{"topic_id":"companion_costs_cat","category":"companion-costs","context":"---\ntopic_id: companion_costs_cat\ncategory: companion-costs\ntitle: \"Cat — cost & responsibility awareness (ethical/financial duty, multi-year commitment, 20-year lifespan)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version (merckvetmanual.com). First-hand consumer text saved to source_file; paraphrased derived fact summary per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3. Pulled/extracted 2026-08-01.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/companion-care/cat_owner_combined.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-01\ntokens_estimated: 560\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 12\n  passed: 12\n  date: 2026-08-01\nrecovered: false\npath: companion-costs/companion_costs_cat/01_companion_costs_cat.md\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), pet owner version\"\n  title: \"Cat — cost & responsibility awareness (ethical/financial duty, multi-year commitment, 20-year lifespan)\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/selecting-and-providing-a-home-for-a-cat\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-01\"\n  ref: \"Providing a Home for a Cat (Merck pet-owner version, Sept 2025)\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary manual (consumer version)\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: paraphrase\ncopyright_note: \"Source Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is a copyrighted veterinary reference and not openly licensed; per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\"\nauthority_tier: T3\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T3:vet-ref\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\n\n# Cat — cost & responsibility awareness (ethical/financial duty, multi-year commitment, 20-year lifespan)\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.\n\n## Claims\n\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Cat ownership carries ethical and financial duty.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Ensure you can commit time and money for years; some cats live 20 or more years.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Kittens need much attention: vet care, feeding, and socialization.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Good nutrition matters throughout life and is especially critical in kittenhood.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Kittens need several daily feeds of purpose-formulated food.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Cut feedings as they grow, but keep a balanced name-brand kitten diet until about 9–12 months of age.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* AAFCO's Feline Nutrition Expert Subcommittee sets cat nutrient requirements.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Substandard foods may be sold only as treats or occasional feeds.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Cats are carnivores, eating mainly meat.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Do not add supplements without veterinary approval.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Never make dog food a cat's regular diet.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Do not formulate a homemade diet yourself; get professional help.\n---\n## License & attribution\n\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is a copyrighted veterinary reference and is not openly licensed. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, every claim above is a paraphrased derived fact summary (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not a verbatim quotation.\n\n- https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/selecting-and-providing-a-home-for-a-cat","sources":["companion-costs — Cat — cost & responsibility awareness (ethical/financial duty, multi-year commitment, 20-year lifespan) (retrieved 2026-08-01)"],"source":{"authority":"companion-costs","title":"Cat — cost & responsibility awareness (ethical/financial duty, multi-year commitment, 20-year lifespan)","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/selecting-and-providing-a-home-for-a-cat","retrieved":"2026-08-01","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version","verification_file":"pdf-raw/companion-care/cat_owner_combined.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version","source_file":"pdf-raw/companion-care/cat_owner_combined.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T3","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":"paraphrase","display_grade":"B"},"tokens_estimated":601,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}