Reddit mentions of Van Ness ECOWARE Cat Dish, 8 Ounce, Assorted Colors, Pacific Blue, Single Dish (ECW20)

Oh! Oh! If you can't tell by my username, I can help here!

First of all, based on the $85 fee I'm assuming you're adopting adult cats? Thank you so much! Adult cats take forever to find their furever homes. If they're kittens THANK YOU for adopting them in pairs! It's more important than most people think! But no matter what, the one time fee means that you're choosing to adopt instead of supporting a breeder. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this! I foster kittens that are constantly coming and going, so I've gotten a pretty good list of cheap things that work well. Sorry in advance for the wall of text. If you need ANY help at all when it comes to anything cat related, please ask!

• Food - Make sure you give them whatever the shelter gives them even if you plan on transitioning. It's important that you do it slowly. Here is a good article about how to do it. I highly recommend not going cheap here. If you spend money on one thing, a good diet is where to spend it on! I recommend grain free and/or limited ingredient diets, but I'm not a vet so I'd talk to yours about specifics.
  
  • Food bowl: You wouldn't think a little bowl would be so damn expensive, but it is. I have a dozen or so of these bowls for the kittens since I use many at a time, but I'd recommend starting out with 4 and see how you do there. Basically have 4 bowls (two to give to each cat for food, and an extra 2 for when the dirty bowls are in the wash). Almost any bowl will work, including the ones you have, but if you were thinking of buying one of those $73.12 bowls because you think your cat needs it and it has a silicone bottom, don't. They're a huge waste of money.
    
• Litter/box: Skip all the weird stuff/scents to put in your litter box to get rid of the smell. Just get unscented litter and baking soda. Sprinkle the baking soda on the bottom of the box, fill half your litter, sprinkle some more, fill the rest of your litter. You will also want 2 litter boxes at a minimum. The general rule of thumb is a box per cat + an extra one. As for litter box, I love this one, and here looks like a cheaper and similar version. As for litter, I HIGHLY recommend clumping because non clumping is a nightmare (we need to use it for very small kittens since they can ingest the clumping and it can hurt them). I use petco's bulk litter and love it. If you have one near you, you can pick up a big bin and refill it as needed for a lower price. Here is the big bag of it, but I think a refill on a 30lb thing is 10 dollars?
  
• Scratcher: Cats need to scratch, and they'll do it if you provide them with a scratcher or if you provide them with your own furniture. I would recommend at least one of these for each cat, plus maybe a couple extra depending on how big your home is. I have these everywhere because of of my kitties loves using them as beds. Soft fluffy stuff? Not a chance. Hard cardboard? Now we're talking! He's weird, and one of your beauties may be too. This is the best value one I could find, but really any of them would work. I also like this one because it's bed shaped-ish so they can also lay in it.
  
• Vet care: Every year you'll need to get vaccines and preferably a checkup for each one of your cats. I know petco recently started doing a clinic day where they JUST the vaccines for something like 40 bucks or something, but that doesn't come with a checkup which I would recommend. I would ask your shelter about low cost vet clinics in your area, I'm sure they would know! I can't find a link where you can put in your zip code and get a list or I would link it :(
  
• Toys: This is probably the easiest category to overspend in so don't. There's a lot of fancy looking toys that are great, but your cat gets bored of them quickly and even the best ones will get destroyed. I highly recommend buying a few kinds of cheap toys and seeing what your cat likes. Then regularly replacing them so it's new and shiny! For toys that'll fit in a bag, I like to have a catnip bag that I put some catnip in with the toys. Every so often I'll take toys out of the bag and the cats lose their minds. If after they get bored they're still in good condition - back in the bag they go!
  
  • Sparkle balls: These become choking hazards really quick, but cats LOVE THEM. I just bought these and they seem to be holding up well. Just like the food, I wouldn't recommend going cheap on them. The good news though is that even the good ones are still pretty cheap! Your local pet store will usually have good quality ones of these as well. Just don't get those "100 sparkle balls for 2 dollars!" off amazon.
    
  • Multipack: I LOVE this pack because it has a little bit of everything to see what kitty likes. The only downside is that the tunnel is pretty small. That's perfect for my foster kittens, but not so much for an adult cat. If you get it and the tunnel is too small, donate it to your shelter! Something like this also gives you a cheap way to stock up on a variety of toys.
    
  • Cat Dancer: I buy these in bulk they're so amazing. The link I'm giving you currently has the price of $4.20, but on November 2nd another seller will have them back at stock for 2 bucks each. I wouldn't buy them at 4 dollars, but at 2 they're a steal. The company also has a thing where you can hook them onto your wall and cats will play with it while you're gone. I bought it but haven't set it up yet. Another thing I LOVE about this is that you can wrap them around something.
    
  • Fishing pole toy: I call all of these kinds of toys a fishing pole toy. It's essentially a stick with something dangling from it. Cats go CRAZY for them and this is a good and cheap one. I also stick the pole part in couch cushions or between the bed and box spring so it's dangling.
    
• Cat tower: Honestly, some cats love them, some cats don't. I would eventually get a cat tower (at least one), but don't let it stop you from adopting! Your local pet store will have tons, but I've seen some very happy people who got a massive crazy one for cheap off amazon. I have 4 (3 for my cats, one for the kitten room) that all get very loved but I honestly have no idea where I got them from or I'd link it to you!