How Much Does It Cost to Keep a Cat?

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When my family acquired a pair of kittens from a local shelter, it felt like a frugal move. We had been unsuccessful in ridding our old house of mice using traps, and we weren't willing to use poison or pay for a monthly pest control service or other expensive measures. (See also: 5 Ways to Yank the Leash on Pet Expenses)

And for the first few months, it worked out that way. Sure, we had to pay an adoption fee that covered spaying and their first round of shots, and the first vet appointment was pricey, but after that, feeding them cost under $1 a day, even when we bought the good cat food. The mice in our house didn't turn out to be free cat food, but they did provide our new pets with hours of entertainment until they wisely decided to vacate the premises.

Then Acorn Ranger happened.

I was asleep at my parents' Wisconsin cabin one morning when my niece shoved something scrawny and matted in my face. "Look what we found!" she said.

What they found was the tiniest little stray kitten, with adorably huge, hairy ears, prominent ribs and runny eyes. We named him Acorn Ranger, and when it was time to drive home, we brought the kitten along. We already had a couple of cats, what difference could one more make?

A couple thousand dollars worth of difference, it turned out.

First of all, when we brought Acorn Ranger into our house, even though we sequestered him to a bathroom pending a medical checkup, our other cats (now about a year old) freaked out. One of them started peeing on the carpet. Every day.

Then we brought Acorn Ranger to the vet, thinking we'd pay for shots and neutering, and get what appeared to be an eye infection cleared up. Instead, we learned that the vet needed to test him for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and feline leukemia. She also prescribed an antibiotic eye drop, an oral antibiotic for a cough we hadn't noticed, and treated him for a wound on his stomach that we hadn't even seen under his matted fur. The initial bill was about $400 — and he hadn't even gotten his vaccinations yet.

Meanwhile, one of our other cats ended up at the vet with a bladder infection. The vet explained that some cats are prone to these infections when they feel stressed — like when a strange new cat comes to live in their house. The bill was mounting.

Acorn Ranger's blood test came back positive for FIV. This meant that he might have the communicable disease, so he couldn't live with our cats. Luckily, we were able to find him a new home where no other cats lived. But even after Acorn Ranger departed, our expenses were not over. One of our original cats continued peeing on the carpet. Eventually we pulled out the carpet and hired a handyman to remove the remaining staples. She started peeing on the bare floor in the same old spot. We had to have the wood floor refinished at the cost of over $1,000. (The wood under the carpet was ugly and would have needed refinishing eventually anyway, but if it hadn't been for the darn cat we never would have found that out because it would have remained hidden under carpeting.)

All these events serve to illustrate how unpredictable pet expenses can be. We had hoped our cats would only cost us a few hundred dollars per year, but instead the cost of one year topped $2,000. The next year went much more smoothly — but you never know what may happen next.

So how much can you expect to spend keeping a cat? Petside.com estimates that you will spend $900-$1,500 in the first year, including an adoption fee, spaying/neutering, initial vaccinations, and supplies. Subsequent years, the site predicts, will cost $600-$900.

Here are the typical things you spend money on with cats.

Food

CatCentric estimates that you can spend anything from 22 cents a day (Cat Chow kibble) to $5.48 a day (Royal Canin Instinctive canned) to feed a 10-pound kitty. Interestingly, commercially available raw foods — usually more richer in nutrients than canned or dry — fall in between kibble and canned food cost-wise, at about $1 per day, according to an analysis by CFA and cat-rescuer Laurie D. Goldstein. Making homemade cat food can cost even less and be healthier than what you buy in the store — according to CatInfo.org by veterinarian Lisa A. Pierson, nutritionally balanced cat food can be made at home for 87 cents per day, per cat.

Litter

I usually pay 30-50 cents a pound for litter, and a quick check of Petco.com shows several varieties available for that price. How long it lasts depends on how finicky you and your cats are. I probably use about five pounds of litter a week, at a cost of about $1.50. If you use a litter box liner, this adds about 50 cents a week.

Maintenance Vet Care

The ASPCA advises you get your cat an annual checkup — my most recent vet recommended twice a year. The cost of this routine visit will vary by geography and fanciness of waiting room; Aiken Animal Hospital in South Carolina lists a cost of $93 for an annual checkup. Vaccination costs can vary widely too, since not all vets recommend you get the full complement of shots every year. Pierson, of CatInfo.org, does not recommend annual vaccines other than for rabies as required by local laws.

Vet Treatment

If something goes wrong, the cost of treatment comes down to how much you are willing or able to pay before considering euthanization or just living with the problem. The New York Times recently reported on pet owners — mostly those with dogs — spending as much as $10,000 on advanced medical treatments. A full course of radiation treatment for cancer can cost $6,000. This MSN article lists the most expensive common cat ailments as foreign body ingestions ($1,629) and urinary tract reconstruction ($1,399).

