What should I expect in vet bills if I was to adopt a cat?

I had a cat for twelve years. I had her spayed when she was young, I think it was $50 but that was a long time ago.

When she was old I spent maybe $200 to discover that she had feline leukemia and to put her to sleep.

I miss that cat. She was the best.

To clarify.. I am thinking along the lines of getting yearly check-ups and things like that. What about flea treatments?

If it’s a kitten, there are some recommended yearly shots for a few years, but those can be quite cheap. I don’t know anyone who takes their adult cat in for yearly checkups but some do. If the cat is healthy, a checkup should also be cheap.

Having a female spayed is more expensive than having a boy fixed.

Your biggest expenses will probably be cat food and cat litter.

Or just cat food if you follow the Charlie Mingus method to train your cat to use the toilet.

There are pet insurance places like at Petco or the PetSmart. Definitely check those out. You would need to get blood tests to make sure the cat is healthy. $200—$300. It must be neutered. Males are cheaper than females. $150—$250. Rescues often do this for you, but you could pay $75 bucks for a cat.

I only get one round of shots and all animals are indoor only. You can get away with that. $100 bucks.

Very expensive in the beginning. After that, you can choose how much you can afford to buy good food (less vet bills) and the occasion infection or cut or tear.

I’d say for one cat (though I believe in having 2. 1 can get lonely and act out.) for a normal year of good care, no more than $200 bucks or so a month. You could by cheap stuff, but it’s as healthy as McDonald’s is for people. Then I’d say less than $100 a month. With litter included.

If you do not 100%want a cat don’t get one. Go out. See some cats or kittens. Maybe you’ll fall in love.

Don’t go outside means no fleas. I haven’t seen a flea in decades.

I also think it takes a lot if chutzpah for someone to insist another person needs a pet. It’s not just expense, it’s also taking care of a living thing. If you want to travel you need to make sure it’s taken care if, if it’s sick you need to take the time off from work (if you work a typical job). Although, indoor cats don’t usually go to the vet as much as outdoor cats. If you declaw the kitty (many people feel that is horrific. I think it is like amputating their fingers a little) that will cost a little. If you don’t declaw the cat might tear up some furniture a little.

I love cats, I’m not trying to talk you out of having one.

You probably can ask your local vet for a list if typical fees for the standard stuff. Neuter, shots, that sort of thing. Between food and litter box I’d say $2 a day. $200 a month seems very high to me @tinyfaery. I haven’t owned a cat since I was a kid living at home, but I remember we used one can of food a day (usually fancy feast) and left dry food out.

If it is $200 a month plus medical expenses that is a lot of money. If the money concerns you or puts you in a tight financial spot don’t do it. Wait until you can easily afford the cat.

They are very cute. Nothing like a little paw on your head trying to wake you up in the morning.

We always had male cats.

I have four cats. One was a kitten and I picked it up off the ground and took it home. It was born to a stray that lived near a homeless shelter on the grounds of a local hospital. A friend worked there and told me that the stray mom had kittens on a regular basis and people took them one by one. That cat, who is now about 12, just cost shots and spay.

The second that I own, I got from clients when I did Child Protective. That cat had fleas when I first got her, so she was immediately taken to the vet for treatment. She was already spayed. Vet bill was probably around $100, as it’s close to $50 just to walk in the door. She is now around 11 years old. She has had two operations for bladder stones over the last 7 years. The vet says some cats have a genetic predisposition for it. Those operations were about $1500 each after follow up and meds. What happens to her is she starts peeing with some blood in it, as the stones cause friction in her urinary tract, and giving her increased urgency to urinate. Paying $1500 for surgery kills me but it would be more painful to me to put her to sleep.

I have two young boy cats who are about 1½ year old. They’re brothers. They were taken from a muffler shop in the Bronx, where the mother cat who lives in the shop keeps having kittens. These two boys cost me about $500 total at first, for testing to make sure they were healthy, and shots. I didn’t want to take them home to the other cats if they had diseases. Then getting them neutered, which was about $300 each.

