The high cost vet school and interning, plus a closed market. If you have one near you, most local shelters or ASPCA facilities offer shots at cost.
I have a what is called a pet containment system. I bought it over the internet. It amounts to a plastic fencing that is woven in a grid and suspends bracket to bracket which are mounted on my block wall fence. The cats don't jump it or even attempt to, it is read by them like a spider web. I put it up about a year and a few months ago. My cats go in and out of the pet door to the back yard. No more kitty boxes, and the cats love it.
They go out all day and night, whenever they feel like it and experience the naturalness of the back yard which is lawn, and climb the trees, which also are equipped with the cat fencing. They love it.
No electricity, put up in one day. I don't know why more people don't invest in this product.
Halle, (we adopted her on Halloween) is a white long haired feline not unlike "Blofeld's" in the 007 series. Her boyfriend is Black and white and Halle's latest litter of 4 is two total black and two black and white!
I found a book on cats at B Dalton's and it tells you mre than you need to know, first and most important is "You don't own the cat. The cat owns you!"
Whenever a cat comes towards you and their tail is a crook ? that means they're happy to see you. Buy the book!
Are cats an endangered species in your area?
I believe Wisconsin now has a low-cost birth control program for cats in place.