Cat owners come in (obv. NGPR)

Flamingo86

Tell me about owning a cat.

What type of work is involved?

How much money do you spend on your cat (food, vet bills, etc.)

Do you have pet insurance?

DH and I are thinking about getting a cat. I really want one but would want to go into it with a clear head about the responsibilities. 

Bonus: PIP your kitty. 

benaisy3

We have two cats: a Himalayan and a Maine Coon.  Both are long-haired, very large cats.  That being said - their grooming its a bit more work than a short-haired cat.  Long-haired cats need more grooming (brushing, combing, occasional de-shedding comb).  Cut their nails maybe once a month (takes just a few minutes).  

My cats are indoor cats so we don't do any flea treatments or anything (that would be an additional cost if your cat would be outdoors or in contact with other animals).  We do visit at vet once a year just as maintenance/well-being - - costs around $100 (usually due for a shot too)

Food: We use a special diet foot as my cat has a sensitive stomach.  It is $30/bag, 1 bag will last us around a month or so.

Litter: Around $10 a month, estimating.

Overall, a cat is an easy pet.  Little maintenance, can be left for a weekend with food and water.  Love them!

benaisy3

Pictures Attached

Oh and to answer your other question, we don't have pet insurance

Additional Costs: Treats, Scratch Post (@ Petsmart, around $40-50), Tall Cat Perch/Tree (these can be expensive $100+)

poppies717

Tell me about owning a cat.
It's awesome. Our cat is adorable.

What type of work is involved?
Not much. B has short hair. She has food and water in the basement and a litter box. DH scoops litter box every other day to every 3 days. He gets lazy.

How much money do you spend on your cat (food, vet bills, etc.)
Not much. Food is about $12 every 3 weeks (dry). Vet bills are once a year, visit fee and vaccs. Maybe $150? Litter is cheap! You can buy a refill box from PetCo!

Do you have pet insurance?
We do not have pet insurance (I'm haven't found any to be worth the cost)

The Queen:

poppies717

And toys? B is more entertained by bags and running around randomly and yowling. The dogs help. If this cat is going to be the only animal, look into buying toys and scratching posts. I have gently used ones (because B would rather chase her own tail), but they'd be a pain to send across the country!

nfp147

Tell me about owning a cat. Let's get one thing straight first; you don't own cats, they own you

We have two cats. Gaius (6) is the orange one; Fergus (3) is the grey one.

What type of work is involved? Minimal.  We scoop litter every day (Gaius will shit outside the box if it's not super clean).  Ours don't need to be brushed. And, this may seem hard to believe, but two cats are less work than one.  They really do keep each other entertained, and you feel less guilty about leaving them alone for a night or two.

How much money do you spend on your cat (food, vet bills, etc.) Food is probably $30 a month; litter is cheap (~$8 a month). We take them to the vet once a year; it's likely $75-100 each per year.We buy a few toys and treats, but it's really not much.

Do you have pet insurance? No.

My babies...

 

rccola1981

I can't imagine not having our Darth Kittious. He has to have flea treatment because the neighbors attract fleas with their 13 or more cats in the other half of our duplex, so that is about $100 a year. His vet viait is usually about $100 a year and food and litter might be $20 a month I'm not certain because DH does the budget.

Apollo11235

Tell me about owning a cat.
We love our cats, can't imagine life without them. So many cuddles! They're adorable, and they have such distinct personalities. It's fun.

What type of work is involved?
We cut their nails once a month or so, scoop the litter boxes a couple times a week, change the litter monthly (way less often than they say to do it, but it works for us and our cats), keep an eye on their food and water levels, and wash the water bowl every so often. They also get needy sometimes, so we have to be ready for play/cuddles (mostly cuddles, as they play with each other, boxes, and balled up paper for the most part).

How much money do you spend on your cat (food, vet bills, etc.)
Mostly, we just buy food and litter. Maybe $20/mo total. We also have a large cat tree, scratcher, carriers, litter boxes, food/water bowls, etc, so it was a big initial cost and you have to replace these things every once in a while. They go to the vet once a year for ~$50 each, pretty much, and take no medication as they're indoor cats. I'm sure the vet bills get more expensive when they get older, though.

Do you have pet insurance?
No. We looked into it, and it didn't seem worth it.

Bonus PIP! I think I've shared this one before, but it's one of my favorites because Artemis (left) usually tries to steer clear of Apollo.

bobcats67

Tell me about owning a cat. I have 2, Henry & Winky, and I love them to death. So much easier to care for than a dog, in my opinion. And, I'm sure this depends on the cat, but mine are the sweetest things - so friendly, so content to curl up in my lap and purr.

What type of work is involved? Not much. I feed them first thing in the morning and clean their litterbox once a day, and I sometimes brush them while I'm just watching TV (they are both short-haired so they don't need it that often, but they love it), but that's about it. I guess the one thing that sucks is if they cough up a hairball and I have to scrub the carpet... but that's pretty infrequent.

