How Much Does It Cost You To Have Your Cat Per Year?

[Kieka]

For three cats I spend about $60-80 a month on food (poultry free gets expensive). So figure $900 as a safe annual food cost. Probably another $100 in toys and non essentials. Vet is $45 a year for annuals per cat plus shots or dental work when needed. We just built a catio and that wasn't cheap...

Averaging it out for my two cats (I pay for food for the three but vet expesnese for just mine), $1000 a year sounds a smidgen low. I probably spend $1500 a year on a good year.

Links broken leg was $5000 in a year and the catio was way more then I care to think about. The first year was higher due to kitten shots and exams. Probably $600 for Link and $1200 for Rocket (she had lots of kitten emergencies health wise plus her spay was at a surgical center instead of a clinic. Wasn't taking any chances.)

 

[sabrinah]

$750 a year probably on food/litter/supplements/treats, but likely more. Vet costs are unpredictable since she's on the older side. Some years I get away with only spending a few hundred on her. This year I spent $1000 at the vet in 3 months. If the trend continues, she'll easily cost $2000+ per year.

 

[Antonio65]

My cat can eat only a particular kind of food that costs around €1.25 per can, but I manage to find them at around €0.85 per can, and she eats one and a half can daily, so it's 45 cans each month = €38.00 on food/month
The litter is €9.00 per bag, nearly 2 bags per month = €15.00 on litter/month

The costs for meds and vet bills are variable, say that lately it's been an average of €40.00 per month

Total for one year = € (38.00*12)+(15.00*12)+(40.00*12) = €1116.00 = US$1287 at the today's exchange rate.

 

[Ladysnuggable]

Im terrified to know what I spend in a year. I feel if my boyfriend knew he'd kill me lol. Lets see it was 50 a month for 4 cats for a year to cover vet visits including vaccines and neuter and spay. (till i learned the joys of low cost spay and neuter) so 50x12= 600. at least 2 things of cat litter a month I'd say. Plus food which i can usually coupon soooo between 40-60 a month. Low cost spay and neuter visits for several other cats 10-20 dollars each. Momma kitty pyometra spaying. Mr knubbs amputation and neutering. Boots and bear's vet visit for respiratory infections and asthma including medicine. vaccines that I administered myself. 60. Flea and tick and well say 100 a year on toys that the dog ends up eatting
600+24+ 60+60+1100+1100+ 450+60+204+100
3758 dollars! or more. Most likely more... rescue is expensive 8D

 

[Draco]

Between two cats and being on a budget, I looked around for ways to be more frugal.

Trader Joe's cat food- 5.5 oz can at .79 cents each - $40-50 per month
Chicken Crumbles litter- 50 lb bag- 1 litterbox - lasts about 3 months- $5 per month (bag is $15)
Treats- $10 a month

My cats don't go to the vets annually, unless they're sick. I won't count vet bills here.
I don't buy them toys anymore- they like free stuff (IE, garbage).

So about ~$650-$700 a year for me

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I don't know how you guys spend so little on food for multiple cats.

Even if I don't count prescription food, wet food alone is probably $ 120.00 month and it's not a super premium brand (Fancy Feast). This is for 3 cats.

 

[KarenKat]

Well, with the three cats, food and litter comes out to $1800 per year (estimated, since the third cat is new and the only one on wet food).

In addition, we needed some one-time cat furniture and toys purchases (prob $500?)

Olives initial checkup was $250, and anothe $900 to remove a bb from her head.

Trin has a few extra Vet visits this year, which came out to ~$2000.

So this year it’s $1800 plus ~$4000 in vet and toys/furniture.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I didn't even include last summer when I had over 4K in vet bills from numerous ER visits for my boy's blockage, for which he finally had to have PU surgery.

Granted, that has not been the norm for me, though, and I had never spent that much on a cat.

 

[Antonio65]

I didn't even include last summer when I had over 4K in vet bills from numerous ER visits for my boy's blockage, for which he finally had to have PU surgery.

Granted, that has not been the norm for me, though, and I had never spent that much on a cat.

Neither did I mention the cost for the I-131 treatment for my Pallina in August 2017, nearly €1,000, to which I had to add the travel expenses to Belgium (at least another €1,200). And all the extra blood works for her before and after that treatment, I'd say another €500.

My Lola was a different story, in the last year of her life I spent almost €10,000 for visits, tests, surgery, more tests and radiation and chemo therapy.

But there are exceptional expenses, not the average.

 

[MeganLLB]

I don't know how you guys spend so little on food for multiple cats.

