Cat Ownership, Good Bad and Ugly

[smokeyblue]

Ive been cat sitting for a friend and I love this cat. I told him I was going to steal him, and he said please take him. He wants to find him a new home because he's moving.

The problem is I've been wanting to get a cat, but I've been putting it off until I build up a little savings. I don't want an expensive vet emergency that I cant afford.

The pro's are that I like the cat, he comes with all his supplies, he's up to date on vet care and my friend said he'd give me $100 to take him (this was totally unsolicited).

The cons are that the timing is off, I'm remodeling right now and the possiblity of illness or injury.

Getting to the point . . . tell me the good, bad and ugly. How much has your vet care run? What kind of emergencies have you had?

I just want to make the right decision. I don't want to be unprepared.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Well if you like the cat and the cat like you, cats are relatively easy to care for. I have 3 and would not trade them for anything. The vet bill is less than $100 a year for their shots. And that is the total cost for all 3 cats. When we got them we did have them all microchipped and it too cost just under $100. for all three.

As long as it is an indoor cat you should not have any accidents that would result in a costly medical bill. Out door cats get into fights, get hit by cars, get into harmful things which result in emergency vet bills.

My sister has had 3 cats over the past 25 years and none of them had issues resulting in a large vet bill.

If you would enjoy some companionship then go ahead and take it. At least it is house broken, has shots, is healthy what more could you want.

One other thing. If you do decide to take it, take it on a Friday night so that you are home all weekend with it while it gets use to it surroundings.
When you go to Disney you will miss your cat. I do. I have a web cam set up so I can check in on them plus my sister checks on the twice while we are gone for the week.

 

[Sparx]

Well if you like the cat and the cat like you, cats are relatively easy to care for. I have 3 and would not trade them for anything. The vet bill is less than $100 a year for their shots. And that is the total cost for all 3 cats. When we got them we did have them all microchipped and it too cost just under $100. for all three.

As long as it is an indoor cat you should not have any accidents that would result in a costly medical bill. Out door cats get into fights, get hit by cars, get into harmful things which result in emergency vet bills.

My sister has had 3 cats over the past 25 years and none of them had issues resulting in a large vet bill.

If you would enjoy some companionship then go ahead and take it. At least it is house broken, has shots, is healthy what more could you want.

If you're going to get the cat, please keep him inside! Indoor cats have a much longer life expectancy than outdoor cats!

 

[Crystal824]

My cat is 9. So far her vet bills are less than 100 per year for shots, check-up, etc. With vet bills, litter, food, treats, and toys, we probably pay less than $25.00 per month for her. She is totally worth it.

 

[NYEmomma]

If the cat hasn't had any major medical issues or is currently treated for some condition, then I would feel financially comfortable adopting him. A lot of the medical expenses that you'll run into are genetic things or lifelong conditions like diabetes. If the cat has been an indoor cat, was always up-to-date on his vaccines & hasn't had any health problems in the past, you're more than likely not going to run into anything major... at least in the short term.

Pets are like people so as they age, the higher the odds you'll run into something costly like cancer. And crazy accidents can always happen.

TBH, you're better off adopting a cat from someone you know than a shelter... that way you at least have a history & know the cat was well-cared for in the past and doesn't have any "bats in the closet".

ETA: I worked for a veterinarian for 4 years or so, so I've seen my fair share of ill pets. Dogs, by & far, are much more expensive & "problematic" than cats.

 

[squirrel]

Is it an indoor cat? I would think it would be hard to keep him in if he's use to going out.

If he's an indoor cat then you don't have to worry about fleas (ticks-if you have them where you live).

Food, litter and yearly check up (shots) shouldn't be very expensive.

I love my kitten, but I have to keep her inside as I adopted her from the SPCA and they require it. I think she may have been outside before as she would and has made it out the door. I managed to catch her before she got 3 feet outside. More litter to deal with but no worries about fleas. I lost my cat to an animal in Dec. She went out at night and never returned.

You are asking how I know-I know my cat. She wouldn't leave the yard, big chicken.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We have owned several cats (all indoor cats) over the years and we spent alot of money on them. When your kitty is healthy and is just going for wellness visits and shots then maybe your vet bills will be $100/year like the PPs said (but that seems very low to me) but if kitty gets sick the vet bills can be huge!

Here are some of the health emergencies we've had (none of these were less than $1,000):

Irritable Bowel Disease - cat had to be taken to the vet every couple of weeks for steroid shots; this led to Diabetes (had to be put to sleep - which is expensive too!)
Urinary Crystals - cat needed surgery, a catheter, IVs and had to stay at the vets office for almost a week
Fatty Liver - cat had to stay at the vet for 6+ weeks with a feeding tube. We tried to do the feeding tube at home but that just didn't work.
Lymphoma - this is my sister's cat (that she is super attached to!) - he had to have surgery last year which cost $3,000 and now he is on chemo (pills at home) but has to go to the vet every month for bloodwork. That cost $200-$400 a visit. This cat also had behavioral issues after my sister moved into her new house. He was peeing everywhere and he had to take anti-anxiety medicine.
Thyroid Problems + Arthritis - this is my MILs cat --- she goes to the vet every month for shots for her arthritis and is on daily thyroid medicine

Here are some of the accidents:

One cat got under a recliner and had her paw rocked on. She had x-rays but there were no broken bones.
One cat got into DH's fishing gear and got a barbed fish hook stuck in it's paw that required the vet's care.