Other than the above, the two older ones have had fleas twice (fleas is what brought me to Fluther). Discussing the cost of flea eradication doesn’t matter if you are not going to let your cat out, as it probably won’t get fleas if it doesn’t go out, unless somehow, someone brings fleas into your home.

Warning: Once you let cats out, they want to go out all the time.

I get cat food from Costco, usually. It’s about 50 cents a can, give or take. I think the recommendation is one can per day per adult cat. Litter costs vary, depending on where you get it and what kind you use. As cheap as $2. per bag for 10 lbs, which would probably last you about a week.

The cat should have something to scratch, like a scratching post, or else it will use the wood trim on your doors and also scratch your rugs or upholstered furniture.

If you adopt cats that are young and they don’t go out, your vet bills should be minimal or non existent once you get over the initial spay/neuter cost.

One more thing, @johnpowell. To answer your question about “is one gender of cat better suited to indoors?” as long as you get the cat neutered or spayed, it won’t look to go out and wander (in other words, it’s not going to strive to go out and get laid).

Cats are usually a lot cheaper to have than dogs. Get him or her spayed/neutered as a kitten, get yearly vaccines, and the cat will most likely be okay for quite a few years. At our local no-kill shelter where we adopted our animals, it’s $100 to adopt a kitten, and that includes spay/neuter surgery and all first year shots.

Your biggest expense will most likely be food and litter. If you want a healthy cat, feed him or her a quality cat food. In other words, something you probably won’t find at Wal-Mart. My cat likes Wellness Indoor Health. It’s not all that expensive considering how long a bag lasts.

Most of all, don’t get a cat if you don’t want one. Surely your sister cannot force you to get a pet. And please don’t get a cat if you can’t afford vet bills. Emergencies do happen, cats do sometimes get sick. If your financial situation is going to result in the cat dying because you can’t afford a vet visit, don’t get a cat.

Cat needs an annual exam and boosters. If everything is OK, it should run no more than $150. I would get the cat a feline leukemia vaccination even if it is to be indoors. One of mine was bitten by a feral cat and got it. It is fatal.

As to gender, female cats bond better with guys (and male cats bond better with women). But gender does not matter in terms of indoor/outdoor. Female cats also don’t spray (not all male cats develop this awful habit).

Here’s some information on costs. Notice that that does not include any emergency care fees.

Indoor cats generally live longer, healthier lives. Gender doesn’t matter, but we see so many male cats with urinary blockages, I always tend to female cats (even though I believe males make better companions).

Getting a cat is like adopting a child that will never grow up past 18 months or so. It’s a long term (almost 20 year) commitment. If you aren’t totally sold on it, don’t get a cat. It’s hard on them to go from adoptive home to adoptive home. Then after they are 2 or so, they aren’t so desirable as new pets so they usually get euthanized if it doesn’t work out in their home. Don’t get a pet unless you are sure you want the cat for keeps.

I’ve had quiet a few cats over my lifetime, and lived with roommates of different gender. I’ve never found that the gender of the cat affected their ability to bond with anyone, nor did I find that it made a difference in whether they were happy living indoors.

Their personalities vary by individual. Certain male and certain female cats were very inquisitive and would try to escape; others took no interest. I had one male cat that had an aversion to men and one female cat that had an aversion to men (though none that disliked women). I think this has more to do with their personal history than anything else.

Just pick out a cat that you can play with; that you seem to click with when you go looking.

I will also say that when I was younger, I would hector people about not taking their cats to the vet every year, but eventually I would only take them for their shots as necessary (I can’t think of any that were required yearly). Vet visits stressed them out, they were healthy, and they were not in contact with outside cats. So I just didn’t feel the need to pay the expense. No doubt the Fluther vets will say this is completely wrong; I’m just giving my opinion.

A few year ago my sister had a cat that would get into fights. An infected injury would require a trip to the vet and a $200 bill.

