The Costs of Responsibly Adopt Your First Cat

How Much Does It Cost to Adopt Your First Cat?

Adopting a cat is surely far less expensive than buying from a pet shop or a breeder. You can adopt a cat from a shelter, rescue group or even pick stray cats from the streets. The latter is what I did, but I’m sure it doesn’t always work in every place. One of the very first questions you might be wondering about is how much it costs to adopt a cat.

The costs of adopting a cat varies depend on where you live and the source of the cat itself (whether you want to adopt from a shelter or buy from a pet shop or a breeder). If you want to adopt a cat here in Estonia, you could adopt a cat from a shelter for less than 100€. But if you want to buy from a respectable breeder, that will depends on the breed of the cat you want to adopt.

Decide Where to Adopt Your First Cat

There are several options available for you when it comes to adopt your first cat or kitten. Some of most common way to bring home a new cat:

• Animal shelters
• Private rescue group
• Cat breeders

The most unusual way, at least here in Estonia, is “adopting” from the streets. You still can be a responsible cat owner, even though your cat comes from the street. I do that when adopting my two boys, whom apparently make themselves to be adopted. Yes, you read that right! They came to my house, begging for some food, and then they never leave until now. 😂 But I realise that is very rarely and unusual in Estonia.

Adopt Your First Cat from an Animal Shelter

I will recommend this to anyone who wants to adopt a cat responsibly. For those who have limited amount of money, don’t really care about cat breeds or ages, and just want to have cat companionship in their homes, this is the primary way to do it. It helps everyone; the cats, the shelters, and even yourself!

Animal shelters in Estonia usually take a very good care of cats under their care. They will check for any worm, flea and tick, vaccinate, neuter or spay, do test for deadly viruses, and even microchipped them. If you do those treatments at veterinaries, it will cost you hundreds of Euros!

But in respectable shelters such as Varjupaikade MTÜ, you can get those treatments for (almost) free! You can read it yourself here. There will be a cost of adopting from them of course. But like I said before, it is just less than 50€. It’s very affordable.

Adopt Your First Cat from a Rescue Group

Like any animal shelters, private rescue groups usually have adult cats or sometimes kittens in spring time, or early summer, which is “kitten season”! Some private rescue groups might be focused on purebred cats. Even if they aren’t, sometimes it is possible to find a purebred cat through private rescue groups.

Private rescue groups operate differently from one to another, so the adoption fee can be vary. Sometimes they have to do extra miles to rescue cats, and it will cost more. So the only sensible thing you can do is to ask up front what the adoption fee covers, and whether they can do similar treatments like what animal shelters do.

Buy a Kitten from a Respectable Breeder

If you have your heart dead set on a purebred kitten, a reputable and respectable breeder is the best option you can get. Do your homework ahead of time to make sure the breeder is responsible and do ethical breeding practice. And of course, buying a purebred kitten is more expensive than adopting one from an animal shelter or a private rescue group.

Exotic breeds such as Ragdoll or Scottish Fold could reach 2,000€ – 3,000€. You should do some research and asking Estonian cat lovers communities to find reputable and respectable breeders. And you certainly need some patience, because breeders only sell very limited kittens per year.

The purchase price of a purebred kitten usually does not include neutering or spaying, and microchip, but the breeders usually include a veterinary checkup as well as some vaccines and deworming. Good breeders usually offer some kind of health guarantee, which is a warranty that the kitten will not develop a breed-associated genetic health issues. But again, do your thorough checks on the breeder first, and prepare yourself far ahead of time.

What Do I Mean with Responsibly Adopt a Cat?

I will always remind you to educate yourself long before making a decision of adopting a cat or any animals. Read books or online articles on the internet, ask around from cat lovers or cat owner communities you could reach. Consult with veterinaries if you can. Bottomline is, educate yourself far before adopting a cat.

By educating yourself, you can make informed decisions. Informed decisions that you took will help you when you do have a cat or two in your house. It will increase your sense of purpose and happiness, and of course make you less stress. That is what I mean by responsibly adopting a cat, and of course be a responsible pet parents is not gonna be happen in a day or two. It’s something that needs a lot of work and knowledge from your side, and sometimes, maybe a bit of tough love.

And no matter where you get your cat or kitten, you can’t put a price on the many years of love you are going to share together. They’re a very loving and wonderful creatures that worth of your care and love. And I hope you’ll enjoy this new journey as a pet parent.

Kivi kotti! 💕