how a free cat cost me $500

I think it's safe to say, I have always had a cat if not more in my life. We were always adopting cats, getting kittens from the new batch at Grandma's farm, or start out fostering a few and end in adopting those ones too. Right now, I'm in a house with four, 2 kittens and 2 grumpy old cats.

It started with getting my kitten Sylus for Christmas. A girl from work surprised me with him and of course it was love at first sight. As it is most of the time when you see a 3 month old kitten in front of you. About a month later we adopted Pan from the Humane Society and we were back up to a total of 4 felines in the house.

What I do want to talk about today is how cute little FREE Sylus ended up costing me $500. Some people may not realize just how expensive it can be to have pets, especially when you start out with a kitten. When I got Sylus, he came straight from the farm and he never had anything done with him. No vaccines, no surgeries, no nothin'. So we were starting from scratch.
 

Sylus' first bill came from Petco, where I had all his vaccines done with the walk in vet clinic. I decided to do Petco because it was cheaper then going to the actual vet clinic and paying for office visits every time I walked in. The vaccine shots were also cheaper going through Petco. The vets that were there were also extremely nice and always happy to see Sylus. So Sylus got his first 8 week kitten package that included his first set of distempers and his dewormer. This came to a total of $41.

A few weeks down the road I made an appointment at our local vet clinic for his pre-surgery examination. This was mandatory at our clinic for new kittens who have never been there before. Personally I thought it was a bunch of b.s. because it took the doc 2 minutes to check Sylus' butt and heart rate to make sure he was healthy. I could've told him that. This visit was another $40.


Yet another few weeks later, Sylus had his next appointment at Petco. This time he got another set of distempers and dewormers and also the Feline Leukemia test and vaccine. The feline leukemia vaccine isn't mandatory, I chose to get it for him because our last couple of cats died from it. I figured it was the safest bet. This visit cost $98.

Now the time came for Sylus to finally lose his manhood. This was going to be his first overnight stay and he did wonderful. The vets had him out in the office in the morning when I picked him up and he was running around playing with the other cats. During this visit, Sylus got neutered and front claws declawed. Some people may be against the declawing, but Sylus will never be an outside cat so he doesn't need them for protection. Also I was starting to look like a suicide watch victim with all the cuts on my wrists. This visit cost the most at $170.

Sylus' last appointment was to Petco for his last round of shots. Here he got another the last dose of the distempers, dewormers, Feline Leukemia, and also the rabies vaccine which was also another optional one. This visit cost $63.

We were finally done and little Sylus was 100% healthy.  

After all these visits his grand total was $412.



Now, this was just the cost for his vet visits. I said (in the title) that he costs $500, that's because you have to include the cost for food, litter, and toys (because every pet needs toys). I also still live with my mother who buys the food and litter. We fee 4 cats who go through a 20lb bag @ $25 in a few months. If I get the kitties toys, it's usually the 99 cent one that are super shiny and crinkle, because those are their favorites. But really, cat's will play with anything, you don't need to buy fancy toys for them.

I love all my cats and I will probably always have a cat in my life. I'm so thankful to have Sylus, even though he's an asshole sometimes. And that $412 I spent to make sure he was healthy was the best $412 I ever spent.

If your thinking of getting a cat or even a puppy, make sure your ready to hand over a hefty sum of cash. Adopting will also be cheaper. We got Pan for about $200 adopting from the Humane Society and that included everything Sylus had done through the vet and Petco.

I hope this was helpful to those new pet owners and people thinking about getting new pets. Good luck and remember to love your little guy or gal with everything you got!



Recipe // Healthy Carrot and Applesauce Muffins

Check out the jewelry giveaway going on now! 

Today I am sharing another healthy muffin recipe with you. I just posted about the spinach and banana muffins, so don't miss out on that recipe. These carrot and applesauce muffins aren't as healthy as the spinach and banana but they still are just as good! These muffins reminded me of mini carrot cakes. You could definitely just say the hell with it about being healthy and top them off with some cream cheese frosting and make them 10x better. But if you want to be a bit nicer to your stomach, stick to the recipe. 

 Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBL melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened or sweetened)
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or other nut

Directions 

1. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, applesauce, egg, and vanilla. Stir in carrots and nuts.

2. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold the two mixtures until combined. Make sure to stop mixing once the dry ingredients are incorporated otherwise over mixing can make the muffins tough. We want fluffy and light muffins!

3. Grab your muffin tray and either spray it with cooking spray or line it with muffins tins. Fill each tin about 3/4 full. Throw in the oven at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the middle of the muffin once they're done baking to make sure the middle is cooked.

