Advice for a new kitten owner - or do you ever really own a cat!

[Italiangreyhound]

Not sure we can ever really own a cat!

But we are about to! Our lovely kitten is coming home soon.

Andy advice on what we need... am thinking

basket (or box) with blanket
water bowel
food bowel (and food - specially for kittens)
litter tray and litter
worm medicine
vaccinations
pet insurance
play toys

Anything else???

Thanks so much, you are all puuuuurfect!

[Rockinhippy]

Find out what litter & food its using now, it will be happier & less likely to refuse to use strange litter & mess on your floors/not eat.

Try & get the people who have it now to let you have some ing its been sleeping with, blanket, item of old clothing, soft toy - it will smell familiar so it won't be so afraid in a big scary new place without its mum - one of our cats came with a cat blanket & beanie toy cat,(her kitten) both of which she still frets about if she can't find them & we've had her 3 years :)

Heat pad of hot water bottle can be useful for them to snuggle up to if you are not planning on having your bed taken over - if you don't mind it sleeping with you - word of advice - don't let it snuggle into your neck - its lovely with a tiny kitten - its a nightmare on going battle with a huge tomcat, who doesn't understand he's strangling you - voice of experience - lol

Program anti flea jab when its old enough - saves a fortune in flea treatment & best still saves the poor might the distress of flea infestation.

Make sure your food bowls are low sided wide ones - there's a good white cat head shaped whiskers bowl available if you can find one - we got a freebie as a promotional with a box of cat food & it hadn't occurred to me before, but it saved us a lot of wasted food & made for happy cats - a saucer will do - they don't like their whiskers touching the sides of the bowl when they eat.

Get it Microchipped, that way it can always be traced back to you if lost.

& a bottle of citronella aromatherapy oil, cats hate the smell of it & its a repellant if you wipe/mix it up,with water & spray onto furniture to stop scratching - it also helps stop them soiling in places again

& if there are any accidents, don't clean up with your usual household cleaners, they contain ammonia with cats smell as cat wee & it attracts them back to mark territory - use vinegar & lemon with a bit of washing liquid, cleans just as well - spray with citronella as an extra repellant

& cats can be trained to stay off tables & work tops, managed it with all the cars I've owned over the years, my DPs cats too - just a firm no, & if you have a stubborn feisty one - a water pistol works wonders

[Rockinhippy]

& enjoy your kitty :)

[Italiangreyhound]

Rockin wow, I am cutting and pasting this into my life! You are a guru and I am making note. I do intend to enjoy him. A friend suggested we give him an old top worn by DD and me to go in his bed so that when he comes to us our smell is not so off for him. Good idea??

[Rockinhippy]

Lol - I've been called a few things, but guru is a new one

Yes, that's a great idea, it will mean he gets used to yours & DDs smell & it will also soak up familiar smells he knows now to bring home with him,

Have fun, I'm sure he'll settle in really quickly, kittens always do :)

[Rockinhippy]

& you are right - you won't own him - he'll own you - lol

Ours are trained to stay off tables & kitchen work tops & they are very good - but pee them off at all - last night not giving food when demanded, as i was busy cooking tea for the rest if us - by our little black female - she jumped up & sat right in the middle of the table & glared at me - just to make sure I knew she wasn't happy

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Firstly remember cats do not have owners they have staff.
None of my cats have ever deigned to sleep in anything as common as a cat bed.
The word of caution I would put about program is it doesn't kill live fleas. My favourite flea treatment current is either advocate or if your cat goes in long grass and could get ticks Seresto collar.

[OTheHugeManatee]

Cats always like a hideaway they can retreat to for peace and quiet. You could spend a fortune on a cat hideaway, or you could tip a deep cardboard box (eg the kind you get wine in) on its side and line with something soft and woolly, then put the box under a table or chair with a view of the room so it feels like a safe place but the kitten can see what's going on.

Our cats generally turn their noses up at fancy cat toys, but go mad for a feather tied on some string. They also play rugby with a wine bottle cork.

[QueenStromba]

I agree with lonecat - you'll be cat staff :)

You'll need a cat carrier for taking him to the vets in - definitely best to have that from the start because when you're having a flap about him being ill you don't want to realise that you have no way of getting him to the vet. People are very keen to lend you carriers to pick cats up in but you definitely need your own.

As for toys, our cat is just as happy playing with a balled up bit of paper or random bits of plastic as she is her cat toys but she does like her kickeroo and her kat tickler.

As for cat beds see this. It's worth having a cardboard box with a bit cut out of the side and some blankets in it though so he'll have somewhere safe to hide if it all gets too much for him.

[Italiangreyhound]

Great advice one and all.

