01/01/2026
🐾 What It Really Costs to Run an Ethical Cattery 🐾
I want to share something educational today, because many people truly don’t realize what goes into raising healthy, responsibly bred kittens.
Here is a very honest look at the bare minimum it costs me to operate my cattery each year:
💰 Minimum Operating Cost for 4 female Maine C***s: $35,000+
(that’s roughly $3000+ per month)
This includes:
• Premium food & supplements
• Feeding raw in addition to high-quality food
• Annual echocardiograms for all breeding cats
• Routine PCR & f***l testing
• Genetic testing
• Veterinary care for every litter (multiple visits)
• Litter, grooming & hygiene
• Cattery supplies & prescription medications
• Cleaning & sanitization products
• Cat trees, enrichment & toys
• Extra feeding costs while raising kittens
• Welcome packages for every kitten family (T-shirts, bags, etc.
• Website development & monthly maintenance
And this is truly the bare minimum — because in reality, I also cover:
• Emergency & reproductive veterinary care
• Equipment, bedding & constant replacements
• Utilities, laundry & household wear
• Registration, communication & business expenses
• Travel & transportation
⚠️ On top of that, at any given moment:
A cat may require emergency surgery costing $5,000+,
or a mother may need an urgent C-section costing $3,000+ — and those costs come without warning.
💗 What this does not include:
The hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of labor — sleepless nights with newborns, round-the-clock monitoring, bottle feeding when needed, constant cleaning & sanitizing, socializing every kitten, carefully reviewing applications, and staying in touch with families long after their kittens go home.
Ethical breeding is not a hobby.
It is a full-time commitment to health, temperament, and the future of the breed.
Every kitten represents an enormous investment of love, time, knowledge, and resources — long before they ever go home.
Thank you to everyone who supports responsible breeding and understands the care that goes into each and every baby. 🤍