Cost of Cats

[kady05]

Since we're sharing kitty pictures.. this is Brody, my boy who is from a breeder (Ragdoll):

and my mom's, from the same breeder:

Of course, my once feral "target practice" kitten (his name is Sneak for a reason) is also rather cute..

And my oldest, Toby, was adopted from a local SPCA:

As for litter box odors, I've found that since switching to the scoopable Feline Pine, there is none! It's ammmazing stuff!

 

[Toller_08]

I don't have anything to add to this thread other than that I love Havana Browns. If I ever decide I really want a cat, and I don't adopt one from somewhere first, I want one of those. So pretty.

The litterbox always gets me as well. I've never walked into a cat owner's home and not smelled the litterbox, unless it was hidden in the basement somewhere. The smell of unused litter itself (even good stuff) is icky to me, nevermind if it's been used. If I had a cat I would want to build it a little cat hut outside for bathroom use, haha. I doubt that's possible... which is why I likely will never have a cat. And my family is allergic, so if I wanted them to visit for any length of time, that wouldn't work out so well. :-(

 

[monkeys23]

I love Sneak and Toby! I am such a huge sucker for tabbies...

There is a kitten over at the barns right now that is marked almost exactly like my second cat growing up, the one that died when I was 14. Sooooo hard not to steal that kitten and tame/get it healthy.

Missy doesn't like other cats though and she deserves to be center of attention. I can't say no to these sea green eyes.

She and the dogs are pals

 

[Moth]

This thread is making want to go and get another kitty

I don't mind the litterbox...I scoop daily and clean it out once weekly usually and that does the trick.

 

[sparks19]

scoopable feline pine... hmmm I'll have to tell my mom to try that. She just sort of inherited a cat lol. It's quite funny though because this is no ordinary cat. this cat is like a dog. He comes when you call, when people come to the door he rushes to greet them lol he just loves attention and likes to play with my moms dogs toys.

Now the funny part is my moms dog is like a cat lol. She picks at her food like a cat and just her mannerisms and such... she is so much like a cat.

so they have a cat like a dog and a dog like a cat. A perfectly mismatched set.

but my neice has somehow inadvertantly taught her cat how to use the toilet. seriously... the cat uses the toilet and not a litter box. My mom wants to teach her cat that LOL

 

[kady05]

I love Sneak and Toby! I am such a huge sucker for tabbies...

So am I.. which poses an issue when I go to any SPCA or AC, since Tabbies are such a common color!

scoopable feline pine... hmmm I'll have to tell my mom to try that.

Oh it's awesome. I'd highly recommend it to anyone! It's so lightweight (vs. heavy clay litter), NO dust, and virtually no odor. If anything, the space where I have their litter box smells like pine, which I personally like the smell of LOL.

 

[RedHotDobe]

I don't have a Maru, but I guess they're still kinda cute.

Baby Dreamy.

 

[sparks19]

So am I.. which poses an issue when I go to any SPCA or AC, since Tabbies are such a common color!



Oh it's awesome. I'd highly recommend it to anyone! It's so lightweight (vs. heavy clay litter), NO dust, and virtually no odor. If anything, the space where I have their litter box smells like pine, which I personally like the smell of LOL.

and you just get it at any pet store?

 

[JessLough]

and you just get it at any pet store?

Petsmart sells it up here at least. I use that for the ferrets wh I run out of wood pellets and can't get any more

 

[Romy]

Animals are typically price for what they can do. Animals who main purpose was for companionship are typically cheaper( rats, ferrets, snakes, rabbits), which is why I wondered why cats were so darn expensive. I plan to go more into the cat world and make a decision whether or not I'd go for a rescue or breeder route.

Of course, exotic animals would be more expensive than any other pet so the Svannah doesn't count! Though interesting enough foxes are no where near that cost. Many are 700 and up.

Edited to add: very exotic animals are expensive.

I'd venture to say that in a world where most cats are random mixed breeds, ALL purebred cats are an exotic novelty. Just the fact that you get an idea of temperament, size and appearance ahead of time is pretty dang novel.

As far as animals being priced by worth...

Why are (well bred) miniature horses so dang expensive? You can't ride them. The most they can do is pull a cart so they should cost about the same as a goat, except that you can eat and milk goats so they aren't even worth that much.

What about miniature goats? They eat less and take up less space than normal goats, so are cheaper to raise. But they make hardly any milk or meat and you can't have them pull you in a cart or go backpacking with you. I guess they should cost way less than normal useful goats...

 

[Tahla9999]

I'd venture to say that in a world where most cats are random mixed breeds, ALL purebred cats are an exotic novelty. Just the fact that you get an idea of temperament, size and appearance ahead of time is pretty dang novel.