It varies quite a lot by area of the country – my cats cost me twice as much in vet bills in NYC than in Colorado. But that’s to be expected, obviously. Initial costs aren’t usually too big, especially if you get a shelter cat that’s already had everything done. If you get a kitty from a friend’s litter or a stray or something, you can find low cost spay/neuter clinics everywhere. I think I paid around $35 to get my boy neutered ten years ago in the Springs, though it costs $85 for either sex at the low-cost clinic where I live now in Western Mass. Females usually cost a bit more to spay and have more recuperation time because it’s invasive surgery. If you get a male, get him a pet fountain – they cost way less than vet bills for UTIs, which male cats can be prone to (my boy almost died from a UTI, and saving him cost about $500 – and we didn’t even do all the recommended scans).

It’s not true that if your cat doesn’t go out it won’t get fleas. If your building has any kind of mouse problem, fleas can be an issue for indoor cats. Frontline can get expensive, but I just get the dog Frontline and parcel it out to my cats, which is way cheaper than buying the cat Frontline. Some vets don’t like you to do this because overdosing has terrible consequences, but it’s really pretty simple to make sure you’re giving the right dose as long as you can read the numbers on a syringe.

Emergency care can get seriously expensive, especially when the cat gets older. I have gotten a “crazy vet bill” on each of my cats once, and less crazy bills (~$200) on them, say, twice in addition (one is middle aged; the other is at the end of her life). Just for comparison, my dog has had $200–300 bills about four times now, but she cuts her paws a lot (middle aged). Ideally I’d like to keep $500 minimum in savings for emergency care for each of my pets and goats. Meds can cost a bit, too – for example, right now I’m spending $33/month on meds for my elderly, slowly dying cat who has some sort of liver cancer. Prior to the hospice care she cost me $10/month in meds for her hyperthyroidism. We could have done a treatment back when she was first diagnosed five years ago that would have cured it, but that would have cost $1200. Right now there’s a weird bump on my dog I need to have the vet aspirate and test. Oh, and a rabies booster for the boy cat. It’s just constant, and a lot, sometimes, dealing with pet health. I agree with the posts above – don’t let yourself be pressured into getting a cat unless you really want one. Not to be discouraging or anything – cats are awesome, and living with one is usually a very rewarding experience.

Well, we found a tiny, 3 or 4 week old kitten on our back deck about 4 months ago. As soon as she was old enough we took her in to get her spayed and shot. The bill was $250.

Which gender of cat you get is not nearly as important as the bond you develop with the cat.

Don’t let your sister get you a cat which she chooses. The choice should be yours.

Keeping it totally indoors is the best choice. Good for you. You’ll have a much healthier long-lived pet.

If you get a kitten, it is important to get vaccinations for the first year. After that, it’s pretty pointless for an indoor only cat. I never got mine vaccinated past kittenhood alrho I did start yearly vet checkups when they reached 10 yrs. old. A lot of chronic diseases don’t show up until advancing age.

If you do your homework, spay/neuter shouldn’t be that expensive as every area has groups facilitating low cost neuters and it’s usually a flat fee regardless of male/female.

Also, vet’s fees vary tremendously, so shop around.

What I did when I first moved to MI. was put a posting in the pet section of Craigslist. There are some very dedicated pet people hanging out there.

What I specified in my post was that I was looking for competent and caring a vet with reasonable fees (not necessarily the rock-bottom cheapest because quality does count). I had a vet like that in Philly and was hoping to for a duplicate here.

I got a lot of recommendations and there were two vets whose names came up more often and with glowing recommendations and anecdotes of the great care the person’s pet had received.

So, I chose the one closest to my house, and kept the other in reserve just in case.

What I typically pay for office visits and standard tests is easily 30–50% less than many other vets and he’s a terrific compassionate and caring Dr. so I’m happy. Good quality vet care doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Most of your vet expenses will be right after you bring kitty home. Use a fine tooth comb to check for fleas for the first few months because shelters can eliminate visible adult fleas on a cat, but there’s always the possibility of eggs or other life stages hatching out.

After 3 months and no signs of fleas, you’re in the clear. But if you do find any at all, just bite the bullet and do three solid months of Frontline. It’s well worth the expense, and in three months, it will kill fleas in every life cycle. As long as you keep her indoors, you’re done with fleas for good.