Insurance

I don't have health insurance for our cats because my husband and I have agreed that we will not provide extraordinary treatments for them. But if you are more attached to your cat than I am and feel you must provide any treatment needed, despite the cost, insurance may be worth looking into. Premium costs vary, but this Get Rich Slowly post pegs the cost at about $1 a day. Sierra Black, author of that post, determined that for her, the right answer was to set aside money for cat care instead of buying insurance.

Frills

To me, commercially produced cat toys, grooming, and Halloween costumes are all frills. We have occasionally spent $3 on a laser pointer or a cat dancer, but my kids have also fabricated teasers that entertain the cats almost as well. Our cats' grooming is limited to my daughters' attempts to bathe them, the occasional brushing (also by the kids), and the work of their own tongues.

In a year without a medical disaster or feline damage to my home, I spend approximately $450 on each of my cats per year, for food, litter and medical check-ups/shots — plus random extras like the carriers we had to buy to move our cats across the country. But just one health problem or fit of property destruction can turn an average year into an expensive year.

Here are some of the tricks I use to keep costs down:

  • Measure cats' food and don't overfeed. This not only saves on food purchase, but it also saves on medical costs by preventing obesity.
     
  • Supplement commercial food with meat. I don't formulate my own pet food, but after getting the go-ahead from my vet, I occasionally supplement my cats' commercial food with meat left over from human meals or on-sale canned tuna packed in water. Sometimes regular meat costs less than a can of cat food — and the cats usually love it. A caveat — because commercial foods are formulated to meet a cat's full nutritional needs for the day, vets warn that you shouldn't add more than 10-15% plain meat, or you risk unbalancing the diet.
     
  • When needed, get a prescription from the vet and fill it elsewhere, such as DiscountPetMedicines. In my experience, vets fill prescriptions in the office without consulting me — if you plan to shop around, you'll need to let the vet know upfront.
     
  • On a similar note, don't be shy about telling the vet what you can afford. Sense to Save posted about this issue, advising, "When your vet enters the exam room, say, 'Before you do something, please tell me how much it will cost.'"

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Guest's picture

I used to have a cat when I was little but we had to leave him with my grandparents when my parents moved to NY. I was thinking of getting one soon but was worried about all those things that go into taking care of a pet. Good article on some of the cost associated with having a pet

Guest's picture
Razorbacks92

My cats have always been cheap compared to my dogs. Even when they got old and sickly and had kidney issues, they were still much cheaper than dog health care and food. Of course, I am a real glutton, with two of each.

Guest's picture

I hardly spend anything on my cat. I get cheap food and cheap litter. She doesn't play with toys. She has been very healthy. She's 11 years old now.

Guest's picture
Allessio77

I only take my cats to the vet if they have a disease I can not treat. The internet has made getting some information very easy. They get no annual physical or constant booster shots except I do take them when they are 10 to get a baseline blood test and physical. Vet costs have skyrocketed, and the vets are riding it for all it's worth.
I have had 5 wonderful cats in my life, 2 still alive. The others died at 14, 15, and 19 years of age.

Guest's picture
Guest

This acticle is misleading. Cats are not expensive. Any time you adopt an animal you should be committing to financially taking care of that pet for its life. Sounds like this person is bitter about some impulsive decisions they made about adopting another cat without considering how it would effect their pets. This is probably a rare case and should not hinder people from adopting a pet once they properly think thru the commitment.

My pets are worth every penny! Stfu about your stupid carpet...

Carrie Kirby's picture

Hi Guest,
I did not mean to say that cats are expensive -- they're definitely cheaper than dogs and despite the Acorn Ranger fiasco owning our two cats has definitely been worth it. I just mean to say that there can be unexpected expenses.
But yes, it was definitely an impulsive decision to bring the stray cat home, and it turned out to be a mistake! Now I know: My cats don't want a new roommate.

Guest's picture
Jenny

You seem to be reading something into this article that's not there. The author is explaining some of the issues she hadn't previously considered when thinking about owning cats. I myself would go as far as to say cats ARE expensive. $450/yr is a lot of money, or it is for me anyway! That's not to say it's not a worthwhile expense for some people, but it is an expense nonetheless. So is having a baby, getting a car, moving to a town with a higher tax rate, etc. Speaking realistically about expenses isn't a value judgment, just a smart idea. Obviously this author still values cats because she has 2, so this article is not about how cats are bad because they cost money. It's about how you should properly consider all the factors before adopting a pet. Maybe if more people did that there would be less abandoned animals.

Guest's picture
Wendalore

About saying that this blogger maybe didn't "properly think thru the commitment" of getting a cat, and now she's regretting her rash decision. Whether that's what happened or not, what she is trying to do HERE is share her experience in order to help us all think through our commitment to getting a cat.

So I would think you would be exuding approval for this article!! Instead of that, you are dumping anger all over it. A lot of how we see things depends on what we've got going on inside about life. So did your folks maybe not think about the commitment they made to having kids and not give you enough of anything? Well, good luck with that, and love and cuddle your kitties and they will help heal you.

