American Shorthair

When it comes to the costs of a cat or kitten, there's a wide range of prices for nearly every necessity you can think of. Where you find yourself on the cat cost scale depends on your individual pet's needs, and your personal budget. You can play it tame or go a little more wild, but the information below should give you a pretty good scope of costs (give or take a few outliers, like professional grooming or emergency veterinary care).

There are benefits to having two cats, but they apply only when the two cats are well matched and have enough physical space to live together comfortably. One benefit is that the two cats provide each other with exercise, social interaction, and other forms of mental stimulation. Cats housed together have more opportunity to “be cats” by socializing and playing with each other, and this means they are less likely to be destructive or engage in other problematic behavior. For example, some single cats annoy their owners by trying to wake them during the night for play. Two cats might still wake the owner by tearing around the home, but at least the owner isn’t getting up out of bed to entertain the cat. Another benefit of two cats is that they are sometimes cleaner than a cat living by itself. Cats will groom each other’s ears and coat, often getting at places the cat can’t reach on its own!