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Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

oneroof.co.nz

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Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#61

Post by lovemenot »

ezzaf wrote: post #49
dkersten wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, just to put it in perspective, I've spent more than their budget on vet bills alone over the past few months, nevermind cat food, flea/worm tablets, toys etc. They must have cats that don't need anything but the minimum amount of cheap food, never get sick...

It's cheaper to just replace the heat source than attempt to fix it starts malfunctioning.

And you can just leave your old equipment by the side of the road and the state will take care of its destruction.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/07/25/n...

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#62

Post by rsynnott »

dkersten wrote: post #21
carabiner wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huge variation in cat food costs. Cheapest food can be under $100/year, most expensive can be 10x that.

Well, just to put it in perspective, I've spent more than their budget on vet bills alone over the past few months, nevermind cat food, flea/worm tablets, toys etc. They must have cats that don't need anything but the minimum amount of cheap food, never get sick...

Well, yes, but if you had gas heating you might have to spend that on a plumber, instead.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#64

Post by hengheng »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #6

“ A 3kg cat has a heat output of 14.8 watts, or 129.65 kilowatt-hours...” Playing fast and loose here. That’s 129.65 kilowatt hours per year. 14.8 watts is 0.0148 kilowatts of course. Kilowatt hours are a measure of total energy output over a given time not instantaneous output.

That line kept me from reading the article. I'm not even interested in what follows after that, and yes they only omitted "per year".

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#65

Post by carabiner »

dkersten wrote: post #21
carabiner wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huge variation in cat food costs. Cheapest food can be under $100/year, most expensive can be 10x that.

Well, just to put it in perspective, I've spent more than their budget on vet bills alone over the past few months, nevermind cat food, flea/worm tablets, toys etc. They must have cats that don't need anything but the minimum amount of cheap food, never get sick...

Ya, one of my cats has had nothing wrong with him. The other got into some pills I left on the counter and had $8k in vet fees to treat poisoning, thank god for pet insurance.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#66

Post by jazzabeanie »

bitwize wrote: post #7

The ideal number of cats per home in New Zealand is zero. Cats prey on local wildlife, much of which is near extinction as it is because of introduced predators including humans. Those who advocate for banning cats in New Zealand have a pretty strong case.

Same problem in Australia.

As a side note, my friend has a cat that had one of its front legs amputated after being attacked by a dog. After that it was much better - couldn't kill as much wildlife, couldn't escape so easily, much better for snuggles.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#67

Post by Legogris »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #39
reaperducer wrote: post #13

I was once desperately poor. Too poor to turn on the heat. But I did have access to friendly cats, so I've been through this experiment in real life. One cat stuffed under the blankets at night is a significant improvement. But as you add more and more cats, the improvement becomes only incremental. I eventually learned that two cats was really the best one could hope for. Best positioning is between the legs, and wi…

Have you tried just adding more blankets. I never run heating at night because I find that even at 0c outside I can just stack up 4 blankets and still be warm.

Having slept outdoors a lot in the past, I think many people underestimate the importance of the ground/floor/bed in keeping from freezing.

If you have excess blankets, it could make more difference to put them under you as opposed to above you. Even spruce branches or cardboard will lift you from the ground enough to make a difference in a pinch.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#68

Post by BLKNSLVR »

dkersten wrote: post #2

Not sure where they got their cost estimate from, but I spend a lot more than $250/year on each of my two cats (and 250 NZD is only ~160 USD). Still, fun article :)

I recently had to choose between these two options:

  1. Removal of splinter from pet cat's eyeball: $1,650
  2. Removal of cat's eyeball: $1,400
Blew out my pet budget for a long while. I have the photo that the vet ophthalmologist took - they were cool enough to send it to us.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#70

Post by smabie »

randallsquared wrote: post #29
bacon_waffle wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in NZ and my partner has an indoor-only cat. It's considered a bit weird here, we've had friends politely suggest that keeping a cat indoors is cruel. In principle indoor cats are just as good for bird life as no cats, but either is a tough sell.

Considering longer lifespan, better health, and seemingly equivalent happiness, it's arguable that not keeping a cat indoors is cruel.

Just like how it's arguably cruel to not move all wildlife into zoos and cages.
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