The cost of keeping a cat

OK, so I'm thisclose to talking my boyfriend into adopting one of the farm kittens. He's already in love with her, but he wants to know just how much does it cost to have a cat, per year?

I did some searching and came up with different estimates for the kitty litter and cat food. (175€(food) and 225-250€(kitty litter) per year). I think that sounds kind of high. I asked a friend and she says she's spends around 40€ over 3 months for both, so 160€ per year. That is less than half of what the web sites say.

So, how much do you guys spend to keep your little fur-ball?

food. Two little thingies a day @45cents so that makes

(2x45x365)/100 = €328 per year on food. The litter I haven't a clue how much we spend put probably about €170 a year. So I guess €500 a year (blimey never though about the cost before)

The main financial problems are if the cat gets sick - we spent a couple of thousand on treatment last year on one of ours (he died anyway unfortunetaly). For 10 years prior to that though they had cost basically nothing in terms of vet fees.

I think if you can afford sporty BMWs then a cat should be no problem financially

I forgot to add on the cost of dry food. Actually I think your food estimates are low - or our cat is far too spoilt. You can probably get it a bit cheaper if you buy bulk but not that much

I'd be interested to know how your friend manages that

Those numbers above are ridiculous. I have to buy special cat food (both wet and dry), medicine and fluids for subcutaneous injection for my 18 year old cat, and she costs 200 EUR/year tops.

Edit: Oops, I forgot to consider doctors visits, so that might add another 150 - 200 EUR/year, but that's only because my cat is old.

how do you manage that? Those bags of food cost at least 39 cents each and she eats two a day. Thinking about it though - she got quite picky about food which is why we moved to those slighly more upmarket foods. Tins of cat food are considerably cheaper I think. A growing kitten might eat more than an 18 year old too

I probably don't buy the cheapest litter sand either actually. Might have to take a detailed look at the cat economy I think!

If I would have added up the costs, we might not have the kittens (I am a bit of a tightwad). I think most cat owners will agree that they are more than worth the material price.

If I overestimate and assume I buy a bag of kitty food once every three months, then 17 X 4 = 68 EUR.

Wet food would be about 30 EUR worth every three months, so 30 X 4 = 120 EUR.

Kitty litter is *absolute max* 12 EUR/month, so 12 X 12 = 144 EUR.

So 68 + 120 + 144 = 332 EUR, but that's definitely an overestimate. Kitty litter is actually about half that at Metro, so really max = ~250 EUR.

We buy special diet food at the vet and very expensive wet so we spend 470/yr on food which is probably twice what you would have to spend. But we only spend about 70/yr on kitty litter.

Vet visits here are very inexpensive compared to the US and we usually walk out spending less the 40 euro including medicine.

Our biggest expense is all of the things that she's destroyed when she's mad at us.

@BR - I don't get the cheapest litter either. In fact, I get the more expensive of everything. I have no idea where you get your numbers. A 10kg bag of good quality cat litter is about 6 EUR at Metro (IIRC). The bags you get at other stores (Karstadt, for instance) are half that for the same price.

Its not even something we think about.. she's our kitty, she gets what she wants! (and what she doesnt want.. needles lol)

@persimmon

I'm curious about this cat food you're buying. I buy special food for my kitty (Hill's prescription diet k/d), and it's nowhere near that expensive. Now granted my kitty is old and doesn't eat a lot, but 470 EUR?! Who's your vet?

As a tip, feed your cat cheap dry food from day one, otherwise the buggers start writing out menus.

@ipj

We buy about a bag of dry (royal canin) per month at about 20 euro a bag (give or take a euro), but also includes a weigh in and a little check up now and then if she isn't losing weight. So as I said, easily could spend much less if your cat isn't overweight and getting special food. And of course I'm estimating how often I buy it (thinking about once a month). similar dry food at Karstadt is 17-18 euro so not much different at vet

Wet food is 2/3 can a day at 95 cents a can x 365 days a year = 231 euro

Cheap dry is bad for them and is the cause of FUS (Feline Urinary Syndrone -- now known as FLUTD or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease). They don't get enough liquid. they also don't vomit wet food as often as dry.

