Can You Afford a Cat? The Real Cost of Cat Parenthood 

Know someone who needs help deciding whether or not they can afford to care for a cat? This video might be a good one to share. We explore a breakdown of the real costs of cat parenthood, from adoption to senior vet bills and everything in between.

I'm so glad you spoke about making sure one can afford it before adding another cat to the family. While it's highly recommended that people have at least two cats, I don't think it's a smart thing to do when you're struggling financially with the one you have already.

I just took in a stray, my first cat, back in October. He has cost me quite a bit, close to a grand but he is so worth it.

ON AVERAGE, the more cash you splash out on better quality food, the less you will need to spend on veterinary care. A WIN FOR ALL. (Except the vet clinic)

Can you make a video on pet insurance coverage and prices?❤

Personally, if it comes down to spending 'X' on my cat or myself, he gets what he needs. I have forgone buying beer because he was almost out of cat food. If I could just teach him to brew beer, we'd be doing great. Merry Christmas!

IMO, as far as household expenses, quality food is the Number #1 item one should be concerned with. Bowls and litter boxes and toys can be made from common household items during the initial years, but cheap, poor quality food can lead to much more expensive health issues down the road. That should be the most important concern. As for veterinary care, seek out independent practices as opposed to those linked to major corporations or chains. The primary purpose of the latter is to maximize profits for investors, so expect much higher costs for services there and far less leniency or willingness to work with clients of limited means.

My cats are my family since many attempts to have kids didn't work out. Even so, I average about 5 grand a year taking care of 5 kittehs. 120 a month for food. Also, as one gets ill and passes away (after expensive treatments), it's expensive for euthanasia and cremation. I have had two cats with stomatitas and tooth removal - $1500 each. I just spent $500 for a cat bite that caused an abcess. I don't mind - BUT - I can afford it. I tried to rescue a cat that just showed up at my back door - after a $750 bill, he was too far gone to save. :( You are entirely correct, being owned by cats isn't cheap but a lot less expensive than kids *sigh*

No doubt about it, pet ownership is expensive but totally worth it.

I've found that really simple things can be made expensive just because it's being sold for pets. I remember going to the pet aisle at my supermarket and cat collars (most stuff is for dogs though!) being almost $30. So I looked around and, luckily, we have a local store that sells a bit of everything for the home at really low prices. I found a collar for $2.95. It wasn't EXACTLY what I thought was gorgeous, but it's cute and I wanted people to know she has a home (the shelter I got her from microchipped her and desexed her etc, but a collar can carry info you can see). So look around, and a lot of people will have an old bowl or dish to use, and you can always buy something else when or if you want. Cats aren't fussy about that stuff - and they'll happily play with the most simple things. Just make sure it's safe for them! I try and put money towards her health - looking for better food, regular anti flea, worming etc. I'm lucky that if an emergency visit to the vet comes up, I have family that would help me and knows I'll cover it. If you're creative and you have options, you can really lower the cost. It was actually a little harder to find a cat because the spay/neuter programs in our area have really seemed to (over time) lowered the amount of strays etc. It was a temporary "problem" I was fine with - you'd always see kittens emerge from somewhere when I was a kid, and that doesn't really happen anymore - to me, that's great 😊 (they always broke my heart!)

I just had my 17 yr old cat put to sleep, he had chronic urinary problems. I probably spent 15k in surgeries and vet care over his life.

I’ve just taken in two more cats, five months old that I rescued from being dumped. I now have four and I’m feeding three strays. It is expensive!

We feed 5 inside cats and 4 outside cats, everyday. And we work at walmart. So, u can do it even on a tight retail budget. We do. Cuz we luv them, so we work it out. ❤

My cat is on a special prescription diet. His clinic offers a wellness plan that covers a lot of healthcare costs. And he's worth every penny!

My cat currently costs me $75/mo, but we're both homeless. The cost we'll go up once we're homed.

I have 1 cat . I spend about 6000 plus a year on my cat. I love him

My cats started to cost more money when they reached their senior years. So it may be beneficial to get insurance when they are young and healthy. Or budget for it as they age.

