Advice and Information Needed Please

Hi Everyone

A friend of mine in the US (Sonoma) has found a kitten in her yard. It looks
to be about 5-6 weeks old from the photo she took of it. The mum cat is a
stray and she has disappeared with her other kitten. My friend took the
kitten indoors as it was covered in motor oil to clean it up. There has been
no sign of the mom cat at all although my friend has been out trying to
find her. Her local animal shelter does not have a no kill policy. She is
now thinking of keeping the kitten but is sensibly finding out the costs
involved for vaccinations, neutering etc first. If she decides to keep it I
will help with vet bills and pay to get it spayed when it is old enough.
Being in the UK I have no idea how much the average cost is in the US for
vaccinations and spaying, I only know what it would cost here. Does anyone
happen to know roughly what the cost would be for these in the US?

Many thanks for any info.
Sharon & Smudgie

Sharon & Smudgie wrote:
Hi Everyone

A friend of mine in the US (Sonoma) has found a kitten in her yard. It looks
to be about 5-6 weeks old from the photo she took of it. The mum cat is a
stray and she has disappeared with her other kitten. My friend took the
kitten indoors as it was covered in motor oil to clean it up. There has been
no sign of the mom cat at all although my friend has been out trying to
find her. Her local animal shelter does not have a no kill policy. She is
now thinking of keeping the kitten but is sensibly finding out the costs
involved for vaccinations, neutering etc first. If she decides to keep it I
will help with vet bills and pay to get it spayed when it is old enough.
Being in the UK I have no idea how much the average cost is in the US for
vaccinations and spaying, I only know what it would cost here. Does anyone
happen to know roughly what the cost would be for these in the US?

Many thanks for any info.
Sharon & Smudgie


Some US places offer low-cost spay/neuter clinics. Otherwise, prices can
vary enormously. An office-mate just had a formerly stray cat spayed
here in Canada for over $200 which struck me as a lot, but I haven't had
a cat spayed in many years - my last cat was spayed by the shelter I got
her from, and the one before that was a male, and neutering tends to be
cheaper.

She should really call around her local area for prices, not forgetting
to check with a shelter to see if they sponsor low-cost clinics, and
starting with the vets that other cat owners recommend.

--
Cheryl

Some US places offer low-cost spay/neuter clinics. Otherwise, prices can
vary enormously. An office-mate just had a formerly stray cat spayed here
in Canada for over $200 which struck me as a lot, but I haven't had a cat
spayed in many years - my last cat was spayed by the shelter I got her
from, and the one before that was a male, and neutering tends to be
cheaper.

She should really call around her local area for prices, not forgetting to
check with a shelter to see if they sponsor low-cost clinics, and starting
with the vets that other cat owners recommend.

--
Cheryl

Wow, yes $200 does seem a lot of money. It costs around £55 here. Thanks
for the advice on ringing the shelter to see if they sponsor low cost
clinics, I would not have thought to ask her to do that. I will also ask
her if she has neighbours with pets and to ask them which vet they
recommend.

Thanks a million.

Sharon
P.S. sorry I think I sent this to your email as well

I just paid for neutering and shots for a kitty (for a lady doing work on my
home) a couple weeks ago, and I think it was somewhat over $200.

Art

"Arthur Shapiro" wrote in message
...
I just paid for neutering and shots for a kitty (for a lady doing
work on my
home) a couple weeks ago, and I think it was somewhat over $200.

Art

That sounds about right for Northern California too. And she is
going to need monthly flea treatment as well.

Jo

Jo wrote:

And she is going to need monthly flea
treatment as well.

That may not be true. If the cats stay inside it will not be needed.
The only time I treated my cats was when I first got Tiger from the
shelter - almost 11 years ago. Also, some areas are not infested with
fleas.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

the price varies a lot. she needs to do as others have suggested and call
around, also do a google for spay/nut certificates which some shelters
offer... then you take the certificate to the vet on the list and get a big
discount.

other items from the vet that are needed.
-kitten shots
-kitten booster
-blood test for flv/fhiv not sure o n those letters.
-flea treatment at first
-follow up flea treatment if the area has them and the human goes outdoors.
-first year shots...

good uck, Lee
"---MIKE---" wrote in message
...
Jo wrote:

And she is going to need monthly flea
treatment as well.