If the shelter has not already done so, you’ll want to have kitty initially tested for diseases like FIV and FILV.

But once you have these initial things done as well as neutering, your major vet expenses are pretty much done (barring emergency injury or disease) for most of a young cat’s life. At least that’s what it has been for me through several different cats.

As already mentioned, your biggest ongoing expense will be for litter and food. And for me, it’s well worth it in exchange for the love and the fun that a cat brings into your life :)

Maybe you don’t need to do what your sister says. But if you do it, you will be a wonderful, wonderful cat owner. I know your generosity and I know you’re a great problem-solver.
Cats do occasionally have problems, but not bad ones if they live indoors. I personally let my cats go out at will. I wouldn’t if I lived near a street.
All the above advice is really good, especially Buttonstc’s.
There’s a nice brand of dry food called Beyond (really…) that lasts a good month for a bag
at about $15. And they like whatever you’re eating too. If it’s not a vegetable.

In CA everything is more expensive.

I guess I was adding in great food and great litter. Only the best for my babies.

Since she’ll be an indoor cat litter will be an ongoing expense.

Just for the record I am well aware of food and litter. I can work that into my budget and it isn’t a problem. My concern is is major unanticipated costs.

I am leaning towards Baily Old and indoors and no claws. Perfect for me. I really hate the idea of getting a kitten.

And :: The adoption fee includes spay/neuter, microchip ID, collar and OHS I.D. tag, initial vaccines, courtesy veterinarian exam, 30 days free PetPlan health insurance and plenty of post adoption support!

So I should be set. And she is only 12 bucks.

Yeah, kittens can really be a pain in the butt :) plus they usually have no problem getting adopted cuz they look so cute fuzzy and adprable.

It’s great you’re giving an older cat a chance. Plus with an older cat you know what you’re getting. With kittens it’s a crapshoot, personality-wise.

Every cat I’ve adopted has been a year or two old or more (once they’re out of the cute fuzzy kitten stage) and I’ve never been disappointed.

Bailey looks like a real gentle sweetheart.

Bailey looks lovely, and at eight years old, she’ll be with you for quite a while.

Have you decided yet?

@longgone :: As long as Baily isn’t totally horrible when I meet her I am 99% sure I will adopt her on Friday. In the morning I am meeting with the landlord to cover the pet ownership deposit.

Edit :: And I work from home so I can give a lot of love to a cat.

Let us know!

@johnpowell: It’s so great you decided to share your home and your love with a cat, and that you are getting a cat from a shelter. I predict this cat will become one of your best friends.

When you first bring the cat home, don’t be surprised if you don’t even see the cat for a day or two. It may be scared but will slowly emerge and check out its new surroundings.

Yeah.. I already started constructing a cat palace in my closet with old boxes and blankets and ramps and catnip. I expect her to be scared for a few days so I am making a place for her to hide.

Cute. It will be interesting if she actually uses it to hide or finds a totally different place. You never know with cats.

Orangies are the sweetest.

OMG that’s so cute! Baily looks like a keeper in that one picture, to me.

Did you get the cat, @johnpowell?

We went with a mom that just had five kittens. And we got her runt kitten. The two are currently napping in the cat cave in the closet I made them.

We had to bail on Baily since she wasn’t really good about being around other cats and we wanted to get two.

SO we got Lilo (mom) and Star Mittens. The names are subject to change. The names were given by the shelter so I don’t think they are attached to them.

Obligatory picture:

http://stfudamnit.com/pics/IMG_0625.JPG

TUXEDO CAT MAMA…!!!! Congrats on black-and-whites and congrats on getting a kitten. That kitten will be kept in line by his/her mom so it’s not really so scarey. Well done @johnpowell !!!!!!! Please let us know the names asap and of course if you need help, we are here for you.

Help with names, especially.

My initial thought is to name after Downton Abbey characters.

^ Oh, great idea! Shrimpie? ;)

I always wanted to name a cat Mashie Niblik, which is a golf club, but I love the sound of it.

