When you adopt or buy a cat, the last thing on your mind is the impending financial burden this little darling adds to your family’s expenses. You may not have heard of cat health insurance, but it exists, and it helps keep your kitty in top health without putting you in debt with vet bills. Whether it’s for emergency care, unexpected illnesses, or routine care, you should have a cat health care plan in place.
By the time you finish this article, you will be able to calculate the cost of keeping a cat in actual dollar figures. Being a responsible caregiver of a cat, or any creature, comes with certain physical care commitments. If your current circumstances do not allow you to take care of a pet, it is better that you do not accept a cat.
The cost of keeping a cat doesn’t end in the cat food bowl. But usually it starts there. Here is a list of the costs associated with typical care. These costs do not include care for emergencies and illnesses. That’s where cat health insurance can really pay off.
Typical cost of having a cat for a year
1. Food: This number is based on commercial dry and wet cat food products. $400
If you use raw meat instead of dry or wet commercial products, your cat will benefit, but it will have more work to do to prepare and store its meals;
2. Kitty litter $60;
3. Bedding, scratching post, baby carrier $220;
4. Spay or neuter $50 (when adopted from a local shelter) or $125 outside of a shelter services vet;
5. Basic Basic Vaccines $75 – $125;
6. One annual veterinary exam with revaccination $75 – $125.
In summary, you can expect the first year cost of owning a cat to be just under $1,000 for the first year. Thereafter, $475 – $525 per year and this does not include any gifts such as toys, treats and flea care.
You can see that the cost of keeping a cat is not a small change. So what happens if Mrs. Kitty swallows a yard of string or rubber bands or Christmas tree tinsel? Now her intestines are all bandaged up and you have to deal with an emergency vet bill.
Now you have a great choice to make. You can either bear the great expense of this surgery to save her life or end her suffering and humanely put her down.
When you have cat health insurance, you don’t have to think twice about treating your cat’s illnesses or accidental injuries. You can choose to treat your cat without taking on a large debt to pay the vet. Standard cat health care plans reimburse 70% to 100% of vet bills after paying the deductible, which is typically $100.
When emergencies and unexpected illnesses strike your cat, you can count on cat health insurance to help you pay those vet bills. A typical kitty insurance plan costs around $12/month. Even older cats can sign up for cat health insurance programs for around $26 a month.
The choice is yours. Our life choices are often made at times when love and charity tug at our hearts. When it comes to our pets this is a choice for life.
Your next move? Take a few minutes to compare the The best health insurance offers for cats. Available for your cat. It is one of the cheapest cat care options you can make.