How much will it cost to feed my Maine Coon for ONE YEAR?

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As the Maine Coon (MC) is the largest domestic cat breed and as they CAN weigh around 20 pounds, I'll attempt to work out an answer on the basis that the owner has a large MC at 20 pounds in weight. That's convenient for me because I have prepared an infographic which sets out the minimum and maximum cost for ONE YEAR for dry, wet and raw cat foods in the United States to feed a 10 POUND cat.

Here it is:


So, if we rather crudely double the cost for a MC we arrive at the following. Note: doubling the food intake for a cat double the weight is a bit simplistic but I believe a good starting point.
  • In feeding a Maine Coon, the cheapest dry food for one year, the cost would be twice the $86 (the cost for a 10-pound cat) which makes $172 and for the most expensive dry food it would be $704.
  • Feeding the same MC with the cheapest wet food would using the same double cost produces $892 per year for the cheapest wet food and the most expensive would be $4214.
  • Feeding a raw diet, the costs would be $3410 and $3772 respectively.
Well, on these numbers if you wanted to feed you MC a high-quality wet diet exclusively it would cost a whopping £4214 per year. The cheapest dry would cost fraction of that at $172. 

I think the chart brings home the potential cost of looking after any domestic cat if you buy the best foods. And these costs mount up gently so we don't really feel it.

Dry cat food is remarkably cheap in comparison which is why it is so popular combined with its convenience in terms of storage. But the general consensus nowadays is that a full-time dry diet is ill-advised as it is so unnatural and cats don't compensate fully for the lack of moisture in dry foods which might cause long-term health issues due to dehydration.

The big question is whether there are health benefits in feeding high quality wet over the cheapest when both are described as 'complete and balanced'. You make your mind up on that. But I favour the best quality if you can afford it.
Location: United States

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