Biggest expense hands down is food cost. We're at $120 a month for two, wet food only. It should be noted that COMMERICIAL Raw is upwards of $5+ a day. . .DIY Raw is known for being a bit cheaper BUT it does requires some extensive personal research. The lovely thing is buying in bulk tends to drop the price quite a bit, you just have to be able to store it.

I've been so excited to write this to you, my wife and I have watched for years. Our two cats are overweight, the vet had them on Hill's Prescription Dental. I knew it wasn't good for them. But you trust your vet you know? We listened to your advice (and Jackson Galaxy) and got the cats completely off the corn based dry kibble and are now on Small's and some Pet Honesty hairball treats for their crunch fix. Valerie( hope I spelled it right) I want you to know your videos do get through to people and they are helping us make better informed decisions on our fur baby's food. I've learned so much from your teachings and we trust you completely. We were feeding our cats boutique food, Tiki Cat pouches and Weruva pouches along with the Hill's but they kept gaining weight and begged constantly every single hour for food. I feel so much more in control of their health and I am so hopeful they'll lose weight. Male tabby is 20lbs, Female Tortoise shell is 15-16lbs.

There's no such thing as a free pet. Just this month I have spent $925 on healthcare.

I'm a shelter volunteer. Often people come in to adopt as an impulse "purchase" and have not considered or thought through costs of taking care of a pet plus time and energy. Then they return the cat making it very stressful.

my cat eats 4 times a day costing about $5 a day to feed. Recently he got sick and had to spend $3k on a vet bill, he's worth every dollar i love my cat

My cat costs me more for litter than food. I buy expensive food (Blue Buffalo) but still the litter is more expensive. I go through around 60 pounds of litter a month, with scooping daily and a complete swap every week.

There's no way around it, having animals is very expensive. We have two cats and one dog. I make a lot of sacrifices in order to afford these three babies. It's so worth it though, my kids have grown up with animals and they have taught them so much. They are part of our family.

Pet insurance is the best thing you will ever buy for your cat. We use Lemonade, and it's less than $130 a year and the deductible is only $250. Kitty was two years old when we purchased the plan, and it's saved us money every year since.

The biggest unforseen cost for me is the yearly dental cleaning. It's $700 per cat and not covered by insurance. I stretch it to every 2 years since i brush their teeth every day.

Just want to say you can feed your cat well cheaply.Contrary to what many say, I have found that I dont spend much on my cat's food. I feed him relatively good brands. He eats kibble twice a day. I give him a combination of Royal Canin Indoor ( abt 3.50 USD per lb @50 for a 15lb bag) and Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain( less than 3 USD per lb @ 37 for a 14lb bag). My cat eats only abt 2.5lbs of dry food a month, so that is less than 7 USD. For wet food , he loves home cooked chicken breast , chicken liver and fish. He has each of these once a week, only for 1 meal a day. It costs me less than 5 USD as he doesnt eat much. On the remaining 3 days, he eats kibble on 2 ( with a cat stick treat that costs just cents) and gets a can or pouch( usually Purina Friskies or Fancy Feast) on the third , these too cost cents. So all in all, it costs me less than USD 20 for his food, more like 16. I dont buy cat litter as we have an outdoor enclosed space open to the sky but very high walls, he uses that. We hardly buy any cat toys either. Except for cat tree and scratcher. He plays with boxes, ribbons, children's toys like balls that roll around. It only gets expensive with Vet charges. But he is relatively young and apart from yearly Vax hasnt needed treatment.

Around my area spaying and neutering is expensive. From $700-900 if not in heat or pregnant otherwise it goes up to $1200 . Had to take my cats 3 cities away where it was $220 for my males and $250 for my females but up to $350 if pregnant or in heat. That was just to fix them . Around $900 each for vaccinations, deworming, 1 flea treatment,microchipping and blood work. Super expensive. These were strays no organization or city shelter wanted to take in so I made the commitment to take them into my home and family. I couldn’t see them suffer the lives of strays outside. Still very costly for everyday needs but my love for them keeps growing.

Just got an estimate for the cat dentist. The low end is $640 and the high end is $950. It all depends on what they find when they get in there. She doesn't know it yet, but my girl is going in next month for her cleaning.

The unexpected vet bills is the worst. One of my cats is real expensive for this reason.

An interesting look at a topic I rarely see addressed in cat videos. Also, I love how Wessie taps out less than ten seconds in.

I am a member of Banfield since 2009 I have had 4 cats I payed every month and still pay for the last 2 senior that are left, so expense for everything including program and wet food and litter meds the program includes blood work urinalysis dental work many things are discounted for me unlimited vet visits so it costs me 350 to 300 hundred monthly This doesn’t include new scrathing post carrier. I have to adhere to a strict Budget and give them Nulo schedule feeding no. Dry foods or treats because they cause urine problems. I also study online with Vets and I make up. My own healing techniques I call it my vet routine where I put the cats in their containment bag and I do mini operation while they’re awake. I have supplies to use constipation stomach ears and generally make my own hostistic meds and filed products so I become their healer, saves money!

The cost of vet bill is expensive. Also high quality cat food is expensive

I have found that cheap store brand foods do not save you money. For the last 30 years I have fed all my cats Iams. As it has far less fillers they digest it better and actually eat less. So especially with dry food while a similar size bag of Iams may cost much more initially it lasts for much longer. Also with less fillers there is less waste left in the litter box so a bucket of litter also lasts a bit longer. Of course being a better quality food also means healthier cats so while that is difficult to quantify with three decades of experience with several cats I feel confident in saying it has resulted in few problems that required taking them to a vet.

Adopted two kittens earlier this year from the county shelter. Most shelters spay/neuter before adoption and provide low cost or free vaccinations. Accident and health insurance is around $40 per month for both. We tend to over buy and overpay for toys and cat accessories which go mostly unused. They get more fun out of an empty box than a $50 toy. And like the old MasterCard ads would say, having two loving companions is priceless.

Thank you very much for collecting financial data and testing products to help inform those that are caring for or may care for pet cats!

Great video! On the topic of budget vet care. Recently found a local shelter that has a clinic attached. My little furballs vet bills were 300+ per annual visit before at a local hospital. The clinic does all the same for about 35$ a year. Something to consider for people who are feeling the crunch of inflation these days. It should also be noted that the people at the clinic are 100x nicer, and genuinely seem to care more about my cat. Also pretty sure that the revenue that they make from their services get funneled back into the shelter (Which can help all the furballs in the kennels there without homes). Food for thought.

If one ask himself this question, he must not became a cat-parent. Cats are precious and they deserve the best (products, food, care, all your time etc.)❤❤❤

If you live in a major city and want your cats to have their best life possible, then the answer is a BIG YES. I live in NYC and vet costs are WAY more than $100 a year. It’s at least $120-$150 per visit. One of the kitties had stomatitis and to have surgery to have all her teeth removed (including X-rays, bloodwork, etc) was over $7,000.

Discounted pet insurance thru my job, plus $40 off for paying annually, was still over $400/year

I'm at about $100/month (excluding medical stuff). I just make sure I add this as a line item in my budget for each month. I buy food in bulk when there are sales or cashback (Petsmart, Protco, Chewy, Amazon, etc.). For wet food, pre-sale would be about $70/month but with sale/cashback, it's about $50/month (2 cans a day). Dry food is like maybe $5/month (free feed since luckily my cat does not over eat at all). My cat has allergies and very picky, so i have to get specific foods. Litter I also buy when on sale in bulk. Dr. Elsey's has been the best (cost, dust, and cat's allergy). I get the 40 pound bags for $20 but also buy in bulk when I find a sale (last time was $13/bag). Costco has cheaper litter but my cat is allergic to the scent the brand uses. At-home dental hygiene is about $5/month (cat tooth paste, food additive, and used to do water additive). Treats is like $5/month. I also have two water fountains so the filter's are like an extra $5/month (to avoid UTI's down the line). Vet stuff can vary wildly. One year I had about $600 extra cost due to trying to figure out my cat's allergies and medicine. Vaccine's can be had for at cost at Petco's VetCo (like $40 for 3-year rabies shot and mandatory in my state). Dental cleaning is like $120 but most people skip doing this every year. Cat furniture, toys, food bowl, water bowl, water fountain, fur brushing, nail clippers, litter box, and other things are stuff you buy every couple of years. Hard to put a price on these since you can get stuff from Dollar Tree or the good stuff from other stores. Nail clippers i would recommend getting a good/decent one. Toys and stainless/ceramic bowls from dollar tree are fine. Litter box from Target/Walmart are fine (or you can splurge on a LitterRobot after some time :) ). Fur brushing i would recommend getting a good one instead of buying knock off's and buying the good one later on like i did.

