Whilst everyone wants what is best for their cats, it is not so simple to find the money needed to care for them. Taking care of a cat on average costs between $500 and $1000 a year. Here are five great methods of saving some cash so you can keep that amount as low as possible.
5. Make Cat Treats and Food at Home
If you want to save some cash on your cat’s treats and food, you should start making them on your own or even think about switching to a raw diet. It is said to be healthier even though it takes a good amount of effort and time to do it.
Lots of recipes can be found online for making cat treats and food. Essentially, all you must do is provide your pet with varied heathy kinds of protein along with a bit of bone material. Cats are meat eaters, so have to have lots of protein. However, despite the debate, it’s ok to give them a small amount of vegetables like carrots or broccoli if they like them or throw in a bit of good carbohydrates. It all depends on your cat’s likes and needs. If you want to make your cat’s food, then just do a search on the Internet and you will find tons of recipes for treats and food.
4. Watch for Sales and Deals
You can usually find sales and deals on things for your cat if you try. For instance, shop around when you decide to neuter or spay your feline friend, as most veterinarians charge a lot more than if you take them to the humane society to get it done. Plus, on average you can save on food and other supplies at the pet store by watching for coupons or sales or signing up for their loyalty club. If you shop on the Internet, do a search for discount codes. You can find lots of them at places like SlickDeals, etc. Did you ever consider that Black Friday is also a fantastic moment to buy pet stuff? It can be! Just check it out.
And if you are not too proud to do it, consider looking in the dumpster at your local pet store like Petco or Petsmart. People have been known to find great stuff occasionally. However, it might be a better idea to ask the manager of the store if they can just give the items that would go into the trash, as that may be safer. Another way to save could be buying cat stuff in bulk like at Sam’s Club or Costco.
3. Save Money On Veterinarian Care
If you want to save money on your cat’s vet bills try to find a veterinary school nearby. They offer care for less money. Try looking at a listing for vet schools in your state. Plus, lots of humane societies or shelters, as well as some veterinarian clinics will give discounts on some sort of care like vaccinations.
Pet insurance is another idea as it can help pay for checkups and other care. Just be sure to do your homework to see which brand is cheaper. Some cost a mere ten or twenty bucks every month, which is way better than spending 1000s of bucks if your cat gets injured or sick. But if you don’t want to buy pet insurance then another way to handle pet care bills is to put away a few dollars each month in a special fund to pay for it.
2. Provide Your Feline with Exercise and Make Sure They Drink Enough Water
Frequent exercise can help a cat stay healthy, have less illnesses and will save you money at the veterinarian. This can be done by buying them a lot of cat toys and other items that encourage them to jump or climb as they go through the house.
It’s additionally vital for cats to drink enough water. They can become dehydrated very easy since they tend to prefer running water that is cold and fresh. It’s surely cheaper to buy a cat water fountain than need to pay a huge bill if they get all dehydrated. You can find lots of examples of pet fountains online.
1. Make Your Cat’s toys, scratching posts and play towers
Just like with food and treats, you can spend less on cat toys and other items if you make them yourself. It is pretty simple to make cat toys, or you can take them from people as hand-me-downs. Another idea is to browse yard sales to find toys or supplies still in good shape. Just look online and you will see tons of ideas to make them on your own. It is so easy; you will soon rarely buy them new!
When it comes to scratching posts, it’s not that hard to make them either. Just find some carpet remnants and cardboard and look online to find some ideas to make them.
Feline play structures can be harder to make, but it is still possible. You can find lots of videos and articles on the Internet to show you how to do it no matter if you want a tower, condo or cat tree. Be sure if you make one that the finished product is safe for your pet and is stable and secure. One simple type of structure to try is made of a step ladder along with good strong material tied to the rungs to create a hammock for your cat. Or you can put in some wooden platforms on the top of the ladder rungs.
