About how much a month is it to care for a cat?
My fiance and I are considering getting a kitten. We will be adopting from one of the local adoption agencies.
We would eventually like to get a dog, but feel that for right now we are not ready for a dog, but are for a kitten/cat. I figure a cat will besome what cheaper, right?
Do you own a dog and a cat? What is the difference in cost of care?
Thanks
MacKraftCheeseKittenz Said,
May 25, 2010 @ 8:54 am
I have three cats and I have never spent more than 15
dollars a month for all my cats.
Shana B Said,
May 27, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
They can be cheaper but it depends. Hopefully since you are adopting from a shelter it will be fixed.. but you still will have an initial vet appt. That could cost anywhere from 80-200 dollars. Then you have to buy food (a good food runs at least $8 for 4 pounds.) litter, toys, treats, scoops, beds, brushes. etc. And these things are constantly needing replacing.
If you are considering declawing… that’s an expensive surgery.
So if you are worried that you might not be in the financial situation to provide the BEST for a cat or kitten. I wouldn’t get one.
twosahara Said,
May 29, 2010 @ 11:09 pm
Cats are cheaper only if nothing serious happens to them. My cat cost me more than a $1000 because he had crystals in his ureatha. It’s like a tract infection and I couldn’t see putting him down for that. Now he is on a special diet and a 4lb bag of food is $14. Vet bills are a little cheaper for cats though and if you get the kitten fixed you could try and get it dicounted. We have a program called Concerned Citizens which was very helpful for my cat and the dogs.
cpost18 Said,
May 31, 2010 @ 11:06 pm
dog is around $50
and cat is around $35 to $40
but the initial cost for the vet for a cat is 80 to 100 for all their shots and if you get a boy it cost about 100 to get fixed and for a girl cost about 150.
CoCkRoAcH Said,
June 3, 2010 @ 11:33 pm
cats can be inexpensive or they can be expensive, if you buy it from the pound it should be neautued/spayed, but then some pounds make you pay for it but u hv a deadline, if you dont want to get cat declawed get soft paws which cover the nails, they work very good they are on my cat right now…
and petco does offer vacinations at a cheaper rate..
but why not maybe get an adult cat,ther alreasy fixed some are declared,you dont hv to worry about the spay/neauter,heartworm,vacanations its all caught up
and the cats are just such sweethearts, and you dont hv to owrry about the cat being so time consuming like a kitten would
but w.e you do just be responsible
best of luck
Andrew G Said,
June 4, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
in a month i would spend about $45 to $50 and also it depends on what kind of cat it is like short or long haired because the short haired cat’s are cheaper to take care of. But with long haired cat’s respectively higher because of grooming
Also if you get a cat look into the foods and prices and compare it to other brands that could save a lot of money also what kind of litter and cat box you’re going to get. if you go with the cheaper things you’ll look at a much smaller price
Kim B Said,
June 5, 2010 @ 11:34 pm
I have two cats I have raised from kittens, they are now 9yrs and 4yrs. Both are housecats. My girl cat is 9 and my boy cat is 4.. I had to pay to have them both fixed, my girl was more expensive to have fixed then my boy was {$85.00, girl was more} plus antibiotics.. Both have been declawed {$65.00 a piece} plus antibiotics and checkups.. Regular vaccinations, prices vary but they are not cheap, regular worming and flea medications from the vet which the $ isn’t to bad, well worth it. Cat litter box $ depends on what type you want. Good clumping cat litter around $10.00 a container and good healthy cat food around $8.00 a bag. I have two cats, so I buy a bag of catfood a week and a container of litter a week. Dogs are cheaper, you wouldn’t have to buy a litter box or litter but they do eat more. And if you go on vacation someone has to feed and water them and change the litter. I had a dog in my house once and no matter how much i bathed him I could still smell him. With cats maintain a clean litter box and no one will know they are in the house with proper cleaning of their cat hair and litter box..Good Luck..
JOHNNA Said,
June 7, 2010 @ 5:58 am
Cats arent expensive at all. Depending on what you buy, you can spend anywhere between $50. to100. dollars
runningmeg82 Said,
June 9, 2010 @ 8:00 pm
I own a cat. The initial cost over the first few months is probablly about $200-$300 dollars. This includes all of it’s shots, exams, and nuetering. However, after the initial exams, a cat is very cheap! I can’t imagine your cat would go through more than 2 bags of food a month ($5 each). Then there is litter, which would probablly run you $10 a month. So maybe $20 a month for your kitty, not counting the start up vet costs.
Not sure about the dog. I do know cats are less maintenance.. you don’t need to take them for walks and they do their business and cover it up themselves- ya just gotta scoop.
vampgirl820 Said,
June 10, 2010 @ 4:14 am
I don’t think you can really break it down month by month. Expenses for food and whatnot are probably slightly cheaper for a cat, but not by much. If you consider yearly visits to the vet for vaccinations, there are fewer vaccines for cats than dogs, so it could be cheaper there.
With any pet, there are emergencies, and you should be prepared for those, too, maybe putting away $50 a month or more into an emergency fund. My cat fell out of a tree and it was $1400 at an emergency hospital to get him checked out in the middle of the night, but I also live in Boston. Which brings up another point — the cost of veterinary care is very dependent upon where you live. Ask other friends/family in the area that have animals how much they typically spend. You’ll get a much better idea from that than asking a bunch of people on the internet from all different places.
Po_da_horse_luva Said,
June 11, 2010 @ 12:12 am
dogs are more expensive and need exercise, a garden, collar,lead,they eat more than cats and food is more expensive,vets bills are higher,need accommodation when you are on holiday……where as cats can look after themselves more.
i would get a cat for now.
twiztidjuggalet83 Said,
June 12, 2010 @ 11:14 pm
lets see… i used to have a cat… since u work at petco itll be cheaper for ya… *duh* lol.. it all depends though how much you want to spoil the kitty, and what kind of food you feed it. since u are adopting they will have their first set of shots, but u have to get the rest, but if they still have the vet come in thats nothing… i suppose u know initally it will cost you about $100 to get everything like toys, kitty litter and box etc. i say if u feed the kitty good food (good meaning its first ingrediant is not corn or rice) you are probably looking about $20 a month.