How much money do you spend on your cat (food, vet bills, etc.) I buy special dry food that's a little more expensive (about $12), lasts about 3-4 weeks. And I split a can of canned food between the 2 of them every day, that's about $0.60/day. Litter is about $10/month. Annual vet visit about $100 each, I think.

Do you have pet insurance? Not currently, but we recently did some research on it as they are getting older, and unexpected vet costs can really suck (my brother's dog ate something weird last year and it cost them $750 out of nowhere!) so we might be getting it soon.

ETA: I give up on trying to figure out adding pictures

Sewilson33

We had 2 cats and back in January one of my babies ended up eating something off the floor that caused an abscess to form in his throat. By the time we noticed it and got him to a vet that wouldn't charge us over $1000 just to examine him, it was too late. That is the heartbreaking side of having a cat. You can't tell they aren't feeling well very easy...

We now have 1 cat, he loves our dog and is a big Momma's boy. He hasn't been around children very much so he is very on guard when our nephews stop by.

Basically I put a scoop of food in his dish once a day, we have a cat water fountain running in our bathroom because he refuses to drink out of a regular bowl.
His litter is scooped by DH twice a week unless I smell it and can't handle it otherwise. When we had 2 cats it had to be scooped more often.

Food isn't very expensive, just look for sales and coupons. Litter is annoying but at least the cat goes in one spot and not all over our yard.

Vet bills aren't toooo bad. If the cat is an indoor cat they technically only need 2 vaccines. Outdoor cats require more vaccines which means more money.

I love my cat, I loved having 2 brothers but now I just put my love for my 2 babies into 1 and he knows he is spoiled by me. He is snuggly, and we have a bond that he doesn't have with DH.

brij2006

We have 1 cat.  I got him from a family when he was 3.5 years old.  So he was already litter trained, spayed, and they declawed him.  Our cat is "special" in that he takes very little work because he is never around.  His name is Spooky for a reason, and he hides with every loud noise or movement from someone other than H or I.  

Only work we really have to do with him is change his litter box.  I'm lazy and bought a large litterbox that holds a lot of litter, and I just pour the entire thing out every other week.  No scooping inbetween. He's long haired so I trap him in our bedroom once every other week to brush him, but he loves it and it only takes 10 minutes.  

I also have an automatic feeder for his food, so I just fill it on Sunday and it's good to go for the week (unless the dog gets in it), and him and the dog share the same automatic feeder water dish.  

We probably spend $15/month on Spooky.  I buy the big bag of cat food and cat litter from Sams Club, and that lasts about 2.5-3 months. He also gets very minimal vaccinations since he's an inside cat only.  Our vet actually gives us the shot to take home and give to him since we can never get him trapped to take him in.  That costs us $15/year. 

We do not have pet insurance.  Our pets don't seem to be too expensive in that regard, and instead we just have money put aside just in case we need to dip into it to pay for an emergency vet bill.  

Aimothy

I'm going to be the dissenting Cat Mom opinion.  My cat is a bitch. She won't cuddle with me ever, but loves Jimothy. We have to feed her three times a day because otherwise, she'd eat it all at first and then wine incessantly the rest of the day.  So we take her daily feeding and divide it up into three times.   

We have to scoop her litter box as many times a day as we feed her.  Homegirl will not poop in a litterbox if there's more than 3 clumps.  

She rarely leaves her bed and will demand a blanket be put on the couch if she wants to sit on it. The only exercise she gets is when she runs away from me when I'm trying to comb her or clip her nails.  

She hates all other people and will often hiss at them when they enter our house and it appears they are going to stay longer than 10 minutes.  When my parents used to come for the weekend, she'd sit at the bottom of the stairs and hiss so they couldn't get by with the luggage.  Last month, after 8 years, she finally let my Dad pet her. But only for about 10 seconds. Then it was game over. 

I love her and I wouldn't trade her for the world, but be careful about what cat you choose.  When we got her from the Humane Society, she was sitting all cute in the front of the kennel, while all the other cats were playing with each other on the other side. WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. She's the most anti social cat ever. Unless you are her Dad.  Then she's attached to his chest. 

brij2006

I feel like I should add that our cat is definitely not your usual "cat."  Like @aimothy we have issues with him and people coming into the house.  Thankfully he doesn't hiss, bite, or scratch, but he won't come out until guests leave.  Even if they're there for 3 days.  We have to make sure our guests stay to 1 area at some point, so he can come out and eat or use the litterbox.  

He also doesn't ever cuddle or lay on your lap, ever!  Instead he will lay at the edge of the room you're in and stare at you while he purrs.  H calls him Satan for this reason, and jokes that he's a useless cat.  He truly is.  

We love him, but we will definitely be more picky the next time we pick out a cat.  The family I got him from had 2 cats.  1 was social and loving, but I knew I wouldn't have the time to give him the attention he needed.  So I went with Spooky because he did his own thing and didn't need much love.  

I've had him for 7 years now, and it took us getting the dog before he would even come out of hiding.  Even now he still hides most of the time, and God forbid you walk toward him.  He runs away as though it's the end of the world. 