As far as animals being priced by worth...

Why are (well bred) miniature horses so dang expensive? You can't ride them. The most they can do is pull a cart so they should cost about the same as a goat, except that you can eat and milk goats so they aren't even worth that much.

What about miniature goats? They eat less and take up less space than normal goats, so are cheaper to raise. But they make hardly any milk or meat and you can't have them pull you in a cart or go backpacking with you. I guess they should cost way less than normal useful goats...

I think miniature goats go along with the minature rule. Anything minature means triple the cost. That goes for minature dogs, minature pigs, etc. Minature to many people equals "exotic."

You are right about purebred cats being exotic. Never thought of it that way. It is hard to tell whether a cat is purebred unless the cat looks distinct, like the Sphinx. Around my neighborhood cats are EVERYWHERE, and it is unheard of to spend more than 300 on a cat. I think most people who own cats could care less about the breed, unlike most dog owners.

 

[JessLough]

Lol I'm not sure where y'all are getting your miniature horse prices from, from by the MUCH less than other horses and even ponies here. We could buy 4 miniature horses for the price of the percheron.

I love miniature horses. They are awesome for showing and driving and good for farm work.

 

[kady05]

and you just get it at any pet store?

Yeah I think most of them sell it. I got mine at Pet Supplies Plus. I'm pretty sure Petsmart has it too.

 

[Zoom]

Lol I'm not sure where y'all are getting your miniature horse prices from, from by the MUCH less than other horses and even ponies here. We could buy 4 miniature horses for the price of the percheron.

I love miniature horses. They are awesome for showing and driving and good for farm work.

Around here I could pick up a Perch for anywhere from $800-$6000, depending where I went and what I was looking for. The owner of the stables I used to ride for was amazing at getting trained, matched teams for under $5000 for the pair, plus harness.

Most well-bred Mini horses start at $2000 regardless. Now knowing the people I know, I could get a good one for a lot less, but still.

 

[JessLough]

Ahh yah, that's crazy :yikes:

We paid about $1500-$2000 for each of the minis, and about $13000 for the Percheron... Although they were all bought for breeding.

 

[Romy]

Well bred minis are in the thousands $$ around here. But you can go to the auction and pick up gorgeous young, unpapered thoroughbreds that washed out from track training for the cost of a slaughter horse. Heck, just look at our craigslist some time. Lots of youngish-middle aged broke horses for free or free lease.

 

[Kat09Tails]

Depends on where you are but well bred horses around here of any breed are peanuts right now with the cost of feed. My neighbor just sold a cart trained matched pair of registered 7YO mini mares for $350 - as a pair. Someone else I know pulled a couple of very nice purebred registered polish arabian mares out of the Enumclaw auction for under $600.

On the flip of that the market for halfway decent typed mini goats around here is pretty fantastic. When the farm I worked at was getting out of goats they sold most of the does for $600+ for the minis and $700+ for the full size obers and nubians

 

[Dekka]

Minatures around here ARE cheap.. flooded market etc.

As to why they are more than goats.

I have bred goats, goats are easy. They are pregnant for not that long, have (ime) 2-3 kids at a time. They are hardy and easy to look after.

Minis have all the issues as with horses.. only extra because they are smaller than nature intended the equine physique to be. They also can only produce 1 young a year if all goes well. Horses aren't nearly as fertile as goats either...

Its easy to trim a goats foot. Not much experience needed. You need to pay a farrier (or learn lots) every 6ish weeks for every horse/pony you have.

Many minis (say that 10 times fast) can't go out on pasture or live like a normal horse.. they get too fat. Goats you can turn out on scrub land that nothing else wants and thrive..

Costs vs Costs raising minis is much more expensive than raising goats. But yes even so then you have the market. People want a nice mini will pay more than someone typically wanting a nice goat.

Which is sad as goats are great.

 

[elegy]

I am so over cat ownership, but someday I might be willing to fork over the bucks for a Sphynx. They're so neat.

My mom has four Maine Coon Cats from breeders. She paid a lot of money for them, but I don't see it as being different than my paying money for Steve. She has specific qualities she wants in her cats. The breeder shows, does echocardiograms on all her breeding cats since Maine Coons can have DCM, and has just as solid a contract as my dog.

I don't have many pictures of them, but this is Rowdy

Ranger

Wyatt

She has another one in solid gray but apparently I don't have any pictures at all of him.

 

[SarahHound]

A lot of people are grossed out that Rock's litter box is in our bedroom, lol.

Our litter trays are in the bedroom too, its the only place the dogs don't go, so they can't eat it! :rofl1: