COST OF KITTENS EXPLAINED
Please read this text to appreciate the true costs involved in breeding kittens, and to see just what is involved in the pursuit of this rather expensive, but greatly rewarding hobby.
Cost of Breeding
EACH LITTER: Pre-mating vet check up, worming and vaccination booster FeLV/FIV testing. Travel taking queen to stud (return fare). Travel collecting queen from stud (return fare). Stud Fee. Premium food and conditioners for queen during pregnancy. Possible complications at birth, e.g. caesarean, uterine inertia, hysteria, milk failure, damaged/malformed kitten(s). Kitten milk replacer for weak kittens/hand-rearing. Common kitten ailments, e.g. sticky eyes, stomach upsets (the latter can spread to all your cats and be very pernicious as well as surprisingly expensive to eradicate). Purchase and preparation of weaning foods for kittens at 3-5 weeks. Extra, premium, food for queen during lactation (she will eat as much as 3 or 4 adult cats for more than a month). Extra cat litter (all that extra food has to go somewhere!) Feeding kittens from weaning-13 weeks (at 13 weeks, 4 kittens eat about as much as 4 adult cats). Even more extra cat litter for kittens (trays twice a day from 6-13 weeks). Extra cleaning - the household, not just the trays! Washing of bedding.
Breakages, e.g. ornaments, house-plants, torn curtains, upholstery (all too common with kittens). Toys for kittens. Advertising, Registration, Vaccination, Insurance, Microchipping. Worming every 2 weeks. 9 and 12-wk vet check. Keeping off-colour or small kittens for longer time Keeping kitten(s) to honour new owners' vacations etc. Cancellations. Refunds and taking kittens back if new owner changes their mind. Re-advertising cancelled or returned kittens. Extra heating costs for kittens in cold weather. Giving away or selling for less to special friends and relatives.
Not being able to go on holiday or stay over for a night anywhere. Being available for phone calls, visitors and enquirers. Time spent handling, socialising and playing with kittens (every day). Staying in for a week when your queen is due to give birth, and possibly assisting during the birth. Hours spent feeding and toileting weak kittens.
Sleepless nights and frayed nerves while queen is calling (every month or less between litters). Annual subscriptions to cat associations and registering bodies. Subscriptions to cat magazines. Books. Time off work for birthing and when cats are sick. Annual vaccinations, testing & health checks for breeding queen and your other cats. Equipment, e.g. litter trays, carriers, cages, bowls, beds, blankets, heat pads, scratching posts, cat trees.
If you also own a stud cat: Stud house and run, and its annual maintenance. Regular FeLV/FIV testing. Advertising stud services. Responsibility of handling other people's queens (insurance too). Being available at very short notice for stud services. Extra time for "loving" a stud cat kept outside.
If you go to cat shows: Subscriptions to more cat clubs. Travel to meetings and symposiums. Travel to shows as visitor. Show catalogues and door entry fees. Entry fees for shows when exhibiting. Travelling to and from shows (can be very long distances). Hotel accommodation. Grooming and conditioning products. Time off work to attend shows. Show cages, drapes and furnishings. Extra time for training and handling show cats. Extra veterinary checkups before shows.
"Is is worth it ?!!!!?.... YES - DEFINITELY!"