It is expensive when you consider Rx. topical flea treatments at $25.00 per vial per month, and you live in a subtropical climate that means year-round doses. To put it simply veterinary bills can be quite scary and upwards of $5,000 if your cat gets sick with say urinary blockage. Veterinarians dont have pay as you go options either. But we love our furry babies and we try to help them by going above and beyond our limits because they are the world to us.❤

I spend roughly $140 dollars a month on cat food for one cat. I feed high quality though. $16 dollars on litter a month (which used to be only $11 dollars). So with just essencials I'm spending over $150 a month and $1800 a year. I won't even try and add up the cost of everything when he first came to live with me, and that I've spent over the years enriching our home for him. But, I'll guestimate that it's the cost of a used car 🤣 When thinking about adding a cat to your home, the real question is wether your willing to care for them better than you do yourself. My boy, gets the best I can provide. There's no shame in feeding your cat a cheaper food, as long as it's the best cheap for you can afford. There's no shame in using a cheap litter, as long as you keep the litter box clean. There's no shame in going cheap if that's what you can afford. Love your cat, take the best care of your cat. My boy showed up unexpected, I rearranged my life and priorities to care for him. Best thing to ever happen in my life. 😸

Thank you for sharing your video !! It really helped!!

Eight years ago our family vet’s office called us about adopting a female kitten that wasn’t working out in her foster family. She’s been more “work” than our previous indoor/ outdoor cats that had been attacked while being outside. So we decided to keep her an indoor cat because emergency veterinary care can be expensive.

Thank You for all you do!

Cat parenthood adds so much pleasure and positive mental health benefits.

Thanks.

A well cared for cat can be very expensive, and you almost always have at least 2 cats. Each gets at least 2 vet visits a year (things happen) and medications, prescription food, endless bags of litter, etc. Their health and happiness is very worth it. (a wise man once said: "happy cat, happy life") When I was a kid my parents fed my childhood dog cheap corn-based food and treats, and she suffered a shortened life because of it. Will never skimp on a pet's care after that experience.

Yes.

I am kind of a person even if I can't afford I will do everything for my pets.... And further future I want build a sanctuary. _Well that requires shietload of money... So I need high paying job right now_

It’s unfortunate that it’s so expensive to have a cat, when there are so many cats, and dogs too, in need of homes. I have had cats for many years and have been able to keep the costs near the low end of your projections. One idea you didn’t mention, is to check yard sales, Goodwill stores, etc. for carriers, toys, dishes, litter boxes. While the healthiest foods can be very expensive, my cats have thrived on lower priced dry food and still lived into their late teens. Cheap food is better than none for a cat needing a home.

Th prescription meds that my cat is required to take every day are very expensive. The vet’s pharmacy was convenient, but very pricey. I eventually wised up and started using a couple of pet med websites with better pricing. After some investigating though, I found human versions of the meds that were the exact same ingredients, but waaaaaay less expensive. I just have the vet send the prescription to my local pharmacy and the meds are ready in a day or two. Huge savings!

My cat is on prescription canned food and takes two meds every day. We see the vet at least twice a year. He also is treated with monthly prescription flea medication. I use about 3 boxes of litter per month for his two boxes. I estimate that I spend about $5850 a year on my cat. He is worth every penny!

