new cat or kitten advice (merged)

blossomsuz

the best place I found for cat bits and pieces was www.zooplus.co.uk they were really cheap and delivery was really quick

I also insure all three of mine with M&S. I worked in a vets for 6 years and know how much it costs when things go wrong.

sav4it

This is the tray I got:
http://www.petsathome.com/invt/13005

If you do buy toys ( not really necessary...homemade just as good) the little mice with lifelike fur filled with beads and feather stuck on tail were a favourite here. ( local petshop so can't post a link)

kr15snw

Few things weve learnt from our kitten:

*Dont bother with a bed, and if you do make it a cheap one. Ours has never stepped foot in it. Shes much rather sleep on the sofa / with the dogs / on my bed (as Im not there) / on my mums pillow.

*Make sure you take her to your local vet within a few days of getting her. They will sort out jabs and microchipping and you may get a free kitten pack (we did, had food and toys )

*We use whiskers kitten food, but shes starting to turn her nose up at it now. Shed rather have real meat (my mum spoils her...)

*Buy a scratching post as a must, this will stop her going for your sofa instead!

*Get a few toys but do what we did. Invite all your friends over when you first get her, we did and all my aunties came with toys! Hehehe. But we have to be carefull with toys as if she plays with them on the floor then one of our dog pinches them and chews it.

Little sods now work together, Jess (cat) jumps on table and knocks something off then megan (dog) takes it under the dining room table (like her den) and chews it! Nothing is safe now as the cat and dogs can open doors. Grrr. Hehehe.

Oh and lots and lots of pics!!

kr15snw

sav4it wrote: »

Erm......less;)

Good point! Hehe

Oh and I would def reccomend getting pet insurance after what happened to my brothers cat.

meeps

hiya- that 19-99 litter tray looks a lot sturdier and nicer than one in argos for 12-99 so thanks for that, and I have found a scratching post for £6.

Hapless_2

Try your local farmers stores, they do bulk packs of cat food (biscuits and tins), cat litter etc and are excellent value. Just pid £1.80 for a litter tray (getting a cat in September, getting prepared).
Total for cat bix (2kg, they do up to 25kg), cat food (12 tins), collar tray, scoop, litter and bowls...£14.77

All we need now is the cat

sav4it

meeps wrote: »

hiya- that 19-99 litter tray looks a lot sturdier and nicer than one in argos for 12-99 so thanks for that, and I have found a scratching post for £6.

Yes and the other advantage is that there are two trays and a sieve tray meaning that you can have tray 2 prefilled while you are cleaning out the dirty one. Trust me, that helps. Cats suddenly decide they want the loo when someone is fiddling with their tray!!!!

Also try your local freecycle group for cat things. I gave lots of stuff away which was pounced on.

keelykat

sav4it wrote: »

Yes and the other advantage is that there are two trays and a sieve tray meaning that you can have tray 2 prefilled while you are cleaning out the dirty one. Trust me, that helps. Cats suddenly decide they want the loo when someone is fiddling with their tray!!!!

Also try your local freecycle group for cat things. I gave lots of stuff away which was pounced on.

lol :rotfl: cats and litter trays! ours go on it together, when it's just been cleaned out! we had to get a much bigger one, as they want to use it at the same time sometimes. daft things!

keely.

woody_56

Scratch post is a must,and be patient keep putting cats paws up to it,or like me you will have no furniture left. jim

spookylukey

Hi Meeps

With regards the hooded litter trays - Jollyes pet superstore have some really good ones. They do two types, one made by cat-it and the ones I bought. I tried to unclip the lids from the cat-it ones in the shop to see how easy they were to take on and off and in the end an assistant had to come and help me so I wouldn't recommend the cat-it ones!

The ones I bought were large sized and were £12 I think. I left the hood off for the first few days, then put the hood on without the flap and finally put the hood including flap on a week or so later so as not to put them off from using the tray if they weren't used to it having a hood/flap.



I think some of the hooded trays look too deep, especially for a little kitten to get into. My ones are deeper than regular sized cat trays but still low enough for a young kitten to be able to climb in easily. They come with a scoop which slots in the lid for storage and charcoal filters.