Cost of owning a cat UK (2026): per month and per year
What a cat costs each month on dry or wet food, with litter, flea treatment and boosters, built from prices we have checked and dated, plus the one-off first-year vet costs. Insurance is your own quote: we do not estimate it.
The short answer
Before insurance, a cat cost £46–£63 a month on dry food or £56–£143 on wet food, for food, litter, flea treatment and the yearly booster, on prices checked on 21 October 2026. Add your own insurance quote. The PDSA's minimum, with insurance, is £79 a month.
How much does a cat cost per month in the UK?
Food choice makes the biggest difference. The complete dry foods we compared cost £0.46 to £0.52 a day for a 4 kg cat; the complete wet foods £0.79 to £3.17. Feeding only the dearest wet food costs more each month than everything else here put together. Our cat food cost guide looks at food in more detail.
| Line | Dry food | Wet food |
|---|---|---|
| Food (4 kg cat) | £14–£16 | £24–£96 |
| Litter (Battersea estimate) | £20–£30 | £20–£30 |
| Flea treatment | £9–£10 | £9–£10 |
| Yearly booster ÷ 12 | £4–£7 | £4–£7 |
| Total per month | £46–£63 | £56–£143 |
| Insurance | Your quote | Your quote |
How much does a cat cost per year?
| Food type | Food, litter, flea, booster per year | PDSA minimum per year (with insurance) |
|---|---|---|
| Dry food | £557–£754 | £948 |
| Wet food | £677–£1,721 | £948 |
Our figures leave out insurance, which the charities' include. Put your own premium into the pet cost calculator for your full monthly figure.
What does a kitten cost in the first year?
A kitten's first year adds one-off vet costs. These are the lowest and highest published prices at the practices in our vet cost guides; cat charities and the BVA advise neutering at about four months.
| One-off cost | Published price range | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Kitten vaccination course | £78–£115 | Cat vaccination costs |
| Spay (female) | £105–£176 | Cat spaying costs |
| Castration (male) | £70–£135 | Cat spaying costs |
| Microchip | £15.30–£37.80 | Kitten checklist |
How much is cat insurance?
Pawwala is not authorised by the FCA. We explain how cover works and do not give advice or recommend insurers. Pawwala earns a fee when you get a quote through a link marked Ad. Always read the policy wording. How we make money
We do not estimate premiums: they depend on your cat's breed, age and postcode and on the cover you choose. Get quotes, then add your premium to the calculator. Our cat insurance explainer and kitten insurance guide explain cover types. Insurance does not pay for routine care such as food, flea treatment, boosters or neutering.
Not advice. Pawwala earns a fee if you get a quote through this link. Read the policy wording before you buy.
How our figures compare with the PDSA, Battersea and Cats Protection
The PDSA puts the minimum at £79 a month, plus about £366 to set up, and at least £11,400–£13,600 over a cat's life. That includes yearly health checks and boosters, flea and worm treatment, insurance, complete food, toys and litter, and excludes vet fees for illness or injury, the cost of the cat, boarding or cat sitters, and special diets (PDSA, costs calculated in 2024).
Battersea estimates around £1,500 a year, with litter at £20–£30 a month and routine healthcare at £10 a month (Battersea, updated 6 July 2026). Cats Protection says the typical annual cost is over £1,000 each year (Cats Protection).
Ways to spend less
- Work out how much your cat needs with the cat food portion calculator, so you do not overfeed.
- Check whether a practice health plan covers boosters and flea treatment for less than buying them separately.
- If money is tight, Cats Protection runs a means-tested neutering scheme (see cat spaying costs).
Is a cat cheaper than a dog?
On the PDSA's 2024 minimums, a cat at £79 a month costs less than a medium dog (£83) or a large dog (£116) but more than a small dog (£69). Our cost of owning a dog guide builds the dog figures the same way.
What these prices do not include
- Insurance: enter your own quote in the calculator. We do not estimate premiums.
- Vet bills for illness or injury.
- Treats, toys, scratching posts, a carrier, and catteries or cat sitters.
- Buying or adopting the cat.
How we worked out these figures
- Food: the cost per day of the 8 complete foods on our cat food comparison for a 4 kg adult cat (zooplus prices and makers' feeding guides, checked 21 October 2026), × 365 ÷ 12. Complementary foods are left out.
- Litter: Battersea's estimate of £20 to £30 a month, quoted as published, because we have not priced litter ourselves.
- Flea treatment: the Itch (£8.50) and VetBox (£9.50 to £10.00) monthly cat prices from our flea and worm comparison.
- Booster: the lowest and highest yearly cat booster on the 11 practice lists in our cat vaccination guide, divided by 12.
- Totals add the cheapest options for the low figure and the dearest for the high figure. We never average.
What we did not do: survey owners or estimate insurance premiums. Charity figures are quoted as published and labelled as theirs.
Sources
- Pawwala cat food comparison (4 kg cost per day) · checked 21 October 2026
- Pawwala flea and worm subscriptions comparison · checked 21 October 2026
- Medivet Ashby, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Old Registry Vets, Scunthorpe · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Canterbury Vets, Canterbury · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Queen's Veterinary School Hospital general practice, Cambridge · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Hill Park Vets, Harold Hill and Elm Park, east London · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Medivet Coningsby, Coningsby, Lincolnshire · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Chantry Vets, Wakefield and West Yorkshire · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- University of Glasgow Pet Practice, Glasgow · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- Royal Veterinary College general practice, London (Camden) · Fees apply from 3 August 2026; checked 21 October 2026
- Medivet North Oxford, Oxford · no effective date shown; checked 21 October 2026
- University of Liverpool Veterinary Practice, Liverpool · Prices correct as of September 2026; checked 21 October 2026
- PDSA: how much does a cat cost? · costs calculated in 2024; checked 21 October 2026
- Battersea: the cost of owning a cat · updated 6 July 2026; checked 21 October 2026
- Cats Protection: cost of owning a cat · no date shown; checked 21 October 2026
Questions
What is the cost of owning a cat per month?
Before insurance, food, litter, flea treatment and the yearly booster came to £46–£63 a month on dry food and £56–£143 on wet food, using prices checked on 21 October 2026 and Battersea's litter estimate. The PDSA's minimum, which includes insurance, is £79 a month.
What is the cost of owning a cat per year?
About £557–£1,721 a year before insurance, depending mostly on whether you feed dry or wet food. Battersea estimates around £1,500 a year including insurance (updated 6 July 2026), and Cats Protection says over £1,000.
How much does it cost to feed a cat per month?
For a 4 kg cat, the complete dry foods we compared cost £14–£16 a month and the complete wet foods £24–£96. See our cat food comparison.
Is it cheaper to own a cat or a dog?
On the PDSA's 2024 minimums, a cat (£79 a month) costs less than a medium dog (£83) or large dog (£116), but more than a small dog (£69).