How much spending are on a cat

Take Your Pants Off

Basically, my brother is thinking of getting a kitten. (adopted)
He is 12 years old and my mother already made it clear she won't be minding it, nor will me or my dad.
Reason being is my mothers not to fond of cats, she does not dislike them but she already has 2 of us to take care of and another in the house won't make the situation any better, but for my brother who loves cats she is making an exception for him to finally get one and he to take sole responsibility.
Now the problem rises, the costs of having a cat.
Is it cheap or not.
What is the average cost per week ?

boomerang

Not cheap at all.

If you adopt from a rescue, there will be an adoption fee €50 to €80, but the cat will be neutered, vaccinated, wormed, microchipped etc. Otherwise these things are very expensive. If you get a free kitten expect to pay €170-€200 or more for all of that.

Then before you get the cat, you have to buy things like a litter tray, cat carrier, scratching post, litter, bowls, etc. More expense. At least €50 or €60 and you have to buy the food as well.

Then to feed the cat you are probably talking about €6 a week, but that really depends if you give the cat good food or not.

Nody

I'd calculate at 50 EUR a month for a cat for the basics (litter, good kibble, good wet food, the toys you always end up picking up etc.); additional for vet visits (yearly shots and check up is between 50 and 100) and insurance (strongly recommended). Also please keep in mind to get the best prices for food you need to go online (credit card) or pet store (more expensive); your local supermarket is not suitable.

Basic shopping list would be:
Kibble - 40 - 60 EUR
Wet food, various (optional but recommended) - 50 EUR (more at the start to trial what they will and will not eat and after that bulk pack)
Toilet (x2 recommended) - 50 EUR (don't skimp and buy a proper one from start, keep in mind Kitty grows up to be big and personally I prefer covered to keep the aroma in better!)
Sand (not silicone; may hurt kitty feet) - 5 - 10EUR
Scratch posts (plural; having one only is a great way to get the furniture scratched :P ) - 50 EUR
Toys - 10 EUR (make sure you get da Bird if they got it!)
Carry cage (once again don't skimp on size as kitty will grow!) - 35 EUR
Bowls x3 (can be bought at Ikea or similar but should be ceramic for wet, water and kibble) - 10 EUR+
Brush - 5 EUR
Other bits and pieces (treats, litter scope etc.) - 25 to 50 EUR

Then kibble, sand and wet food from that point out as needed basically with the odd scratch pole etc.

Rips

Its costs me €2 per day on average. That's for good quality food including treats and good quality litter (but not supplement, which is neglible cost per day)

(litter = 24c/day and food inc treats= €1.74/day)

With my food order this month I got all the extras I needed free with my zooplus points, a free litter scoop, a 400g bag of good quality kibble (I will use as extra treats) and toys.

Zapperzy

I'v two cats, a 1 year old and a 9 year old, and there both so different I'l work them out separately.

9 year old-
Wet food: I buy it online in bulk from zooplus, usually order about €80 each time, works out about 60c a day to feed her good quality tinned food.
Dry food: Rarely use it but when I do I buy small 400g bags for about €5 and it lasts a few weeks but I'm only giving a pinch of them a day.
Litter: Between €18.50-€20 for a 10L bag which last 4-5 weeks. It's good quality stuff, skimp on quality and you'l end up with a smelly tray and a dusty room.

1 year old-
Wet food: She eats like a horse, again I order in bulk. She eats a full 400g tin a day of good quality stuff, probably about €1 a day as an adult. Younger <1 yr old cats eat more and kitten food isin't cheap. I had her on whiskas kitten pouches which on offer were €4 for a box of 12 (about €5 not on offer) and they lasted about 3 or 4 days. Moved her to good quality stuff after that but it was still dear.
Dry food: Same story as older cat only gets a pinch. Regular size 2kg of dry food ranges anywhere from cheap tesco brand stuff probably ~€5 to decent quality bags your talking about €20
Litter: She craps like a horse too and flies through litter. Same stuff as older cat but only lasts maybe 3 weeks.

Those are everyday costs. You've to factor in all the start up stuff and extras, and the vet fees (routine stuff is worming every 3 months, flea/tick drops possibly every 3 months if needed and annual vaccinations). For a 12 year old with no income and no financial support from parents it's a lot of money.

Rips

For a 12 year old with no income and no financial support from parents it's a lot of money.

This. Its not just financial support either. Some parents get their children animals, or allow them to have animals and pass the onus of responsibility on to the children, thinking that's how they learn. Its not, and its not fair on the animals. You need to teach responsibility by good example.
(or alternatively, be so irresponsible that even your child realises you are a bad pet owner!! Obviously not recommended for the sake of the pet!)

My family cat 'belongs' to my 14yr old brother, my parents are not responsible pet owners. When he was 12, the cat disappeared for 3 days and when she came back she was bedraggled. He rang me to tell me that she was home, but he insisted she was fine, because 'Mam said...' and because he's a child and he'd like to think that cat is robust and nothing can ever happen to her. I took her to the vet and she had a broken jaw.

He will need someone responsible in charge of the purse strings.

Pumpkinseeds

Realistically if your mum doesn't like cats and doesn't want to take care of it herself then she shouldn't allow your brother to get a cat. That might sound very harsh, but I always get worried when I hear of parents saying that the pet will be a childs sole responsibilty.

BeatNikDub

Food and litter are cheap but you have to remember all the vets bills and boarding every time you go away!