I feed my little terror Fenja (€0.39 400g cans and €0.25 100g tins). He eats about 400g total daily, so this runs under €200/year. I also have a bowl of Fenja dry out so that if he's really hungry he won't starve and I won't dump more wet food out that he later decides to let sit there.

I have no idea what Katrin and Esther and all the other people into whose homes my cat wanders feed him.

Litter is cheap although Tengelmann stopped carrying Thomas brand and I'm looking for a new source. The best clumping replacement I've found is (I think) "Happy Cat". Pitti and the clear crystals and the rest of that stuff out there all failed in my experience. YMMV. If you feed your cat wet food, it'll use more litter; if the cat goes outside you'll need less.

woof.

Absolutley spot on ! they can be very picky.

But to answer the question...how can you put a price on this...?

I've had healthy cats all my life.

We now have two cats, about 2 years old, and one is sick. We are well over €2000 in Vet costs so far over the past 5 weeks. Not including gas to drive the 70km round trip to the clinic in Haar - which we have had to do 2 or 3 times per week...

Don't want to scare you off, but be prepared. You are taking on the responsibility for a life, and it is a big responsibility.

Very, very true. My fat cat I used to have (ex-bf kept him) had a urinary tract infection, naturally on the weekend, and the emergency visit cost me about $500. It was special low-ash food from there on out.

That?
What about this little princess?

I want to feed her what's best for her. Dry is good for the teeth. Plus, we want her to have good nutrition and not give her crap. Plus, eventually, she will probably be an indoor outdoor cat so she'll need less kitty litter.

Takin notes...

@BD You can wet the dry food every now and then or feed an occasional can of food, some of my cats drank more some less.

Mine eats wet food that costs 1.79 EUR a can, but the can lasts several days. I think they're 400g cans or so (the bigger of the short cans - not the soup sized cans).

Looks like we may have another cutest cat competiton ...

Serously, you are all correct ref dried food and the vets costs..something to consider before commiting.

@Yeti

It's not a matter of water content but ash and other harmful stuff that clogs up the urinary tract. The cheaper stuff has a much higher content.

I'm only asking because my boyfriend(typical German) wants to know the 'Plan' - cost, where will we put her during the day as a kitten so she doesn't destroy our antique furniture, etc. What will we do with her when we go on vacation(usually once a year) or away on weekends( I think they are Ok for 2 days alone. Our cats(I had when I was growing up) were always fine for a few days)

@IPJ

Well I will correct my post to mid range healthy dry food. And if they don't like it they have absolutely no problem, as BD pointed out, getting fed somewhere else.

I like cats and think they are hairy devil spawn at the same time, which is probably why I like them.

My brother once changed his cat's food and the cat left a log right next to its bowl. My brother went back to the store the next day and got its favorite food. I like when cats talk with their shit.

Cats are the easiest pets ever. They're hilarious and mysterious. The only thing that's expensive are vet visits, but you can get pet insurance for pretty cheap.. it's like health insurance in case they get sick

Yeah if I had to add up everything...litter, vet costs, food, toys, and time spent...well...it is still highly worth it!!! I have spent a lot recently as both cats I had (one just passed away at 19 and Mollie is 17) went into renal failure about 3 years ago. Back in Canada it is ridiculously expensive to treat cats for this...each vet visit (which was every two weeks) cost $45 CDN just for the sub-cutaneous fluids. Not to mention the special food which was like $16 CDN a bag (lasted about 2 weeks as well). Blood tests (which you have to do often for cats in renal failure) costed well over $80 CDN per cat.

Here...it is far cheaper for a visit to the vets. Last blood test for Mollie cost $16 CDN!!!

And besides...can't put a price on it as Tom17 said.

Mollie then:


and now:


She's our priceless princess.

My little Cassie...