Here's the bonus pic of Mr anti-social.  Laying at the edge of the carpet in the living room, but will lay right next to the dog with no problem.  He was likely purring in this picture too. 

cinderin

We had to put our cat down in June. She was over 12 years old and there was nothing the vet could do. We miss her very much.

She was a funny cat. Loved to cuddle with me, cuddled with DH, but didn't like strangers. She mostly left guests alone but she was so pretty that they would try to touch her, which she hated. She would give them a warning hiss and if they persisted (btw wtf people? Why do you not back off a hissing cat?!) she would scratch.

She left DS alone and didn't seem bothered by him, just ignored him. Same with our dog.

She was expensive. She had a food allergy and her food was more than $100 per month. She also had medicine we had to mail order. And we had to pay someone to come to the house at least once a day when we left town because if we tried to board her she would refuse to eat and it would exacerbate her medical condition.

So, we loved her, but she was high-maintenance. We miss her.

I think we will get another cat some day, but not planning to soon.

Flamingo86

@cinderin sorry for the loss of your kitty . 

RockABye

Tell me about owning a cat. Cats are the BEST. They're easy and cute and hilarious

What type of work is involved? We have 2 indoor only short hair cats so they're SUPER easy. Basically it's just food and water and the litter box on the regular and then the vet occasionally for shots. I love cats because we can easily go away for a weekend and not have to worry about anyone stopping. We just leave out enough food and water. Because they're inside only, we don't have to worry about fleas or ticks or dirt really. We do brush them and bathe them occasionally, but that's only because I'm allergic to them and sometimes they just need a good cleaning. That alone is pure entertainment! We also clip their nails occasionally.

How much money do you spend on your cat (food, vet bills, etc.) Ours very rarely go to the vet so I can't speak to that. I don't remember what the last visit cost. Our vet is awesome though and if I call and tell them what's up, they usually give me an idea of what's going on so I can avoid coming in.  Food runs about $40-60 a month give or take, depending on sales (we use Blue Wilderness or Science Diet lately). We usually use Yesterday's News for litter and it's around $20 a bag, which usually lasts us 2 weeks. So maybe $40 or so a month on that. Some months we spend more, some months we spend less.

 

Also, you NEED a scratcher/cat tree. The initial investment can be around $100 +/-. We made one before for around $30 though so it can be done cheaper. It's a must though.  The scratching posts are much cheaper. They last a long time and when the sisal rope wears out, you can just re-wrap it with a staple gun so you're not buying a new one. We have one large tree (cats love to be up high) and 3 small post scratchers, strategically placed around the house.

 

Also, our cats had an issue with clawing our furniture b/c they're jerks, even with all the scratchers... We tried the sticky things but one of them would just peel that off and eat it. Not cool. We ended up buying some thin vinyl and upholstery pins at Joann's and made our own version of these. SO much cheaper and they've lasted months. I highly recommend it. Plus, with the vinyl, you never notice them.  

Do you have pet insurance? nope.

DH and I are thinking about getting a cat. I really want one but would want to go into it with a clear head about the responsibilities.  They're a lifelong commitment (for the cat's life, that is). Overall, I can't imagine my life without cats. I've had them my entire life and they bring so much joy and comfort. Plus, they are seriously SO funny.. built in entertainment. They're just so easy... other than the basic "maintenance", they don't require a whole lot. We always talk about getting a dog, but then go back to how easy our cats our.. and they don't smell.  I love dogs, but cats are where it's at

Bonus: PIP your kitty. 

It won't let me PIP

Sewilson33

Oh I would like to add on that having a cat means you can go away for a weekend and not worry about who is going to pet sit because they are perfectly fine for 2 days by themselves.
Leave out food and water and you should be good to go.
Unless you have @aimothy cat who will probably eat all the food in one sitting.

Apollo11235

RockABye said:

We ended up buying some thin vinyl and upholstery pins at Joann's and made our own version of these. SO much cheaper and they've lasted months. I highly recommend it. Plus, with the vinyl, you never notice them.  

**HELP! I'M STUCK IN THIS BOX!!**

Thanks for the tip, @RockABye ! I've never heard of these, but our couches need it... even with a bunch of scratchers everywhere.  Do you find that they still claw at the bottom corner, though, below the guard? Our cats claw the couch pretty badly when their toys slide underneath.

RockABye

Apollo11235 said:

RockABye said:

We ended up buying some thin vinyl and upholstery pins at Joann's and made our own version of these. SO much cheaper and they've lasted months. I highly recommend it. Plus, with the vinyl, you never notice them.  

**HELP! I'M STUCK IN THIS BOX!!**

Thanks for the tip, @RockABye ! I've never heard of these, but our couches need it... even with a bunch of scratchers everywhere.  Do you find that they still claw at the bottom corner, though, below the guard? Our cats claw the couch pretty badly when their toys slide underneath.

Since we made ours and cut them to size, ours go all the way down to the corner I definitely recommend making them vs buying them. We got thicker vinyl and it was still less $$! Our cats haven't touched the couch since we put these up months ago!