Jun
15
2013

How much does a kitten cost a month?

Hi

I’m just wondering how much in average people spend on kittens/ cats per month?

I would pay insurance in full for a year so wouldn’t need to include that I’m thinking mainly food, toys, cat litter etc.

Thanks

Heya,
Firstly kittens cost more to start with usually because they need to be neutered, wormed, vaccinated, and have all the initial caring for cat items… forgot what these are since my cat is now 12 :) but it could include things like a bed, some basic toys, bowls, blankets and anything else such as something tailored to your cats specific needs.

After those initial costs you’re looking at food as a constant cost, the annual vet check up (strongly recommended) with vaccine, and the occasional toy/bed/treats e.t.c.
It depends on if you want to splurge on your cat or not.
You should get a good quality cat food too, research cats very well so that you have a good understanding (if you intend to get a kitten/cat…. old cats really need owners too :) ) of their health and what to do in emergencies e.t.c Plus I strongly recommend you research into cat nutrition and their diet, so many brands sell absolute crap these days, at first when you research it can be overwhelming because you may not know anything, but don’t let that put you off, over time you will build up knowledge..there may be a lot out there and you may feel it’s not worth researching because of that but trust me every detail helps and you will gradually build up helpful information. A good diet is essential for your cats health, remember cats hide pain.
You don’t want any with grains, fillers, additives or preservatives in e.t.c or loads of synthetic vitamins. It’s just feeding your cat junk food which will make your cat uncomfortable.
Dry food is strongly not recommended, maybe a little here and there but it’s not recommended you regularly give it to them.
Quality cat foods do not have to cost a lot, you just have to research the cheaper places to buy the i.e online or in special stores. The one I currently buy is called Natures Menu and that costs around £5 for each box, so approx £5 a week :)
————
Kitten:
Neutered:£50-70
Course of worming:£10 (not too sure on price, you could research this)
Vaccinated: approx £30 (depends on the vet and you might have the vaccine and worming & neutering done in one session so it will be cheaper, but consultations usually start from £30)
–Say all that’s done together it would cost around £90 maybe, it depends on the vet, probably a bit more because a kitten has to have a few injections before he/she can go out.

Bed:£5 (optional, but your cat should have at least one good place to go)
Toys:£5
Litter tray & cat litter:£5 (Even if you have an outdoor cat it’s always good to have these on hand for what ever reason i.e keeping you kitten in until allowed to go outside)
Bowls:£6 (you’ll need a few- always give a fresh bowl/plate a day- it’s recommended that you get ones designed for their whiskers, these cost the same)
& anything else I haven’t thought of.
——-
After all initial kitten cost.
Just food averaging £20 a month.
And pet insurance or at least put some savings away that mean you have some funds available if your cat ever needs to go to the vets. Never get a kitten that you can’t financially cover.
+ £30-40 for annual consultation and vaccine.
—–
Hope that helps, sorry it was lengthy.
If you look online there are tonnes of websites with so much information that will help you and give guidance. So I wont recommend one.
Remember a cat/kitten needs LOTS of love and attention too, they may be independent but they still need slots of emotional love :)

P.s Make sure you do some research on cat little, i did a little a while ago when my cat was ill and had to keep her in but i forgot about it, but research into the clays used e.t.c as some are dangerous and your cat will digest it when they lick their paws, so make sure you get one you know is safe.. and not just because it says so on the label.. people can sell anything these days.

10 Responses to “How much does a kitten cost a month?”

  1. Daniel Says:

    depends how much you pamper your cat. When my cat was still alive we spent probably an average of $30 per month. Bear in mind that thenumber is a lot higher just because of Vetrinary Bills. once yearly
    References :

  2. Julie Says:

    Food:

    I feed my cat 2 times a day, one can in the morning and one can at night.

    Each can costs about 56 cents

    She also gets hard food left out at all times and each bag costs about 4 or 5 dollars. One or two bags a month.

    Toys:

    She already has a lot of toys from when we first got her, her birthday and Christmas, so she doesn’t really get many toys anymore. But we are buying her a cat furniture for Christmas.