Recipe // Healthy Spinach and Banana Muffins

Check out the jewelry giveaway going on now!!




I've been on a health kick recently and just trying to eat better, cut out as much sugar as possible, and just be overall healthy. I posted about my sugar addiction a while back and gave a couple sugar free recipes to try out. I wanted a few snacks around the house that would help with my sweet tooth but also be healthy. So I took an afternoon to bake up some healthy muffins that I could eat in the morning with my smoothie or have as a quick snack before bed.

I've been making smoothies like crazy and always put at least a handful of spinach in them. It blends right up and I can't taste it at all, yet I'm still getting all the health benefits of the spinach. I've never had an issue with spinach. I know some people can't stand it, they say it taste disgusting. If you ask me, I'd say spinach has no taste and put it on whatever. It's good for you! I put it in my smoothies, sandwiches, with my eggs, and now my muffins!

If you're one of those people that can't stand spinach I wouldn't recommend these muffins to you. My mom insists on trying everything I make in the kitchen even though I know she won't like any of it. My mother is a very picky eater, the pickest of the picky, but she still tries everything so I give her credit for that. She hates spinach so I wasn't expecting her to even look at these. But of course, she poked her head around the kitchen door and asked if she could try one. I bit into the muffin and without even chewing she spit it out. I rolled me eyes and just continued.

Now if you're like me and don't give a darn, try them! I think they are delicious and I love the fact that I putting something good into my body. So try them out!! 

Ingredients 

1 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup + 2 TBL brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBL canola oil
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces fresh spinach (about the size of a handful)
1 banana
3 TBL peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Directions 

1. In a bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

2. Grab your blender and blend together the canola oil, spinach, peanut butter, spinach, banana, milk, and vanilla. Mixing these in the blender will make it a lot easier for the spinach to be mixed together smoothly with the other ingredients. This mixture will also be extremely green!

3. Pour the spinach mixture in the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Make sure to not over mix otherwise you will get tough muffins.

4. Line a muffin tray with tins or spray with cooking spray. Fill tins about 2/3 full with batter. Throw in the oven at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Makes about 13 muffins.

Can I haz one?



If you try these muffins out, please let me know what you think of them!

<3

Kirameku Jewelry Designs and Giveaway

 I'm letting a very special guest take over the blog for me today and please enjoy. Maxime is an amazing jewelry designer and makes some of the cutest pieces. Make sure to check out her Etsy shop and stay tuned for a pretty stinkin' great giveaway at the end!

<3

-----------------------------

Hi everyone :) My name is Maxime, I'm the proud owner of Kirameku and I love everything that shines! :) Kelly had the wonderful idea of a guest post (thanks Kelly!) and asked me to tell you more about my handmade shop. Kirameku is glad to offer a wide selection of colourful and sparkling creations, from handmade jewelry to one of a kind artwork. Kirameku specializes in cocktail jewelry, unique statment pieces as well as custom orders. We are based in Montreal, Canada. I make everything myself, from graphic design to jewelry making.


How did it all start? Very simple: when I was out shopping for jewerly, I could never find a piece that would fit my taste or budget. I've been an artist for as long as I can remember, so my first reflex was to start sketching what I had in mind. Then I went to a craft store, bought supplies and started to make my own jewelry. I did many tests and eventually discovered the "berries" that you see at Kirameku's todays. My friends and family loved my designs, asked for custom pieces and always wanted something new. One of my friends suggested Etsy and that's how I discovered this venue. I opened Kirameku back in 2009 because I wanted to share my creations with women around the world who are looking for this perfect piece of jewelry just like I was. I create unique, feminie pieces that fir any budget so that you can treat yourself without breaking your pgiiy bank. I want to make jewelry that makes you happy to sparkle.


I've introduced many new collections to the "Berries Series," like the Mother of Pearl Earrings and the wedding necklaces in 2013. and I have to say I l-o-v-e making wedding jewelry. Weddings are so beautiful! I'm crazy for celebrations of love and happiness! I hope that expanding my wedding collection will bring forward that perfect statement piece for your perfect day. :)

The part I love most about my job - besides making you happy and gorgeous, is making a custom piece just for you. I feel so privileged to be able to make your wish come true! So please, never hesitate to ask me to create something new, creation is all my life is about.

--------------------------------------

And now for the giveaway! Maxime was so gracious to offer this beautiful set of dangle and drop earrings for one lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
© hello, it's kelly
Design:Maira Gall.