Guest's picture
Raina

Do what I did and toilet-train your cat. I haven't bought litter in years.

Guest's picture
Mrs PoP

Our little guy costs around $20/month for food and litter. (http://www.plantingourpennies.com/2012/05/31/kitty-pop-an-entertainment-...). And he just had his yearly vet checkup (super healthy!) which was $98 including the county license fees for the year. He's worth every penny for the hours of entertainment he provides.

We feed his cheap-ish dry food, and he loves it.

@raina - I wish we could toilet train our cat, but if we leave the toilet lid open he dunks his stuffed toys in the water and then brings the "drowned" toys to me in the middle of the night. Trust me, a "toilet monkey" is not fun to wake up with on your chest at 2am.

Guest's picture
esta

I love cats. Costco offers a great price on scoopable cat litter--under $8.00 for 30 lbs. in a green plastic container. Costco also sells 20 lbs. of dry cat food for about $15.00--not ultra cheap, but our vet says it's the only good quality discount cat food.

Guest's picture

This is a great article. It's hard to see a $$ sign when you look at a new pet. But this tells the truth. After all the care they really can be costly. I budget monthly for my pets and their care. Love the furry friends!

Guest's picture
Guest

Hi. Some stuff is common sense for example keeping cats inside when it's dark to avoid night time fighting with other cats. We don't spend a lot on kitty litter maybe a couple of dollars every 2 months because they can go out where we live. If you live near a busy road maybe keep them in and train them to take short breaks outside for their 'constitution'.
We don't spend much on toys as they seem to like pens, socks and cuddles.
We give them a little bit of milk every couple of days. If they are lactose intolerant long life milk isn't too badly priced. We do scrambled eggs, a little bit of tuna if we are having tuna casserole etc.
Only bones that are raw never cooked.
And a bit of dry food.
Lots of water and love. But mostly keeping them safe prevents vet bills.
We don't do shots because I'm not a huge fan of them and if they are mostly indoors and don't get cold they should be healthy. Common sense really.

Guest's picture

Whoaaa! I never thought that keeping a cat would be this expensive. I never had a pet in my entire existence and with this possible expense I am surely having second thoughts of even keeping one.

Guest's picture
jkwilso2

One of the cheapest ways to have cats is to foster for your local no-kill cat shelter. They usually can provide you with everything you need, especially if you can't afford it. They pay all medical expenses. And it's also a way to have a cat (or kittens) without a long-term commitment. You will need to keep foster cats separate from any current cats.

Guest's picture
Wendalore

Fostering cats a good idea? I thought of that—but how long will they let you keep the cat before you have to start paying for it yourself? I fall in love with cats, and I wouldn't want to be caring for a cat that I'm gonna have to say goodbye to any day now. See, you say "without a long term commitment." That's what I WANT!!

If all cats were equal, you know, just something furry and alive that purrs, then that would be one thing. But love changes everything about an animal, and then not just any old furry animal that purrs can replace a loved animal. But I'd love to foster an cat and have it paid for because I don't know if I can afford one the way things are. That's why I'm reading this. Are you still around, JKWILSO2?

Guest's picture
Lazlo

Just FYI, grooming may be a frill for shorthairs, but it's no such thing for longhairs.

I used to have shorthair "barn cats" but when I moved I adopted a couple of kittens (of uncertain paternity) from a co-worker. Well, the daddy must have been a Persian because these two have very long coats.

So long, in fact, that the manes have to be trimmed and a quarterly "sanitary clip" (which I call the "butt cut") must be done. If not, they can't groom themselves -- the mane gets in the way -- and pooping becomes problematic. They also get any mats removed, have the claws trimmed, and have a furminator treatment.

It's worth it to me to have this done right and not to have to try to do it myself, but it's got to be done with these cats one way or another. There's no "frill" about it.

Guest's picture
Wendalore

I think cats like that do okay with being thoroughly brushed daily. My sister has a Himalayan she got when she was a kitten, and she started brushing her right away, and the cat has always loved being brushed. A bit harder to start in with an older cat that's never been brushed much! I don't know about the butt cut part! Maybe she takes her to the vet for that!

Guest's picture
Beverly

Not sure how much it costs to have a cat. However, if I were to pull out my credit card bills, I could tell you how much it costs to have five cats!

Guest's picture

One thing I have learned over the years is that pets get more expensive the longer you have them.

Guest's picture

Yes, I would think cats would be much cheaper to own overall compared to dogs. Especially if you travel a lot and would need to board them (dogs).

Good article on the overall costs involved! I noticed you didn't include flea/tick treatments... these can be pretty hefty if your cat gets outside at all. I think it may also increase your renter's/home insurance if you have a pet because they could injure someone which would result in an insurance claim.

Guest's picture

Wow and here I thought cats were easier than dogs, although i'm an avid dog lover. That's crazy! Glad you were able to find it a good home.