budgeting for a new kitty

[crisi]

I'd start putting money aside for the emergency vet bills. Whether you can find a low cost option for spay/neuter and vaccinations, its nearly inevitable that at some point the cats will need more vet care than just their checkups.

 

[smacky1]

the cheaper foods= stinkier/more pooh

LOL! I never even thought of that! Totally worth buying a better quality food if it will lessen the smell! Thanks. Im going to get the laser you have all been telling me about. I saw it in the pet section yesterday and I remember it wasnt very expensive. We also do a lot of online ordering so we always have lots of boxes to recycle. It will be fun to make mazes out of it with my kids. As for the litter, I think we've decided to go with the litter made from corn b/c its flushable and healthier for the kittens. I know its much more expensive so we will try a smaller bag first to see how we (and the kittens) like it and then buy in bulk to save a few bucks. I ordered the omega paw litter box from amazon yesterday. It has a lot of good reviews and wasnt too expensive, plus it shipped for free!

 

[Shyvioletisme]

That would be nice. Our area does offer these occasionally, however you have to have a pretty low income to qualify. We used to have a small town vet who did everything animal related for a reasonable price, however he passed away years ago and nobody has replaced him.

really? that's sad...in every place I've lived, these two things were open to anyone...In fact we just took our kitty for his annual rabies shot at the clinic...$7!

also I agree on the better quality food. though I wouldn't do science diet, I've heard some bad things about them over the years....
we buy our food at petsmart, as around here they have the best prices and we generally can't find the fancy/natural/expensive food our spoiled kitty likes at the grocery store...
also I wouldn't spend money on the expensive litters either. like arm and hammer or something similar...we buy the grocery store brand scoopable litter that is low tracking, low dust and we can get double the size for the same price as the big name brands of litter.

 

[mhelsley]

I to don't like spending $$$ on litter but even if it's low dust kitten tend to sometimes eat litter and the clumping clay litters can make them sick. There are some like the OP posted that are a better option. They contain a safer clumping agent than what is in most clay litter. With this said i have an adult senior cat that uses the clumping clay litter so i'm in the process of switching her over to a safer clumping litter but will use plain old non clumping litter for the kitten box at least for the first year.

 

[mackeysmom]

Blackie's favorite "toys" these days are the caps to my water bottles and rolled up socks.

He totally ignores the toys I've spent good money on in favor of those

Mackey, on other hand, likes anything that rattles (and is preferably filled with catnip - not recommended for kittens - they are wild enough)

-- Laura

 

[R we on the ship yet]

We have two kitties which we adopted as tiny kittens 3.5 years ago from the local animal rescue fund (ARF paid for de-worming, vaccinations and spaying them as well, so that might be an option for you). They eat Purina Cat Chow dry food which costs about $11 for a huge 30-lb bag at a local Wal-Mart, and lasts for months. They do LOVE their wet food though, and even though we've cut it down, we split a small Fancy Feast can for them twice a day. When they were younger, we tried to switch it to less expensive brand - didn't work, we ended up with kitty puke all over the house
Since the cats were babies we had at least one scratching post for them at a time. Saved us a lot of carpet and furniture One is a sort of a standing post and the other is flat/cardboard thingy. The do use it A LOT.
We only have one littler box for both them (Tidy Cats Small Spaces with the orange top) - tried a lot of different kinds of littler, and this was the only one that doesn't dust everything around it and smells good. We don't use liners but have to slean the box/take scoops out every day, and a couple of times we didn't, we found a few "surprises" elsewhere. What can I say, we got picky cats who like it clean..
All I want to say is good luck, you'll have loads of fun with them - cats are great, and we LOVE having two at the same time, it's a totally different experience from having just one.
(Couldn't you tell I am a cat person?)

 

[pianoronni37]

I really don't think two kitties will double your expense - except for vet bills, they can share everything. And two kitties don't really eat much more than just the one...

It's great having two, we have one who is extremely adorable but a BRAT who likes to be as sharp as possible, and our other one is a lug who is beautiful and just sweet as pie - so we have two distinct personalities, and even though we may not LOVE it when the little one gets sharp on us, we still love HIM!

You're going to have a great time with these two - remember, they are bundles of energy and fun, keep them busy (a laser pointer is SO much fun!) and always make sure that you pay equal attention to both!

Good luck and have fun - kittens are just so wonderful to have around, they'll keep you smiling for many many years!

 

[chyam]

have you tried looking into seeing if your area offers low cost vaccination clinics and low cost spay/neuter clinics??? our area has both. and you get a great discount on both things.

Really you need to look into this option.....I took my last 2 kittens to ACT Animal Coalition of Tampa....$65.00 for neutering and shots! They also have vaccine packages that are no where near what the vets charge! Plus they also offer a 3 year rabies shot. I called around when it was time to get my last 2 fixed, the Cat Hospital near me was $198.00 to neuter and then another $112,00 for the shots There are also other places in the area SPOT is another option that does altering reasonably, of course I know that these are in my area but I am sure if you start researching you will find simular places in your area, but also if you adopting from a shelter most of the time they are already altered and have their first shots....well worth the adoption price.

As for food, I use the scoopable brands and if you shop sales and clip coupons I usually stock up when it is on sale, I find that it isn't near as messy as the clay stuff and alot more convenient.
Most of the time I shop Petsmart for the food, mine get wet in the morning...3 cans split 6 ways, they have access to dry all day long.
People will come here and tell you to buy this brand and buy that brand... but quite honestly I just find a brand that they like that is not full of all fillers...you do not want to buy the cheapest most of time because it isn't really the best, full of ash and fillers. I have always fed either Kit and Kaboodle , Natural or Meow Mix, and their wet is usually Friskies 40 cents a can at Petsmart with the savings card.
I have to second the thought on getting 2 kittens, they have so much fun together.
But also if you are having second thoughts about budgeting for a cat then perhaps it is not time for you to adopt one, since things do come up with vet bills etc. Adopting any animal takes a committment as well as good care and love, animals are not disposable.

 

[mickeylove2]

because i'm in the same boat but my new kitten is going to be a budget breaker(purebred and $$$) from the start. She(Taj)will arrive in about 2 wks. Please don't use clumping litter with kittens as it's not good for them and i 2nd the person that said to spend more for good food(at least Iams or Science Diet). I would like to recomend a good book on toys you can make it's titled 50 game to play with your cat. Ebay most of the time has the best prices on cat trees and sometimes toys but do a google search to double check. Now some of the best toys bought as i've had cats before a da bird wand,ping pong balls and furry mice. Best free toys toliet/paper tubes,my flip flops,paper bags, shallow box with holes on top and side(like the expensive SmartCat box)stuffed with toys. It a great way to try the idea before investing. Good luck and i hope you'll have many happy year with her/him and post a picture for us to see.

Melinda

What type of kitty are you getting??? I'm getting a kitten in June and I NEVER thought of looking into Ebay for the cat tree! Thanks SO much for that info!

 

[JCooks]

My mom always gets cat food online - I think from Amazon. She just has it set up to auto-deliver once a month, so you never end up thinking "oh no, I'm out!"

I'd say online is your best bet, but then again I don't live close enough to a BJ's/costco to make it worthwhile.