[img]http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/uploads/photo-1036.jpg[/img]

My contrib. together with price

Bad Karma for Parnell

Cost varies according to the cat. If you have a cat with any kind of allergies, or whatever, then you need to buy "expensive" food. Otherwise I'm sure no cat died of Aldi. You can get special dried food for their teeth, but if they are outside crunching mousebones this isn't necessary. All depends. For the vet you need to pay for worming, vaccinations once a year, maybe something against fleas and have some money aside for when they get ill or hut. All in all, don't get a cat if you looking at money. If you love cats you will happily sacrifice your own dinner for them. I have some fish fingers in the oven, cats are getting frozen chicken pieces today, as one of them has an allergy.

Right on. Cats need love and understanding because they normally don't listen. I understand that my cat keeps eating my plants and scratching the furniture and even though I want to throw her out the window when she starts yap yap yapping at the birds at 5 am, I still love her.

No way. And you can imagine which word belongs in between those two.

The day I meet a cat who will give me some of his, her or it's dinner (and I don't mean after digestion, partial or otherwise) the above will apply. Until then my dinner is my dinner. These are only slightly modified predators.

By the way Parnell, shouldn't that be on the "giving things away" thread ?

It is pretty fucking gross when they puke.. I gag everytime. And they never puke somewhere where it'd be easy to wipe up.. tile? No. Wood? no. Balcony? No. Carpet, rug, couch.. yes.

I can't help much with determining the costs of having a cat, as I really don't keep track of it, but I can agree that the cost is quite low unless your cat has health problems and that regardless, it is more than worth it.

I'd like to give my opinion on the subject of food though. Cheap cat food, whether dry or wet, is junk. Feeding your cat that crap is not so different than if you decided to feed yourself a diet of candy bars, Spam and potato chips...or possibly worse. Feeding cats a diet of exclusively cheap food will lead to health problems eventually.

I spent a lot of time researching cat nutriton, and then comparing labels of different foods. I found that the best nutrition for kittens is offered by Hill's Science Plan. My cats get that dry food but don't like their wet kind, so for wet food I go with the second best--vom Feinsten from Animonda. They also have a kind that comes in pouches, I can't remember what it's called and I'm out right now, but it's the same brand. It's important to vary the kinds of food your cat gets because it is possible for a cat to become "addicted" to one kind of food. I'll have to do more research when my cats are a bit older, as there is a lot more choice when it comes to food for adult cats. Btw, kittens do need special nutrition, so it is best to feed them the special kitten food.

But really, the best diet for a cat is raw meat--that's their natural diet, after all. If you have a butcher you can trust, it's a good idea to supplement or even replace (but please do a little research about cat nutrition first) a diet of canned/dried food with raw meat. Cats also love a bit of plain cooked meat. I like to occasionally share my dinner with my cats, as long as it's good for them (i.e., poached fish, sauteed chicken). Cats shouldn't eat tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, or other veggies that are in the same families (allium and nightshade).

Hey that's not puking it's sharing !

It's true. Science Diet is the best... at least that Germany has to offer. Make sure to put a few kernels of dental and hairball food in as well cause bad teeth leads to heart problems (somehow) and hairballs are gross.

I just thought I'd add that, in the end, they don't cost that much. I'm probably one of the poorest people here, being a student with huge debt I'm paying off, and my kitty's expenses are unimportant. They're worth it.

@parnell

Good one!!

My kitty eats Hill's prescription diet k/d, and I have similar problems with the wet food, but it's not all of them. My cat would rather starve to death than eat the plain k/d stuff, but she scarfs down the one "mit Huhn."

Hmmm, interesting Saan, because when I took these 5 kittens to the vet, she gave me some Hills Science Plan kitten food. They liked it.

But, hey, my little sisters used to eat the cat's dry food right out of her bowl. My my mother could not understand why the cat was suddenly eating so much. It was very funny and we still tease them about it now more than 30 years later!

Price is negotiable and will consider breaking for parts.

you are prob more accurate on the cat litter thingy - I'm really not sure of how much the bags cost and how long they last (2 weeks for 5kgs) I think. I think my food calc is quite accurate though but it probably depends from cat to cat.