@johnpowell “we got Lilo (mom) and Star Mittens. The names are subject to change. ”

Phew!

My initial thought is to name after Downton Abbey characters.

Hmmm. If you got earthworms instead of cats you could name them Crawley.

^^^Well, yes you could. Or Creepy.

Awwww…they are so sweet and yay, a mom and her kitten, great pairing! If the mom is still young, 2–3 years old or less they should live long happy lives together. Cats…gotta love ‘em.
You can find a low cost spay/neuter clinic for the kitten, I am assuming mama cat is already spayed after her litter. Congrats on the new kids!

I’m glad you took the Mama cat also. So often everybody typically goes for the cute kittens and the poor Mama cat is left behind at the shelter.

And you’ll have a very well socialized kitten since he’s getting all this quality time with Mom. She’ll teach him how to be a proper housecat.

Is the kitten a he or a she?

Kitten is a she. And both are fixed.

And yeah. The mom did train the kitten to use the litterbox. The mom just sort hangs in the background and watches Star Mittens.

The mom was left in a box outside the shelter (at night) right before she was about to give birth. So she gave birth in the shelter and they placed the mom and her five kittens with a foster family for a few months.

We got both on the first day they were available for adoption. I think the mom is just starting to realize that she is stuck with me until one of us dies. Today was the first day she jumped up on my bed and slept in the sunlight.

Well, she’ll soon realize what a great guy she is lucky enough to be “stuck” with.

Next thing ya know she will be sleeping beside you all night as well. And kitten will soon follow suit so you can know the delight of waking up in the middle of a cat sandwich like the rest of us.

I’m predicting plenty of happy loving days for all of you for many years to come.

BTW did you get a fine tooth comb yet? Particularly for cats with dark coats, you really need to do the comb-through cuz you won’t spot them in the fur.

It’s unlikely either of them have any fleas now if the foster home or shelter used something to kill them. But it’s the future ones hatching out from dormant states that you want to keep an eye out for.

Even if you don’t see any of the small hatchlings at first, you’ll start to see traces of their feces. They’ll look sort of like small coffee grounds. But if you put a drop of water on, you’ll see blood. I know it sounds pretty gross but it is the first signs and enables you to get a prompt start on wiping out every one of those bloodsucking SOBs.

The main areas to look are around the base of the tail and around the neck and ears.

And the main reason to get the fine tooth comb now is to get them used to getting combed on a daily basis.

I’ve never gotten a shelter cat where they didn’t develop fleas sooner or later even tho there were no fleas when I first got them home.

It wasn’t until I realized the tremendous persistence of the flea’s life cycle with the dormant stages that I finally realized what was going on.

But nowadays, Frontline makes things so much easier and enables one to have indoor cats completely flea free.

There is a shot that the vet can give cats that gets rid of any living bug that is on them, immediately Mites, fleas, dead immediately and then you just need to treat the environment. If the cats don’t go out, I don’t think you will have fleas, unless you do already.

@jca

This shot you mention also kills them in the intermediate dormant stages and eggs as well?

I really need to know the name of that for the next time I get a cat from a shelter.

Even tho Frontline is a whole cat treatment, I know that it can’t really kill them until they’re fully hatched out and the total process from egg to adult is three months total.

It’s possible to bring home a cat from a shelter without a single living flea on them, keep them totally indoors, but yet a month or two later they start showing up. That’s because the dormant stages continue developing and eventually hatch out.

But once the last hatchlings are killed before having a chance to reproduce and lay eggs, then, for an indoor cat, you’re rid of fleas forever as long as they don’t pick up any more.

At least that’s my understanding from studying the flea life cycle and diagrams on the Frontline website.

@Buttonstc: There will be nothing living on them, including eggs. So when you bring the cat home from the vet, it will be totally free of anything that will hatch or any thing that will jump into your rugs. I will call vet and ask what it is.

Forgive me for taking so long to respond to this.

Thanks. I appreciate you calling the vet to find out precisely what it is. That’s an important bit of info I want to have tucked away in my memory bank for the next time I get a shelter cat :)