Cat food is soo expensive but they gotta eat well. Mine is way more than $350 a year and they really are worth it. Fetch tried to jerk me around over a $1565 vet bill in Dec but I filed a complaint with the calif department of insurance and three weeks later, the Fetch said okay, we'll pay.

Finally she gets it🎉❤

I even things out by eating less and never going on vacation xD. But it’s honestly worth it and I wouldn’t change a thing. I found my newest cat a year ago and spent probably like 4k just on dental visits for him. He still has three sharp teeth left and it’s funny when his fang is sticking out😂

I am not rich but take care of 4 cats spaying, vaccinating and feeding them ofcourse. I spend a lot on them, people think am mad. I mean I had to take the responsibility now I can't just abandon them.

I appreciate your informative, practical videos on cats and their care. I am a low income retiree and have one cat. Your videos are a Godsend. Thank you!

I find it totally outrageous what vets are charging, the ridiculous price for over the counter medications etc. My states government run, or aided are mostly horrible too. Fortunately we do have a fantastic super cheap spay/neuter clinic an a Florida aid to animals clinic nearby. Also our county sheriff runs a great adoption facility where local businesses are paying for all adoption fees to anyone who can provide a good home for a cat or dog. NEVER SHOP ADOPT!

Veterinary Secrets' channel saved my cats life when I lost my job

We figure it costs an average of nearly $100/month to properly keep our two cats. Figure some $50 for food, $30 for sand, another $10 to account for yearly vaxes, and a bit more for vet appts. or whatever.

I highly recommend pet insurance to cover major costs. I spent about $15,000 CAD on vet bills over 1.5 years for a dog with congestive heart failure. That was about 5 years ago. I'm sure it would cost more now. Now, my elderly cat has arthritis and her pain medication costs over $400/month. Plus she's started getting recurring UTIs. This month with testing and medicine, the vet bills are about $2,000. I'll be getting 80% of that back. My 3 other animals over that time have not needed anything beyond regular check-ups and vaccines, etc. Sometimes pet insurance seems like a waste of money but you just never know and you don't want to have to put your pet down just because you can't afford the vet bills.

Yeah I bought my cat a really expensive cat scratcher without even noticing. Aka my sofa.

I'm in Toronto and I feed raw- 5 different types of protein (Chicken, turkey, rabbit, quail, duck) and I pay $2CAD a day. I'd be surprised that the US is more expensive than Canada on raw. I would add too that I pay $2CAD now but there is another store I can get my food from but they don't cut it down to smaller size, and I would have to defrost and portion it or get a cutter and cut it myself. If I went with them it would be $1.75/day.

Mallory, what is the name of the Costco cat foods? Is it Kirklands? Are the dry and wet foods both good options?

Good video

Banfield wellness plan helps break down vet cost for a 50 monthy fee shots and office fee expenses covered and much more

Vets are up charging their services like crazy now.

When I was growing up many years ago our cats were not major financial obligations. To me cats are wonderful friends but spending all this money on them and the shaming that fuels the obligation to do that is ludicrous. Of course I want my cats to be happy but as long as they are loved and not out on the streets freezing or starving, in reality they are fortunate indeed.

I had to surrender two kittens for adoption as I couldn't afford them on $17/hour. This is only going to get worse!

3 months in and already spent 3k€ I regret nothing

WHY is veterinary care so expensive? I can afford and, i always spayed/neutered and if a kitten they always got their first shots. When my Mom still had a god job we had a diabetic cat we gave insulin shots to. This cat only tok feline insulin which cost more. Whatever the vet bills were, she paid it. She said she stopped keeping track after 20,000 dollars. After he died i have taken care of 4 different cats but they all died at home. I hospiced them. I did all I could but i do not know what their causes of death was. I could not give up the only cash i had in the world for one diagnostic test, then i COULD be on the street. I am serious. I love cats. I see homeless people with pets. I have a home. But still. Vets charge too much and i refuse to have a cat killed. To me euth is murder. I can't help how I feel. My cats always eat before I do. I keep my carpet cleaner right now just to protect the paws of a street cat i let visit when i can. I lay down a towel for him.