Your boyfriend is prob wise to consider what you will do when you go away kitkat - I'm still not sure what is the best option - leaving on own with loads of food, cattery or having someone pop by. We have left our cats on their own for a day or two before and they do survive but apparently its quite stressful for them. Meeting other cats at the cattery is also pretty stressful though.

Also, how could I not post photos of my loves?

Maki
[img]http://img83.exs.cx/img83/6048/putercat20wr.jpg[/img]

and
[img]http://img1.picsplace.to/img1/5/1462/ember2.jpg[/img]
Ember

Yeah, when my kittens get a bit older, I'm going to try the different kinds of adult food and see if they like any. I'd really rather prefer to feed them the Hill's stuff, as it's quite clearly the best food I've found so far. I'm especially impressed that it doesn't smell or look disgusting. There's a pouch food of my other brand that is carrots and turkey hearts, and that's my other favorite to feed them, again, because it doesn't smell bad. It almost smells like stew...for humans! However, kittens hardly need carrots.


Yuck! I can remember getting my little brother to eat dog food on a dare...

Well, when I was growing up, we had two cats and there was a cat door into the garage(where it was warm and dry) so they could come and go as they liked. When we went on vacation, someone came by and fed them every other day but they stayed, for the most part outside. I don't know, they both had long lives, so, it must not have been that bad.

So, I was thinking about making a cat door somewhere in the house or in the garden house and the only animal that can get through is the cat because they wear a collar that automatically unlocks it when they are nearby. Otherwise, all the other kitties from the neighborhood will want to come in. Thank God, we have no skunks in Germany!!

Two tips: I also think Hill's is a good-quality cat food, but one of my cats developed an illness because of it (Hill's was all the cats ate at the time.) She got a bacterial infection in her gut, was vomiting and had diarrhea, it was terrible. Of course she had to be hospitalized a couple of days and re-hydrated. The vet told me she would need to be on a special diet (also Hill's) for the rest of her life, which means I would have had to buy this expensive food for both cats. However, it happened I had a friend whose cat got the same thing from eating exclusively Hill's. The friend alternates Hill's with cheap dry cat food every other week or so to keep the condition from building up again. I switched to Iams instead (considered equal in quality to Hill's in the US.) Never had further problems. A cautionary tale!

Secondly, when figuring pet costs, don't forget the heavier "start-up" costs for injections, possibly de-worming (for a barn cat), neutering, etc. in the first 6 months or so. If you want your cat to stay away from scratching your furniture, you will also need to get her a good scratching post, and take the time to train her to scratch that, instead of your antique brocade. Cats will not, as a rule, scratch on finished wooden furniture, only upholstery. Keeping her claws trimmed will also avoid a lot of furniture and clothes damage problems.

Could you tell me what specifically caused the illness? A deficiency in some nutrient? An additive with ugly side-effects? I'd really prefer not to feed my cats the dry food at all but they like it and it's nice to have out as a snack during the day. Hill's is the best I've found (better than Iams, which we can also get here) but I am certainly open to new information.


If there's any interest in training tips, I have a few I could post. I've had a lot of cats in my life and this time around (my 4th and 5th kitties) I'm doing rather well...seems I've learned a few things about training cats after spending 15 years of my life with them

Hey Yeti, actually it is pretty common to cats share food with their owners. One of the most typical (and sometimes unpleasent) behaviors of outdoors cats is that they bring their dead prays (like rodents and birds) and show it to the owner. They are trying to say to you that: 1) They do care about you and they accept you as a member of the group, so you can eat their food...2) I can also feed you if you need, stupid human

@ kitkat... I feed my 2 cats with the Eukanuba Hairball Control dry food. Approximately 360 euros per year (180 per cat). Litter is around 100 euros per year. Dont forget that they also need annual vaccines. Luckily your cat won't need to go to veterinary no more then once a year, but if happens it is expensive. Three weeks ago my cat had an hemorragy in the mouth, it costs 180 euros to treat him.