Should I make my daughter pay the cost(s) of kitten?

Question

My almost 13 year old daughter wants to have a kitten that someone is giving away and we already have two cats that are both fixed. We are on a tight budget and the cats we have now need to go for their annual shots next month so I really can't afford a third at this time.

Should I make my daughter pay the medical and kitten food costs for this new kitten that she wants so bad? She receives a monthly allowance so she should be able to afford the food, but I wasn't sure if it was right for her to pay the medical (shots)?

Thank you

Answer 1

A lot of good answers have already been given. But reading through them, I still couldn't decide which one was best. I think the answer lies in your daughters history. Does she take responsibilities seriously or does she beg for things and once she has them forgets about it? I ask because you, as the adult, can't just abandon the kitten if your daughter stops taking care of it. The kitten defaults to your responsibility. Cats live from 7 to 18 years unless they use all 9 lives first. Is your daughter going to go to college? If so, she probably won't be able to take her cat with her. And, the main thing.... the cat bonds with one person. If the cat bonds with your daughter, it'll be a very sad cat when she leaves home. That's not fair to the cat. Eventually, the cat may switch and bond with another family member. BUT - not if the other two cats made their claim and nobody is left worthy of bonding to.

So, it comes down to your almost 13 year old's level of responsibility. If she's super responsible and has earned the right to have a kitten and pay for it's care, then I would support her bringing the kitten in the house under those conditions. If she's spoiled and can't stick to convictions, then I'd say pass on the kitten idea regardless of who is paying.

Answer 2

I'm not really used to the concept of an allowance and getting kids to pay for things. I guess it's totally up to what you think is right. The new kitten will need vaccinations and de-sexing....and anything else that comes up. What happens if it get the flu and needs a visit to the vet and antibiotics....or a second or third course? Kids move on to the next flavour of the month pretty quickly. Also, I'm not sure where you are but I know in Australia houses are limited to 2 cats/ house unless people have a special permit. What happens the next time a cute pet becomes available. Maybe she she focus her energy on the cats you already have. A kitten reaches full size by about 9 months....then what?
I'd try to teach her there is a time for everything. Love what you have now and there will certainly be other opportunities for another cat.....wait till one passes or until she moves out. It will help her learn to be a responsible pet owner if she takes the needs of the other cats into consideration before getting a new one.
I don't think it would be wise to make her financially responsible for it. Cats can live well into their teens.

Answer 3

There's nothing wrong with asking her to pay for the costs of the cat if she really wants it. Lay out the costs to her up-front - let her know that all of her allowance will have to go to food, shots, toys, litter, etc. If the cat is sick or needs to go to the vet, there are high costs that go along with that as well (try to tell her exactly what each thing costs per month). Remind her that this means she won't be able to afford other things with her allowance - movies, CDs, magazines, outtings with friends, etc. You'll probably find that she won't want the kitten quite so badly after that. Either that, or you may find that she'll get the kitten and then complain about having to pay all this money for him. Make sure she really understands what the costs are.

Answer 4

My own personal opinion is that if you already have 2 cats and the budget is tight, she needs to learn that she can't always have whatever she wants. I'm all for teaching responsibility to kids, but I fear that may be too much responsibility at 12. She IS still just a kid. To be worrying about vet bills on an allowance might be too much. I say if she wants to do this at 16 when she is old enough to have a job, then it's a different story. But for now, she needs to learn the meaning of no and that sometimes we simply cannot afford to have everything we want. You already have two cats, which is a big responsibility already. It's wonderful that your daughter loves animals and you want her to learn responsibilty but sometimes, realizing that you are doing a dis-service to animals if you adopt more than you can afford, is the real lesson in responsibility. They deserve a good life and it's hard to give that to them if you cannot afford to care for them, which I am pretty sure a 12 year old cannot. Good luck with this situation.