Even if I don't count prescription food, wet food alone is probably $ 120.00 month and it's not a super premium brand (Fancy Feast). This is for 3 cats.

For 3 cats Fancy Feast really isn't that cost effective. I only have two cats and I always try to buy food in the large 13 or 14 oz cans. You figure FF costs about .55 cents to maybe .60 cents a can. Each of my cats could easily eat 2 -3 of those a day, so .60 x 5= $3.00 per day if it was exclusively fancy feast. Whereas say a large 14 oz can of American Journey from Chewy is $2.25 and will last me about a day and a half for two cats. So..I'm not good at math but that should be a little over a dollar a day as opposed to over $3 per day.

They eat anywhere between 4-6 oz of food each day, so on a hungry day, FF isn't going to cut it.

 

[marmoset]

I couldn't even begin to calculate the cost though this is something I WANT to do. My house has 4 (possibly 5 soon) resident indoor cats, then I foster and caretake for ferals. Most of the foster medical care is covered by the shelter I work with but I pay for food since I want my foster babies to have the best shot at good health and feed them high quality kitten food. I also pay for some routine things- vaccinations etc at the reduced shelter rate as a way of donating to my favorite organization.

So currently I have 10 cats in the house with 6 on premium food and 4 eating fancy feast chicken pate and blue wilderness duck dry. I also feed 6-9 cats (not always the same cats show up but as for daily feeding it's 6-9 (I am not sure how big the population is out there. And yes it does scare me.

We have a problem peer in the house who will only use one kind of expensive litter in one box and another kind of expensive litter in the other. The rest of the house litters are standard litter but still not the cheap stuff.

Then if you add the cost of doing TNR (cages, traps, supplies etc) with the community cats as well and the occasional vet visit if one of the community cats needs vet care then- I'd say I spend easily over $12,000 a year and possibly much more

But like a previous poster said, I do feel it's worth it.

 

[Azazel]

I gave up counting.... they’re my babies and I try to give them the best.

Crazy cat lady right here.

 

[MRG2018]

This is an extremely useful thread for people who don't keep track of expenses, like me. I spend about $1900 a year that includes insurance, food, treats, litter, cleaning supplies, any supplements etc. I may spend more if I take my cat to the vet for an annual exam or so.

 

[basscat]

He has some pricey "one off" stuff.
But, aside from that, the recurring stuff is $40 a month for a 40lb cat.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

He has some pricey "one off" stuff.
But, aside from that, the recurring stuff is $40 a month for a 40lb cat.

basscat - Bob just read this, and he's laughing like mad.
.

 

[basscat]

basscat - Bob just read this, and he's laughing like mad.
.

Gibs has never eaten more than 1.5lbs a day. If we give him more, he'll leave it.
So, food is just under $20/mo
Litter is $8/month
Flea stuff is $5/month

 

[Willowy]

Wow, what do you feed him? That's less than (a lot less than) $1.00 a pound.

 

[basscat]

Wow, what do you feed him? That's less than (a lot less than) $1.00 a pound.

Chicken
Legs are bought at the grocery store when on sale (.35 cents/lb)
Legs and Thighs are bought from a friend that works at Simmons Poultry (100lbs for $20)
Necks, hearts, gizzards, livers are bought in bulk once every 5 or 6 months. (.50 cents/lb)

BUT, like I said, he has some "one-off" things that, for a cat, are a bit pricey.
He has his own freezer, He has his own meat grinder, and he has a couple indentured servants that obviously don't have a bit of sense.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Chicken
Legs are bought at the grocery store when on sale (.35 cents/lb)
Legs and Thighs are bought from a friend that works at Simmons Poultry (100lbs for $20)
Necks, hearts, gizzards, livers are bought in bulk once every 5 or 6 months. (.50 cents/lb)

BUT, like I said, he has some "one-off" things that, for a cat, are a bit pricey.
He has his own freezer, He has his own meat grinder, and he has a couple indentured servants that obviously don't have a bit of sense.

basscat - Don't sell yourself short - after all, you supplied the Bobcat Palace too.


.

 

[basscat]

That's just what the big one costs. The small ones probably cost more due to buying name brand clumping litter.
And the old one gets two tiny containers of some fancy wet food per day. I don't know what it costs but it's relatively recent since she was getting real finicky about what she would eat.
HOWEVER.... I started giving her a huge heaping spoon of our ground up chicken concoction IF she would eat her container of wet food in the evenings. And now she eats every bit of food we give her. I can't say if the chicken is good for her or not, but...she's now eating more than he has in the last few years and that can't be bad.