    My cat loves q-tips. She loves them more than toys and they are much cheaper.

    Litter:

    Depends on which bag I buy, her box gets changed once a week. Bags cost around 8 dollars at least.
    References :
    my calico cat is 3

  3. AwkwardTurtle Says:

    For just one cat, about $10 in litter and I buy purina friskies so about $12 for that. Plus if you wanted to get them some toys that would last a lifetime (which most do, unless they have feathers) $10. But monthly, about $25
    References :
    I have 2 cats

  4. *?* Says:

    Heya,
    Firstly kittens cost more to start with usually because they need to be neutered, wormed, vaccinated, and have all the initial caring for cat items… forgot what these are since my cat is now 12 :) but it could include things like a bed, some basic toys, bowls, blankets and anything else such as something tailored to your cats specific needs.

    After those initial costs you’re looking at food as a constant cost, the annual vet check up (strongly recommended) with vaccine, and the occasional toy/bed/treats e.t.c.
    It depends on if you want to splurge on your cat or not.
    You should get a good quality cat food too, research cats very well so that you have a good understanding (if you intend to get a kitten/cat…. old cats really need owners too :) ) of their health and what to do in emergencies e.t.c Plus I strongly recommend you research into cat nutrition and their diet, so many brands sell absolute crap these days, at first when you research it can be overwhelming because you may not know anything, but don’t let that put you off, over time you will build up knowledge..there may be a lot out there and you may feel it’s not worth researching because of that but trust me every detail helps and you will gradually build up helpful information. A good diet is essential for your cats health, remember cats hide pain.
    You don’t want any with grains, fillers, additives or preservatives in e.t.c or loads of synthetic vitamins. It’s just feeding your cat junk food which will make your cat uncomfortable.
    Dry food is strongly not recommended, maybe a little here and there but it’s not recommended you regularly give it to them.
    Quality cat foods do not have to cost a lot, you just have to research the cheaper places to buy the i.e online or in special stores. The one I currently buy is called Natures Menu and that costs around £5 for each box, so approx £5 a week :)
    ————
    Kitten:
    Neutered:£50-70
    Course of worming:£10 (not too sure on price, you could research this)
    Vaccinated: approx £30 (depends on the vet and you might have the vaccine and worming & neutering done in one session so it will be cheaper, but consultations usually start from £30)
    –Say all that’s done together it would cost around £90 maybe, it depends on the vet, probably a bit more because a kitten has to have a few injections before he/she can go out.

    Bed:£5 (optional, but your cat should have at least one good place to go)
    Toys:£5
    Litter tray & cat litter:£5 (Even if you have an outdoor cat it’s always good to have these on hand for what ever reason i.e keeping you kitten in until allowed to go outside)
    Bowls:£6 (you’ll need a few- always give a fresh bowl/plate a day- it’s recommended that you get ones designed for their whiskers, these cost the same)
    & anything else I haven’t thought of.
    ——-
    After all initial kitten cost.
    Just food averaging £20 a month.
    And pet insurance or at least put some savings away that mean you have some funds available if your cat ever needs to go to the vets. Never get a kitten that you can’t financially cover.
    + £30-40 for annual consultation and vaccine.
    —–
    Hope that helps, sorry it was lengthy.
    If you look online there are tonnes of websites with so much information that will help you and give guidance. So I wont recommend one.
    Remember a cat/kitten needs LOTS of love and attention too, they may be independent but they still need slots of emotional love :)

    P.s Make sure you do some research on cat little, i did a little a while ago when my cat was ill and had to keep her in but i forgot about it, but research into the clays used e.t.c as some are dangerous and your cat will digest it when they lick their paws, so make sure you get one you know is safe.. and not just because it says so on the label.. people can sell anything these days.
    References :

  5. Avocado Says:

    It depends. If you’re adopting her, most reputable shelters (ASPCA, Humane Society, any no-kill shelter) will already have de-sexed, de-wormed, microchipped, and given the first of three rounds of boosters for the kitten. Most good shelters will also cover the two next rounds after adoption. Kittens at shelters usually run the gamut of $100-$150, which is cheap considering all of that costs hundreds of dollars.