Answer 5

If you dont want the cat u have to tell her no.it is your decision.if YOU decide to get the cat i dont think she should pay for any of it.does she do anything for her allowance or do you just give it to her? how does she spend her allowance..foolishly or budget minded?do you buy her everything or does she pay for some of it? i think that there are factors to consider.there is nothing wrong with teaching kids responsibility but she will be an adult soon enough.also there are programs where you can get your cat fixed and shots at a very reduced rate.i had two female cats fixed and shots for about 60 dollars .maybe your vet will take payments

Answer 6

Well I'm 13 too and i want another cat but my parents cant afford it but i can pay for basic things [food, toys, treats] but its not right to get another one. What if it gets pregnant and has more kittens? if it is a male it will spray.If you cant afford vet bills you cant afford the pet it is cruel and sick if you still get one.

Wait until she is 15 or 16 and has a real job when she can affod all the costs.

Answer 7

well, it is good to teach her that to have an animal requires some responsibility, like being able to afford it. So I'd say yes, tell her that if she wants the kitten she will have to pay for it. Of course keep in mind that still YOU are really the one who is ultimately responsible for the entire family, including the cats, ypu can't expect her to make it on her own. So eventually you will have to deal with the cat's vet bills, vet visits, etc.

Answer 8

Darn right she should pay. Learn early that when you want something, you not only get the thing, you get the subsequent maintenance and repair costs and responsibility for the item.

Who does she think is going to clean the litter box, feed the cat and pay for its vaccinations/check ups/ Kitty-ER visits? She better think it's herself.

If you already have cats, it might be hard to figure out what portion of the food/litter costs to distribute - though I would recommend a per-cat basis. I.e., if there are 3 cats, 2 of which are "family" cats and one is hers ... then she should pay 1/3 of the food bills. And do 1/3 of the litter cleaning.

Make sure she's going to groom the cat (comb, trim claws, etc.)

Offer to have a time-share responsibility (but only bring this up if you actually want to do this) ... for checking on the cat. I need to get someone to feed/water/clean the cat when I'm gone. I used to trade this with another friends who has a cat. Offer - again, only if *you* want - to let her take care of your cats when you're gone in order to get you to take care of her's if she's gone. Otherwise, she'll need to get a friend or sibiling to do it.

This should be seen as a prelude to owning anything as an adult-to-be. Want a car? Pay the insurance and repair bills and oil changes. Want a house? Gotta pay maintenance costs. Everything has follow-up costs. Even cats.

And, especially:

Make sure she is actually giving the new kitty lots of love and attention and TLC. Money is not the only question - she should only get a pet if she is willing and able to provide lots of personal care for it.

Spell out your expectations to her in very clear terms. Write them down and have her sign as a contract with you that she understands your expectations and rules, and that she will follow them.

Now, that said - if you want to subsidize her cat's medical bills, it is your choice. But under NO circumstances should you feel any obligation to pay for any of it. [this is true, no matter how your family's finances are]. Don't be overly hard-nosed about it, but set her on the path to personal responsiblity at a nice early age in life.

Answer 9

it may make her think about taking responsibility for a pet if she has to help pay on some of the expenses. yes i do think she should help you pay for the shots if this is truly going to be her cat. and when she moves on with her life and has her own place she should take her cat with her.as far as the food bill goes she should buy her cat kitten food till it reaches the age where it can have adult food then she should only have to pay a third of the food bill since she is only responsible for one cat... does this make since?
as far as the bill for the shots, go a head and pay for them for her and then deduct a bit from her allowance each week till its paid off. this way she wont have to be totally broke... she also needs to buy cat toys too to keep her kitten lively... i just bought a wand with a long fuzzy piece of fabric on it and a feather on the end. my kitten just loves it...
also she will need to pay a third of the cat litter to...
unless your cats are out door cats...
i hope she enjoys her new pet... taking care of a pet is a good thing for a young teen to learn... it makes her think about the needs of others before her self...
most teens are so self absorbed these days they need something like this to take them out of that stage...
i hope this helped .
please email me if you have any more questions
and thanks
cheers
josie

Answer 10

At 13 she is definitely old enough to start learning that all things, especially living things, come with responsibility--and expenses. If she wants it badly enough to pay for it, let her get it. She may change her mind really quickly when she sees how expensive proper animal care can be, but she will have learned a valuable lesson. If she is not willing to pay for it, then she doesn't want it badly enough, and as you say, you already have two cats.