You asked.

If you do take the cat I'd start socking money away so you have the money to cover it if anything goes wrong. And in my experience something always goes wrong!

Needless to say, after owning cats for almost 20 years we didn't get anymore after our last cat died. We loved them dearly but, in addition to the expense, it was just too heartbreaking to see them get sick and then have to put them to sleep.

Best of luck to you and Mr. Kitty!

 

[Earstou]

Our kitty died just last month. We all were really sad when we came home from vacation last weekend and he wasn't here to greet us.
Dh says if we get another cat, it will be a female.
We've always had males, who ended up having emergency surgery for urinary tract problems.
That has been our biggest expense as cat owners. There also can be the expense of care as they age and have health issues at the end of their life.

 

[EMAW]

We have three indoor kitties and rarely spend unexpected money on them. A large issue is keeping the cat indoors and not feeding them the cheapest cat food.

Definitely shop around for a good, reasonable vet. The first two we went to in this area tried to sell us on everything under the sun for the cat. Now we go to a great vet that is very reasonable and never does any unnecessary testing/services/etc.

Just as with anything else, things can happen and you can buy pet insurance if you feel the need.

I vote go for it!

Em

 

[MomToOne]

I've had several cats over the years.

My experience is that generally cats are inexpensive, until they get older. Feeding them quality food helps. But once they are older and nearing the end of their lives, the bills can get expensive. I had one old cat that needed radiation therapy by a specialist 75 miles away for a thyroid tumor, and that was followed by kidney disease that caused lots of issues too at the end.

Of course, there is always the possibility of a crisis with a younger cat too. My current cat had a barium enima when she was just a few years old That was one EXPENSIVE tummy ache. But other than that one incident, I only had to take her to the vet a few times. Once because she was sneezing like crazy (it passed on it's own), a few times just for wellness check ups. I get her shots at a mobile shot clinic for $20 on the years she needs rabies (3 year shot), $12 the other years.

If you are very concerned about vet bills, there is insurance you can get on your animals. You might want to look into it.

And you can't put a price on that wonderful animal sitting in your lap, purring away!!

 

[disneysnowflake]

My cat will be 14 at the beginning of July. We love her so much.
Purrmy is an inside only cat.
Besides have her spayed, the most expensive vet bill we've had is when she was really sick about 10 years ago. She only had to have antibiotics and was better in a few days.

Nothing beats having my cat snuggled up to me every single night. She waits for me on the end of the bed each night, and as soon as the lights go out, she knows it's snuggle time. She snuggles under my chin and sleeps all night there.

You can't beat the love of a pet.

 

[torinsmom]

I have 4 cats, and had another who died of old age before I got the last two.

First cat(Ebony)--no vet bills except for routine vaccines until she was 15 years old. Then she developed hyperthyroid and had to have tests 2x a year and take daily meds---around $30/month including labs those 2x

Next cat(Onyx)--no vet bills except for routine vaccines. She is now 12 years old.

Next cat(Pharaoh)--no vet bills except routine vaccines and neutering until he was 4. At that time he got calicivirus and I spent $400 getting him well. He had a recurrence the next year and I spent $200 on him that time. Then he had a reaction to a rabies shot and that was another $200. He is 6 years old.

Next cat(Antonio)--no vet bills except routine vaccines. He is 3 years old.

Last cat(Blythe)--had same virus as Pharaoh(she brought it in) and had to have antibiotics and teeth removed due to the virus. Cost me about $400, but she has been fine since then(2 years ago, and she is 3 years now)

It is well worth the $1500 or so I have spent over my 22 years of cat ownership. That is less than $75/year

 

[disneysnowflake]

Our kitty died just last month. We all were really sad when we came home from vacation last weekend and he wasn't here to greet us.
Dh says if we get another cat, it will be a female.
We've always had males, who ended up having emergency surgery for urinary tract problems.
That has been our biggest expense as cat owners. There also can be the expense of care as they age and have health issues at the end of their life.

I'm so sorry about your cat.

 

[njmom47]

We have had lots of cats, one female and the rest male. We do have an issue with our oldest, Junior, with urinary tract issues. We make sure to buy low ash canned food and special "crunchies" for ut issues. We've taken him to the vet a couple of times over the years (as a pp mentioned) and it did cost us quite a few hundred dollars. Other than that, yearly shots and neutering our newest addition are fairly inexpensive. I agree also that there is nothing like a purring warm fuzzy sleeping with you!