That may not be true. If the cats stay inside it will not be needed.
The only time I treated my cats was when I first got Tiger from the
shelter - almost 11 years ago. Also, some areas are not infested with
fleas.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

"Stormmee" wrote in message
...
the price varies a lot. she needs to do as others have suggested and call
around, also do a google for spay/nut certificates which some shelters
offer... then you take the certificate to the vet on the list and get a
big discount.

other items from the vet that are needed.
-kitten shots
-kitten booster
-blood test for flv/fhiv not sure o n those letters.
-flea treatment at first
-follow up flea treatment if the area has them and the human goes
outdoors.
-first year shots...

good uck, Lee
"---MIKE---" wrote in message
...
Jo wrote:

And she is going to need monthly flea
treatment as well.

That may not be true. If the cats stay inside it will not be needed.
The only time I treated my cats was when I first got Tiger from the
shelter - almost 11 years ago. Also, some areas are not infested with
fleas.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Thank you everyone for your help. I have passed on all your comments and my
friend is trying to get all the costs together. I think she really wants to
keep her but didn't realise just how much it can all add up to financially.
I have tried to give her all the pros and cons of taking on a kitten so she
has some idea of what it involves and now it's up to her. I am still
willing to pay for the spaying and vaccinations, which will help out if the
kitten stays, but it's the long term vet care/vaccinations and food etc that
she really needs to think about before making her decision.
Once again, thanks so much

Sharon

something your friend might consider is asking how much regular vet care
will cost then dividing that by her paychecks, and then putting double that
amount away every paycheck so she has both regular and emergency care in the
bank... i hope that made sense i am tired. Lee
"Sharon & Smudgie" wrote in message
...

"Stormmee" wrote in message
...
the price varies a lot. she needs to do as others have suggested and
call around, also do a google for spay/nut certificates which some
shelters offer... then you take the certificate to the vet on the list
and get a big discount.

other items from the vet that are needed.
-kitten shots
-kitten booster
-blood test for flv/fhiv not sure o n those letters.
-flea treatment at first
-follow up flea treatment if the area has them and the human goes
outdoors.
-first year shots...

good uck, Lee
"---MIKE---" wrote in message
...
Jo wrote:

And she is going to need monthly flea
treatment as well.

That may not be true. If the cats stay inside it will not be needed.
The only time I treated my cats was when I first got Tiger from the
shelter - almost 11 years ago. Also, some areas are not infested with
fleas.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Thank you everyone for your help. I have passed on all your comments and
my friend is trying to get all the costs together. I think she really
wants to keep her but didn't realise just how much it can all add up to
financially. I have tried to give her all the pros and cons of taking on a
kitten so she has some idea of what it involves and now it's up to her. I
am still willing to pay for the spaying and vaccinations, which will help
out if the kitten stays, but it's the long term vet care/vaccinations and
food etc that she really needs to think about before making her decision.
Once again, thanks so much

Sharon

Sharon & Smudgie wrote:

Thank you everyone for your help. I have passed on all your comments and my
friend is trying to get all the costs together. I think she really wants to
keep her but didn't realise just how much it can all add up to financially.
I have tried to give her all the pros and cons of taking on a kitten so she
has some idea of what it involves and now it's up to her. I am still
willing to pay for the spaying and vaccinations, which will help out if the
kitten stays, but it's the long term vet care/vaccinations and food etc that
she really needs to think about before making her decision.
Once again, thanks so much

Sharon



Actually, I always found getting the initial big chunk of change for the
kitten shots and spaying, which really can't be postponed or omitted,
the big financial barrier. Most cats are healthy most of the time, and
they don't cost much to feed. As Stormee says, you can plan for future
vet costs by putting a bit aside on a regular basis, and if you start
with a basically healthy kitten your, errr, kitty for the kitty will
probably be big enough to help out with or even cover costs by the time
she's older and at a higher risk for needing expensive vet care.

And if she keeps the cat indoors - highly recommended in some parts of
the US and Canada, what with coyotes etc - she might not need all that
many vaccinations after the introductory kitten shots (which are
extremely important). Some vets recommend against a fully array of shots
every single year for cats in very low-risk situations. OTOH, in some
localities (not mine, which is why I almost forgot it) rabies
vaccinations must by law be kept up-to-date for all cats.

--
Cheryl