Mallory, that was a great video, I loved the graphics and pricing tables too! That must have taken you a lot of time to create. As a web dev myself, I appreciate the effort you put in to videos like these. Thank you 😻

Is Nulo a good brand for kittens? It's an all age cat food but is it comparably as good as kitten food?

🧡💛

I read somewhere that pine pellet litter can be toxic to cats if its not kiln treated, is that true?

Great stuff M!

The real question is can you afford to NOT have a cat? Nope. Barring health reasons nobody should be able to afford not having a cat. Cats rule and dogs drool :P To be fair the first round of shots and snips and stuff for the pair of kittens I rescued were almost $500 total, then another $150 for the follow-up 6mo later. Plus at least a hundred bucks worth of cat toys their first year. Plus ~$40 per month for food. I do a can of wet in the morning and dry in a big puzzle feeder for whenever they're hungry. Plus another hundred in litter and boxes. I was using wood pellet style litter for quite a while, $6 for 40lbs is hard to beat. Eventually though I got sick of scooping almost daily and splurged on a litter robot. Okay, I admit, cats are kinda expensive. Ratchet and Clank are worth it though :)

So what’s a good amount of money to have ready before even considering buying a cat? Like 10k?

Does anyone else think here prices are pretty far off??? Or am I super spoiling my cats???

I just figured it out I spend $130 a month on my cat

If you say owning a cat is expensive, the same can be said for owning a dog as well. Both animals aren't cheap especially in today's economy.

6:05 LOL imagine being taxed by the government to own a cat.

❤❤❤❤ by indonesia

I just got an estimate for teeth cleaning with no big issues for $800 to $1,200. How can you say $100? Where is that?

Big $$ if medical issues arise... which they do.

Dollar tree store has litter and litter box and family dollar store has litter and food and litter boxes and scoop and facebook marketplace has cat carrier

When it comes to supporting a cat or supporting a kid, j think cats are cheaper.. especially when kids get older they're more picky and cats aren't as picky as kids.. lol

Here in the UK I am taking Louie for a dental appointment. They are going to clean his teeth, take an x-ray and remove any decaying teeth. He is having a general anesthetic for all this work. His poor little teeth do look black so he needs the work. I've only had him since October and that's how I found him. I have been quoted £350 to £600 so that is definitely quite a cost I didn't initially plan for when I rescued him. I need to see a dentist myself but Louie is priority so he is first on 8th January next year. Given that I have no vaccine history that will be the next expense. The cost of having him is more than I thought but he is well worth every penny!

Breeding animals leads to MURDER AND ABUSE of animals. Never get a cat from a breeder. There are millions of homeless cats who need your love.

I would never buy animal food from Costco. And if your feeding feral cats they do not need expensive food. Getting everything they need by eating what they catch.

I have owned and loved cats all my life. I used to take them to the vet every year for vaccinations until one of my beautiful cats developed cancer from the feline leukemia shot, but after three surgeries, she still died. I do not trust vaccine companies and will never vaccinate them again! They are inside cats and do not need a rabies vaccination or anything else. Give them the best quality food you can afford and they will be healthy.

wet can food 19.00, litter 12.45 a month one cat. 7000.00 in medical needs...teeth had to be removed 750-1200, anal gland care 110.-129 every six weeks or 2500 to have them removed. Yes my free cat I would not get rid of for any reason. Yet she has been costly over the last 6 years. I always joke with friends, shes my 10k cat.

I do always think it's funny when these videos are like, "Cats can always use the furniture you already have".........I don't even have a mattress yet. I am sure I will be having more cat furniture than human for a while.

I hope that you return, as you had been a treasure trice of knowledge. I hope that you return.

your light is too strong and white or what did you change ? your videos look little different

Just train them to use the toilet. ))

Babies are expensive 😂❤

Get a cardboard box. it's free and my cats love them.