Tag Archives: Care

How much costs a cat ?

It’s useful to know it BEFORE adopting a cat, right ?

All the indicated amounts concern Switzerland, where life is rather expensive. If you don’t live in Switzerland, read first this example of household budget : it will allow you to put in perspective amounts given in this article.

Cat price

  • given or found : 0 CHF
  • shelter : 150 to 250 CHF
  • breed : 1000 to 2000 CHF

Identification microchip

  • pose and recording at AMICUS : 80 CHF

In our opinion, it’s essential !

Veterinarian

  • neuter (male): 80 to 100 CHF
  • spay (female): 170 to 200 CHF
  • vaccines = > 1x a year : 60 to 90 CHF
  • worm treatment = > 4x a year: 40 CHF
  • flea treatment => 4x a year if needed, or if your cat goes out : 50 CHF a year

The vaccinations expenses are higher first year for a kitten, because a reminder has to be done 3 weeks after the first vaccination.

Don’t forget that your cat can get ill or have an accident as our poor Angel Loupi : it represents additional veterinary expenses which can be important.

Insurance

  • 120 CHF per year

A hospitalization or an operation is expensive ; an insurance is very useful to face these spending.

Food

  • bowls = > at least 2 for food and 1 for water : 12 CHF
  • food : 50 to 150 CHF a month

For the long-term health of your cat, avoid low-end food from the supermarket ! We teach you here how to read labels to better choose your cat’s meals. You can also choose to prepare him his meals yourself or to give him  raw food, but then watch out the nutriments balance !

Toilet

  • litter box : 10 to 40 CHF
  • shovel : 2 to 5 CHF
  • litter : 10 to 20 CHF a month

Zorro is super economic : he does everything in the garden !

Basic accessories

  • transport box : from 25 CHF
  • cat tree: from 50 CHF (80 cms in 1m) or from 100 CHF (1m20 and more)
  • brushes and combs : 5 to 40 CHF
  • claws scissors : 5 CHF
  • diverse toys = > according to needs and renewal : variable
  • basket : from 20 CHF

According to your lifestyle, you may need maybe also a necklace, a harness, a leash, a pension, a cat-sitter, a passport, …

In summary, how much costs a cat ?

The first year, besides the price of the cat himself, it’s necessary to plan an additional budget from 400 to 700 CHF for the microchip, spay/neuter, the first vaccines, and the acquisition of basic accessories.

A healthy cat costs then between 120 and 250 CHF a month, all included.

Please, don’t adopt a cat if you can’t afford the basic expenses it involves !

RouXy

Used with permission

Beautiful RouXy, red acrobat with three legs, crossed the Rainbow Bridge between Wednesday and Thursday. He was going to be 16 years old. We send soft purrs to his humans and the humans of our buddy Frimousse who took care him so well for several years.

How to help stray cats in winter ?

PIXIE : When Claire and Momo woke up yesterday morning, the garden was quite white. Indeed, after several days of polar temperatures (-10 C / 14 F), it had snowed.
snowy garden
Only Zorro seems to enjoy this white, cold, and wet thing. His fur thickened, more than mine, and he’s eating more since November : he gained approximately 1 kg. He’s thus well protected by his fur and his additional fat, and can come to warm himself when he wants inside.
garden patrol in the snow
I don’t like cold, and I don’t like snow. I am sure that the majority of stray cats either.
I do not like snow

How to help stray cats in winter ?

Here are some simple actions you can do :

  • Build a shelter for them (video below).
  • Place the shelter in a quiet and a little hidden place.
  • Heighten the shelter from the ground to isolate it from the cold and from the humidity.
  • Direct the entry according to the wind so that it’s protected.
  • Verify regularly that snow does not block the entry.
  • Verify regularly that the inside is clean ; renew the soiled straw.
  • Leave some water and food at disposal in a place where it does not freeze.

Are there stray cats near you ?
If yes, how do you do to help them in winter ?

What is a cat ?

Claire followed on Saturday a training given by Colette Pillonel, behaviouristic veterinarian, and organized by Philippe Bocion, also behavioristic veterinarian. Who is the cat ? Where does he come from ? How does he live ? What are his needs ? Why ?

It was fascinating ! Here are in brief some points of this presentation :

Family tree

The current carnivores (wolf, dog, fox, cat, tiger, lynx, bear, otter, weasel, badger, raccoon, genette, chive, hyena, …) have all one distant common ancestor : the Miacidae, a small primitive carnivore which lived 60 million years ago. Incredible, right ?
The first wildcats, the ancestors of the domestic cat, appear 2 million years ago.
The « domestic » cat appears 10000 years ago ; his ancestor is the wildcat of Africa. It looks like the cat got domesticated by himself, and that the human and him found a mutual profit in this cohabitation.

Domestication

This process involves a controlled detention, the breeding, the abolition or the control of some behavior considered as unwanted (flight or aggressiveness), the control of the sexual behavior, the training, the possibility of manipulating the animal, of communicating with him, and the control of his strength.
We do not meet all these criteria, and all the domestic cats are not at the same stage of this process : 15 % of them are even resistant to any manipulation : the wildcat is not far !
The purebred cats (except the recent experimental crossings with wild cats, forbidden in Switzerland) are often better domesticated than their alley cousins, because the breeders select the “best” individuals to reproduce.
the wildcat is not far

Anatomy

We are more successful than humans : we see in the daytime and at night, we perceive the ultrasounds, our sense of smell is 14x more developed, our sense of balance is ultra successful (except when we sleep), our tactile hairs are sensitive to the slightest breath of air, and we communicate in a very precise manner by chemical messages (pheromones).

Needs

Hunt, play, climb, eat, drink, eliminate, have a wash, sleep : that seems easy, right ? The Swiss Protection of Animals gives you details here.
A cat can be perfectly happy in apartment, as far as his environment fulfills ALL his needs. It is thus necessary to adapt the environment to the cat, and not the opposite…
it is thus necessary to adapt the environment to the cat, and not the opposite

Society

The cat is a solitary who can be sociable. There is not really hierarchy by cats, but rather some sense of opportunity : the one who arrives first, who is placed the highest, who is in the best place, or still who will know how to be the most curious in a given circumstance will have the advantage.

Territory and schedule

The cat is territorial, and follows a ritualized time organization. Each part of his territory has a very particular function ; it also depends on the moment of the day. Any modification of his spatial or temporal organization is usually very stressful for the cat.

Good to know

Unwanted behavior appears when the cat’s needs are not respected. If all the future cat owners inquired in detail about our needs, and about the various manners to meet them, there would be almost no more rescue cats…
home sweet home