatting to as many people you can make friends and you will find the right cat and the right place to shop - Netto, Asda, Tesco are usually good places to go in UK but the Netto is the cheapest.
Best of luck and enjoy your friend dont worry about the expense that is nothing to the love and fun you will have with them.

Answer 5

Very cheap, mine costs me around £12 every couple of months. Mind you he's an outdoor cat so I don't have cat litter to buy, but thats very cheap too. You don't need to buy fancy dishes or toys, they'll play with a ball of wool, a grass stalk, anything really. Shouldn't give them milk either, perfectly happy, and healthier to give them water. My cat is nearly 17 and only eats dried cat food and drinks water.

You should get your cat for free from an animal shelter, or ask around to see if anyone has kittens and are looking for homes. I forgot the vets bills, I'm spent about £50 on mine over those 16+ years, so very cheap, but take out insurance in case you're not so lucky. If you do it straight away it's cheaper than waiting til they are older.
You don't even need to to worry about cattery fees, I look after a friends cat once in awhile and she returns the favour.

Answer 6

It isn't expensive. I have a cat and I buy 1 bag of cat litter every 2 months. My cat spends most of her time out doors except at this time of the year. I buy 3 boxes of meat per month and 1 bag of biscuits. You are looking at about £15 per month depending on the time of the year and what type of food you buy and where you buy it. Insurance policies for vets fees can be as little as £3 per month but you will need to shop around.

Go for it. They are good, loyal friends. Honest, I couldn't live without mine.

Answer 7

I have 2 cats, I got them free when they were kittens. I buy my cat food from Asda its 1.88 for 6 tins, cat biscuits are about 88p (depending on what brand) and cat litters only about 2 quid for a biggish bag that can last over a week.
I got them spayed at a vets which was recommended by the PDSA and they do them for free or you can give a donation if you want (I gave them 30 quid)

Answer 8

To avoid the initial vet bills of getting your tiger neutered and helping homeless cats at the same time, contact your local cats protection. I got mine "Frankie" from there and she is 8 years old now a very healthy cat. running her is pretty cheap a bag of iams cost about 7 quid and the paper stuff is about £5:00. If you want a cat get one they are greatest company.

Answer 9

I am not to sure in the UK but in the US i have 2 cats and they are pretty cheap, i buy a big bag of foor $10.00 and that lasts more then one month and then the sand is like $6.00 and that last about 2 weeks. But then you need a cat box, toys, food and water dishes, collors, tags, nail clippers...

Answer 10

Well, You got to make sure about getting the cat fixed, shots and the vet bills, but you can Buy a big bag of cat food, and give your a handful a day.And them theres cat litter, but if you get your cat fixed , it can use the restroom out side. But it's better to keep a cat inside, the cat will live longer.