And litter boxes, toys and a carrier too!

Dublin Red Devil

No need to pay for a cat. There are always people with kittens free to a good home.

anniehoo

Dublin Red Devil wrote: »

No need to pay for a cat. There are always people with kittens free to a good home.

The OP isn't asking how much to "buy" a kitten for, but how much it costs to care for one.Please read the initial and subsequent posts

Dublin Red Devil

anniehoo wrote: »

The OP isn't asking how much to "buy" a kitten for, but how much it costs to care for one.Please read the initial and subsequent posts

In that case a cat is easy to care for. They are allot more independent than a dog. Just give them food and drink and they pretty much look after themselves.

Don't piss off a cat though, A cat will fck you up worse than any dog.

anniehoo

Dublin Red Devil wrote: »

In that case a cat is easy to care for. They are allot more independent than a dog. Just give them food and drink and they pretty much look after themselves.

I suggest you read posts #2-#6 first DRD.

alleystar

I think some of those prices are ridiculous.

I've grown up with cats, a lot of them were feral but we adopted a couple as pets (as in sleeping inside not outside).

Lidl cat food (wet) is great, I'm not exactly sure on the price but it kept our cats healthy with a shiny coat, many of them living to a ripe old age. Aldi have a big box of dry food (under two quid I think) and that's great, even just for treats rather than Dreamies which are expensive enough if you buy them often.

You don't need a cat litter box either, train the cat to go outside unless you're going to keep it inside all day.

You can get scratching posts for cheap too, 50 euro is a crazy amount to spend. There was an offer on a scratching post in Lidl awhile back for a tenner, that'll no doubt come around again. Plus, cats can easily use the bark of trees as a handy scratching post. Your brother doesn't have to go mad buying toys either, they can have great craic playing with something as simple as a spool of thread or a feather attached to a twig.

Neutering or spaying costs around 70 euro, wormer and flea treatment isn't too costly.

Unless your brother gets a fairly substantial amount of pocket money he most likely won't be able to afford to own a cat. If he has Confirmation/ Christmas/ birthday money put away maybe he could dip into that.

eezipc

Agree with alleystar, alot of the prices here are a bit on the high side.
We have two cats, one from the GSPCA and one from my parents.
It cost us €100 donation to the GSPCA but he was neutered and had received his shots for the year.
The cat from my parents was obviously free but I had to pay over €100 to get her neutered and vaccinated.
At the beginning it can be expensive with scratching posts, litter trays and toys (although they tend to prefer playing with the boxes).

However, on a weekly basis it works out quite cheap. We find the wet pouches in Aldi are the best. 3 euro for a pack of 12. This lasts the week when mixed with dry food. We found the best dry food is Go-Cat which costs about €5 for a 2kg pack if you shop around. This pack lasts about 2 weeks.So feeding two cats costs us approx €6 per week.
That though does not include treats and toys. They are not necessary but we do like to treat the cats every so often.

Cat litter can be cheap but as others have mentioned, it's best to get good quality stuff as it lasts longer and does not smell as bad. If your mother hates cats then the urine smell will really get under her nose........ We usually buy Sanicat. Costs about €15 in Petworld but is much cheaper if you buy online.

However, all this is worth it when you sit down at the end of the day and the cat sits on your lap purring loudly thanking you for giving him such a great life.

Hollister11

About €15 per week at least.

Zapperzy

As an example of vet costs I spent €113 in the vets on Monday and I'm not finished yet, iv urine tests to pay for this evening. That's for a cat losing weight and vomiting, just to see a vet is €40 before they give it it anything, full bloods €65 and antibiotics then were a few more quid.

She's had other reasons to see vets before, 2011 she had urinary problems (possibly infections or stress related, common enough issue) and I was in and out to the vets with her for a month or two and cost a couple of hundred quid, a good few grey hairs and a few new duvets.

Just another point as well your brother will need his parents on board if he wants to adopt from a rescue, they won't hand out kittens to kids. In 2005 I paid €50 for a fully vaccinated and wormed kitten with a free neutering voucher for when she was old enough, she had also been treated for cat flu by the rescue. Think the adoption fees now are closer to €100 which is still a brilliant price for a fully vaccinated and neutered kitten.

Lawliet

Daily costs of owning a cat are pretty low. Food and litter can be gotten cheap if you shop around, and the rest of the necessities people are throwing around are either optional or can be picked up second hand for a fraction of the price. Fifty euro for a scratching post? I got one on adverts for a fiver.

Having said that, vet bills are expensive. Never mind the routine stuff, like neutering and vaccinations, how is a twelve year old going to look after a cat that has medical problems? And not just paying for it, but make decisions about treatment? Just this week I had a 130 euro vet bill and I have to administer two injections a day to my cat. Would your brother be responsible for that? Would your brother have to make the call about whether or not to put down a seriously ill cat? What happens when the cat needs treatment your brother can't afford?

You can't put all that on a child. If your parents want him to buy the day to day stuff and clean up after the cat that's one thing, but unless they're willing to step in, cover the costs and look after the cat when they have to, there's no way they should be letting your brother get one. It wouldn't be fair on your brother and it definitely wouldn't be fair on the cat.

Take Your Pants Off

Yeah he has quittened down about a cat.
At a time he hated them for a day because a cat came to our backgarden and delibarately pissed on his/my bike.
Maybe when he grows up he will get a cat he always wanted in his childhood.