Hi everyone! I'm a 24-year old young professional that's looking to adopt an adult cat in a few months. Since I didn't have pets growing up, I've been building a cat-specific budget for the last few months and I want to make sure I'm not missing anything / have a few questions.
Start up costs:
- Adoption fees: $150
- Food and water bowls: $15
- Initial medical exam: $150
- Collar / tags: $30
- Beds: $40
- Litter boxes + scooper: $60
- Carrying crate: $40
- Toys: $20
- Travel backpack: $20
- Scratching posts: $60
- Climbing furniture: $100
- Cat mats: $40
- Other - toys, shelves, treats: $50
Monthly costs:
- Wet food / raw meat: $50
- Litter: $20
- Toys / treats: $10
Questions:
- Am I missing anything above?
- What do you pay in annual cat vet visits? I know it's generally advisable to take a cat to the vet at least once / year before age 10. But what do these visit usually cost? Do you get teeth cleaning? I'm hearing that that's $300+?
- What's the best way to handle cat medical expenses? It seems like people tend to be split between using pet insurance vs. just putting the pet insurance cost in a pet-specific emergency fund. What do you do? What has served you well?
- What do you pay in pet sitting / check ins per year? I imagine that I'll likely spend every other weekend at my partner's house and will want someone to come in to feed / play with the cat in the morning. In the case of a vacation, I would probably way a friend to come by and hang out / or pay a sitter to stay at my house. I just have no sense of how long it's advisable for cats to stay alone.
- Is there anything you wish you knew before adopting a cat?
I understand that the details will change based on the specific cat but I want to make sure that I am going in with eyes wide open so that I can give my cat the best life possible! Thank you all!
Submitted April 11, 2021 at 10:41PM by The_Empress https://ift.tt/3261BuB