    Furthermore, if the cat is indoor/outdoors or outdoors, you need to bring them to a vet more often and pay for more vaccines.

    An indoor cat is much cheaper and only needs to go to the vet once a year for a checkup and basic vaccines. That can run anywhere from $100-$300. So, besides food, litter, and toys, vet bills are quite affordable if you put some aside here and there.

    I would say healthy indoor cats cost, at most, $500-700 a year (and that’s generous). Feeding them high-quality food is best, though pricier. I have two healthy indoor cats who I feed good quality food and purchase cheap litter that I mix with baking soda, and it costs me roughly $15-20 a month for both of them. I spend about $1,000 a year for both of them, including vet bills.

    In all, it’s a good pay-off. Cats are wonderful companions that crave your company, plus they keep your home pest-free. Also, you don’t have to bathe or walk them!

    I wish you the best of luck! Please adopt and always spay/neuter!

    PS: female cats are more expensive to de-sex – about $50 more.
    References :

  6. Keely Chan Says:

    My food lasts my cat 2 months, and the bag costs 13 bucks. So about 7 dollars on that a month, and my Litter is about 10. So 5 dollars on that. Once a month I’ll buy him treats & jingly ball toys, which is about 6 bucks. So probably about 20 dollars per month. Not factoring in (for kittens) shots, spay/neuter, worming, ect.
    References :

  7. cat lover Says:

    You are posting from the UK, so I can only give ballpark US figures. I don’t look at it in a per month basis, but more in a general way. My figures are for a female kitten through spay, about $500, and for a male through neuter, $400.

    That includes adoption fee, vet care and the spay/neuter. I really don’t put food and litter into those numbers, since those are easily handled through a normal household budget. And you can pay a lot for expensive food that may be no better then a lesser priced cat food. Of course, you can also pay and get poor quality food, so it become a difficult to predict amount. And litter doesn’t have to be expensive either.

    You stated you will have insurance to cover vet costs. But if you get insurance that covers everything, you will pay a lot per month. You really don’t need insurance for the typical check ups and vaccinations; you want it to protect you in case something serious happens.

    Toys can be fancy, or as simple as a wad of paper to chase and swat, and a cardboard box will provide hours of play. Of course, an expensive cat tree can also be well used. So a lot depends on what you want to provide.
    References :

  8. GTL_dude Says:

    Depends. Decent wet food is roughly 40-ish cents a can if you’re willing to read labels. Toys are cheap. Bag of random fun things is about three to four bucks. Litter is where it starts to vary. There’s the clays, the clumping litters, yuppie pine stuff for if you’re silly enough to declaw and they start whizzing in all the places, and of course there’s toilet training if you can pull it off. I’m starting to work on pulling off the last of those options… it’s hard but you’ll never have to scoop again.
    References :

  9. Salazar Says:

    Food: my kitten eats one pouch a day, so we buy 3 boxes of twelve a month. As for biscuits, it’s usually one bag, sometimes two, a month.
    Toys: You can get some cheap toys, but my kitten prefers to play with MY things, rather than her own toys. She has a scratching post and lots of toys with bells in them.
    Cat litter: MUST be non-clumping for a kitten, because they tend to try and eat the stuff and clumping can be really dangerous. I was buying bags from Tesco at around £3, but have switched to a cheaper alternative from Pets at Home, which is a much bigger bag as well.
    The £3 Tesco ones only lasted around a week each, even less when my kitty had diarrhea.
    References :

  10. Ciudad Immortal Says:

    Lets see,
    14 LB bag of dry food = $5-$20
    1 can of wet food per day= 40cents to $1 x 30 days so give or take anywhere from $12-$30
    Litter ( tidy cats is your best bet in odor control) $6-$9 (x2 because you may need two boxes for the whole month)
    Vet bills….that is varying
    cat bed = $10
    Toys= $5 (for a mix toy pack from walmart)
    yeah….not fun.
    we have 7 feral kittens that we raised up and they go through litter and food like crazy.
    References :

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