 

[ascwilson]

We've had our cat for 14 years now. We've only had one expense that was outside the normal expense for treats, food & shots. He had to have a tooth pulled 2 years ago and it was around $250. Other than that it is pretty much the normal expense for food, litter, etc. He has always been one to like toys like a ball of foil, or the ring from the milk jug lid better than store bought toys so I quit buying them.
I will say that I spend the money on good food and litter and together we've never had an odor problem coming from the litter box. I would give up our Yorkie before I gave up my cat!

 

[si-am]

Cats are low maintenance and inexpensive. But like all pets, medical situations can pop up. One of our cats developed diabetes a few years ago (he's 9 now). The diagnosis was expensive, and now he has to have insulin shots twice a day. (The insulin costs $80 every two-three months). The biggest thing is that he's no longer low-maintenance: if we go away for a night, we have to hire a sitter to come give him his shot.

On the other hand, our other cat is 7 years old and she hasn't been to the vet since we adopted her as a kitten (both cats are strictly indoors so we do not vaccinate). She is CRAZY but really active and healthy.

 

[ZehnJahren]

My cat just turned 10, and he's been even cheaper (ha!) than my last cat. I got him when he was about 6-8 months old, peering out at me from the bars of a cage at a local animal rescue - been my buddy ever since.

About 5 years ago, he "sealed shut" from a strange urinary condition and I rushed him to the vet. It was very scary and the vet told me he needed a $1000-1400 procedure. I cried for awhile, because I was a poor college student - so the vet said he could try something else that would run me $350 and probably wouldn't work. After a very tense 24 hours, he was on a road to recovery.

He did survive, obviously, and eats a special diet that runs him around $50 every three months. Other than that, he's less than $70 to vaccinate yearly, and doesn't tear anything up at ALL so he's easy to maintain. I buy him toys and other things, but he doesn't need them - he'd play with a lint ball. I spend maybe $30 a month on him, including his food, toys, and litter - my DBF and I bought him an automatic feeder because he gets very anxious about food, and that was $75 but worth every single penny.

 

[NYEmomma]

A couple PP's comments made me think of a few additional things:

- Is the cat spayed or neutered?? Female cats in particular are greatly benefited by spaying. Lower rates of cancer & female anatomy... it's complicated stuff, lol. The less there's there to get infected, develop problems, etc. the better!

- Male cats in particular can be prone to urinary tract infections. Like humans, it seems to be something genetic. Some cats will never have a UTI (mine's never had one), some cats will have severe ones very frequently. And UTI's can get expensive QUICK. You can go from needing antibiotics & special diet food to major surgery to divert urine flow from the male organ (dunno if I'd get in trouble for saying the actual word, sorry :dunno to a new opening. Again though, this is where getting a cat from a friend is a lot safer.... your friend will be able to tell you if there's been any UTI problems in the past

- Diabetes seems to be fairly common in cats. Do everything you can to make sure he/she stays at a healthy weight.

- keep an eye on him to see if he's an "eater"... one of those cats that will eat anything & everything in sight. If he is, make sure you keep anything "edible" (to him, lol) out of reach. And especially make sure you keep string, tinsel, etc. out of reach. Scoping a cat, or worse, having to do exploratory surgery to find a blockage is an expensive procedure.

- I'd factor a yearly dental cleaning into your budget. It seems weird to be cleaning cats' teeth, but it really is preventative maintenance. If you let them go & the cat has particularly bad teeth you could get to the point where the cat refuses to eat because of the pain & you're looking at a long, expensive procedure. The cat could also have an abscessed tooth & that's seriously dangerous. Most of the cost involved in the procedure is the anesthesia & time involved... so you're better off springing for a short dental cleaning once a year then waiting to the point where the doctor has to be in there for 3-4 hours pulling most of the teeth in your cat's mouth. At our vet office I think it was something around $180 for a typical cleaning.

 

[DISNEYNV]

WE have four cat too...oldest is almost 9 (Demi) and she only had to go to the vet a handful of times other than vaccines and we had her for 8 years now. Our other cats have only had upper respiratory infections from being agt the shelter and they took care of those anitbiotics.

Cats are the best pets...
Food is relatively inexpensive! I buy IAMS and even with four cats it lasts a while for a large bag at $30 a bag.

Litter is cheap...I buy Target brand and it is inexpensive and great.
If you check around at your local PETCO or animal shelters they might have vaccination clinics where you only pay for the shots your pet needs with NO office visit charges!

Cats are awesome pets and indoor cats are healthier pets too. We have always had our cats indoors and they are clean, healthy and happy pets! Lazy a bit, but be sure to provide lots of toys and a lazer pointer or even a cat tree or playhouse

Good luck on your decision and Im sure you will love owning a cat

 

[si-am]

After reading some other posts, one thing I wanted to add regarding certain health issues (especially urinary tract blockages in males and diabetes) is that a high quality food (canned in particular) is the #1 thing you can give your cat to prevent some costly vet expenses later.

Cheap dry food can cause diabetes (the natural diet of cats is grain free, low carb, high protein.) Also, cheap dry food can cause urinary issues... cats don't drink much water, so a canned diet really helps in that area.

I would avoid Cat Chow, Meow Mix, etc.