Costs of Cat Care
Thursday July 16, 2009
Being a responsible owner of a cat carries with it certain financial obligations. If you are not in a position, or are not willing to meet these costs, it may be better not to take in a cat at all, in your current situation. I know it is difficult to resist that cute kitten in the "free to a good home" box, or that friendly stray on the street who begs to come home with you, but if you can't afford to give it the bare necessities, you are probably doing the cat or kitten no favor. Fortunately, you have options, if your love for cats far outweighs your means to properly care for them. We'll discuss those options a bit later.On the other hand, if your budget is tight, but you are willing to make certain sacrifices for the sake of having the pleasures of a cat in your life, then you may be able to accomplish that dream.
Cats have certain basic needs which often divide the difference between a stray on the street and a cat in a home with a responsible caregiver (the irresponsible ones often dump their cats back into the streets or at the nearest "shelter"). These needs include: Learn more
Pictured here is Andrew, a street cat who was chased and cornered by a large dog shortly after this photo was taken
Photo Credit: © Galens Granny
Comments
I wish that more people would stop their selves from getting more animals when they can’t afford to properly care for them. A lot of them reason by saying it’s better for the cat than to be on the street, but that is assuming NO ONE else will want the cat.
I don’t know how anyone feeding super-premium food can only pay $12 a month. Is that a typo? For my two cats, I pay anywhere from $150-300 a month, depending on what type of food I’m getting. Newman’s Own Organic is the most expensive and Wellness is the cheapest. My cats eat canned only, 4-5 times a day (half a normal-sized can each) and they would not settle for less. They aren’t overweight at all. They let me know when they are hungry and I feed them. They eat on their own schedule, which is about once every four hours.
propper care is important and that can be expensive too. So i would wish too that people only take those animals where they really can take care off. Even though if there is an emergency coming up to have the money for the vet.
I’ve solved the high cost of food and the potentially unsafe food threat by making our own food at home. It saves money and we know exactly what is in the food. Any food we humanoids don’t consume gets mixed and blended into the cat food too so there is nothing wasted.
I noticed Mandy feed her cats when they feel like they need to eat. I tried that with our three cats, but they got too fat. Since then, I only feed them one time, first thing in the morning. If they refuse to eat, they’ll get nothing until the following AM. The longest this has gone on was three days with my youngest cat Rudykins. Since then, Rudykins is first in line when I get up to get her home grown goodness.
I agree with your comments, Franny. One alternative is for people who cannot reasonably afford to take good care of a cat or additional cats is to “sponsor” a cat at a shelter or animal sanctuary by making a regular donation. Even if one’s own donation doesn’t cover the entire cost of taking care of that particular cat, it can only help.
Another way to put a little money toward the general cat welfare: Either donate to a local trap-neuter-return program if you can find one, or trap that feral or stray cat you wanted to pick up yourself and have it fixed at one of the low-cost vets. Sometimes these groups can place the cat; if they can’t and you have to return it to its colony, at least you will have made a dent in your local overpopulation problem.
We are at our limit for cats we can take care of, both for financial reasons and due to the rules of our apartment complex. So, when our catsitter rescued an outdoor cat from a woman who wanted to dump her somewhere off her property, we found a home for her at a local dairy farm. She was wildly unhappy inside our catsitter’s house, but now has a large, well-tended barn to live in, children and other cats to play with and sources of both cat food and mice “on the hoof.” It may not be a perfect life, but for many cats, it’s a way to get off the street.