What are the financial implications to think about when you’re getting a cat?

Cats are incredibly popular pets, loved all over the world. There’s no doubt that bringing a new cat in the house can bring excitement and joy, however, cat guardianship also represents a huge financial responsibility that all potential feline parents must be aware of!

Whether you purchase your cat or you adopt from a shelter, the initial and subsequent cost of caring for a kitty cannot be overlooked. Before committing to a cat, it is important to make an assessment of these different costs to help you prepare for the various expenses that come with owning one.

If you’re thinking about welcoming a new cat to your home, debt help experts, Creditfix, have put together some of the financial commitments that need to be carefully considered.

The essentials

As its guardian, it is your duty to supply clean food, water, toys, hygiene facilities and other essentials for your cat. However, when an expensive month strikes, cat parents are forced to look closely at exactly how much they are spending on their pets. Many are now searching for ways to save money on these regular cat supplies.

By shopping smarter, you can find great prices without lowering the quality of your kitten’s necessities. And by cutting costs at this stage, you can save up extra cash to spend on things such as tasty treats and special toys in the future!

Here are some tips on how to save money on your kitten’s essentials:

  • Shop around in all pet stores in your local area. Once you get to know prices offered in each one, you can work out which shop offers the best deal within the constraints of your budget.
  • Some shops and online stores offer a huge discount on pet supplies, particularly if you order in bulk. Many pet guardians purchase goods monthly or yearly to make the most of bulk-buy deals.
  • Coupon shopping is one of the most efficient ways to save up money when buying cat essentials. These vouchers often come from email newsletters and online offers, so join as many pet store membership clubs as possible to unleash these discounts!
  • Avoid overfeeding your cat as it can waste the food you have bought, as well as potentially leading to obesity and other health issues (which eventually costs money to treat).

Veterinary treatment

Every responsible cat parent will register his or her pet with a vet right away to ensure they are kept fit and healthy. However, if illness does strike, regular veterinary treatment can turn out to be financially and emotionally exhausting. Here are some ways to prepare for the medical costs of your kitten:

  • Opt for home remedies to deal with the basic health problems. Common complaints including conjunctivitis and diarrhoea can be easily treated using home remedies – but always check with a vet first.
  • If you adopt your cat from a shelter it will usually have been neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. If your cat has not had this treatment, you must be aware of the initial costs. Before deciding which vet to register your cat with, consider the ‘new client’ packages they may provide to learn which vet offers the best deal.

Do I need insurance?

This would depend on your circumstances as well as your particular cat. Vet fees and medicine for even minor injuries and accidents can quickly become costly. If your cat becomes ill, you will have financial security and peace of mind with pet insurance. Having pet insurance allows you to fund the best medical treatment for your injured or sick cat however, there are a number of factors to consider before committing to the regular monthly payments that pet insurance requires.

The other thing to consider is that kittens do grow up and can get quite old so if you don’t have an insurance costs can quickly accumulate over time.

Different breeds of cat are more prone to illness than others. For example, heart disease is common in purebreed cats such as Maine Coons, Persians and Rag Dolls. Manx cats are prone to sacrocaudaul dysgenesis, a neurological disorder and many Abyssinians are affected by a disease that causes blindness. Research the health history of your particular breed of cat to try and understand its risk of developing a costly illness in the future. If the risk is low, it may work out cheaper to simply pay for treatment when it is needed, rather than financially preparing throughout the lifetime of your cat.

If you do decide to take out pet insurance, it can be paid in monthly, quarterly and annual installments, which allows you to budget better. However, it is also worth noting and researching the various excess policies that different insurance providers offer in order to choose the one best suited to you.

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43 thoughts on “What are the financial implications to think about when you’re getting a cat?

  1. helentastic67 says:

    I hear you re bulk buying food but ironically cats seem to only want one kind of food for a week quite happily but the next week won’t have a bar of it. Most frustrating thing ever about cats. Cheers,H

  2. KR says:

    Very useful post. Just today was news that in Estonia lot of elder, old people ask vet put cat ” to sleep”, because of cost 🙁 to keep a cat is expencive 🙁
    Most of these cats find fortunately a new home, but some… not 🙁

      • Julie Finkelstein says:

        There have got to be better ideas than putting your cat to sleep if he/she is costing too much. We adopted adult cats, others will too. Search, talk to friends, find sites that will have the cat fostered and adopted. Go to where the animal action is on Facebook,Linkedin and Twitter. Post photos and cute short videos of the cat. Fundraising can also help 🙂

  3. Pingback: What are the financial implications to think about when you’re getting a cat? – Katzenworld | RoseyToesSews

  4. The Chaos Realm says:

    Thanks for posting this! I’m all about supporting local businesses (in this case, locally owned pet food stores), but needed to economize. So I started ordering food and supplies from Chewy.com. So much cheaper (available only in the U.S., at present)! And if you do Autoship, I think you get free shipping.

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