We are not buying a fancy cat bed, it has loved very happy in a cardboard box with material in it so i am continuing the tradition. We have invested in a harness and lead so it can go in the garden when a bit bigger. We have invested in a couple of cat toys, one is an LED light thing which pet shop said was excellent. We were also given a cat liter tray and pooper scooper so just need food and water bowels. Where can we get a bottle to give him some cat milk, I wonder, he is still suckling but is not 8 weeks yet. We won't get him until after he is over 8 weeks.

Now I just need to find a good scratching pole not too pricey and the best pet insurance we can afford.

I know he also needs to be chipped and have a reflective collar, will a bell stop him getting birds?

I also need to get him done, which I feel a bit sad about but know it is for the best.

We went to see him tonight and he is so lovely. I know he will really be my pet as DD will lose interest, so am about to embark on a 15 year relationship with a ball of ginger fluff!

Wish me luck!

[Italiangreyhound]

lived not loved!

[grants1000]

Just the sort of thread I was looking for, getting at kitten mid July, have cut & pasted and made lots of notes - thanks!

[Purplemonster]

I wouldn't worry about cat milk, none of mine would ever touch the stuff. The one thing not on your list which I would advise is a scratching post or cat tree if you've got the space. Don't be tempted to buy a really small scratching post while he's a kitten as they like to be able to do a decent stretch while they scratch and if you buy a kitten sized one he'll quickly outgrow it. You can get them pretty cheap or invest a bit more in a slightly bigger cat tree and he'll play with it for years if my cats are anything to go by. //www.zooplus.co.uk is a website I've used before for this sort of thing and I find they have a good range usually at a pretty good price. Has definitely saved our sofas and curtains over the years!

Enjoy your kitten and don't worry too much, they're remarkably robust and independent so don't fret about it all, they're pretty good at looking after themselves!

[Italiangreyhound]

Cat scratching posts or trees that will be good for kitten or cat, expert advice heartily sought, please.

What about these?? Please - advice for novice!

www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=816&pf_id=55038

Leopard Chic Cat Activity Centre by PetPlanet £16.99



www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=816&pg_id=2211

Relax and Scratch Cat Activity Centre By Petplanet - Chocolate £19.99



www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=5831&pg_id=2214

Play For Fun Cat Activity Centre by PetPlanet £17.99

OR

www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=5831&pg_id=2213

Sienna Deluxe Cat Activity Centre by PetPlanet £12.99

No, I don't work for pet planet, they were the first one I could find!

I did also find this on Amazon but it looks a bit tame in comparrison!

www.amazon.co.uk/Rajanis-Beige-Cat-Scratching-Tree/dp/B00A7AFBJS/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_5?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Am I being blinded by glitz!

I think I need expert advice so am posting this as a separate thread, please, please feel encouraged to reply here or here

[marzipanned]

What an exciting time for you!

We've always had rather bog standard scratching posts. One of the cats uses them, the other refuses. (Luckily, the refusenik is an outdoor guy so gets all his scratching done on trees and...erm...neighbouring cats.)

I don't think it matters too much what you go for though I suppose the more levels the better (sorry, I couldn't open your links) because cats do like to be able to survey their surroundings.

Btw, don't feel sad about getting him done. Male cats who haven't been done are more likely to fight, wander far from home, hump your leg (yes...)

Don't forget you have to post pictures when kitty comes home...

[Italiangreyhound]

Thanks marzipanned I am ridiculously excited!

[Hmmkay]

We just got 2 kittens about 3 weeks ago and I definitely agree with finding out what cat litter they use as that was the only issue we had at the start as they turned their noses up at ours and decided to go on the sofa, the floor and our bed (we had a couple of accident free days so let them roam around more and that's when they went on our bed!). Turned out they had been trained on newspaper so I had to start using that and slowly converting them to cat litter! We've had over a week of no accidents now, so pretty sure we've cracked it(fingers crossed).

Kittens are normally pretty easy and clean (using their litter tray) so I think our issue was quite unusual to be honest, but it's worth bearing in mind!

We brought a 150cm tall cat tree from amazon and the kittens love it and easily jump all over it now (one is 3 and a half months and one is 4 and a half months old), so I would also second buying a larger one if you have space. They have also loved the playing with the little furry mice with cat nip in them more than any other toys we brought.

And we just discovered yesterday that the older one likes to play with and eat spiders which is really grim, so I guess they find their own fun too

[Italiangreyhound]

Hi cat-lovers, you may remember me popping on here with numerous questions about ow to pick a cat or kitten and how to insure them and what to buy for them!

Just wanted to tell you my fears that our kitten might be shy or not friendly were unfounded. He is purring like a train and jumping on my lap. he is so gorgeous and I will put a photo or two on mumsnet as soon as I can work how to do it.

He is lovely and me and DD are smitten.

Thanks for all your help.