New kitten....questions & advice (merged)

spookylukey

I have screens from https://www.cataire.co.uk They're pretty good but if your Bengal is a climber then I'd recommend you go for the aluminium mesh.

LADY_A_5

do you get the aliminum mesh from there too?
i googled to no avail, prob putting wrong words in lol

do you have to drill it on? worried as i rent from council...dont think thats allowed.

LittleTinker

Yes....cats = slumber things lol

spookylukey

Yep, you choose standard mesh or aluminium. If you email them they'll send you a sample of each mesh type, the aluminium is much stronger so recommended for cats that might climb. I had the standard mesh which was fine.

The screens are in kit form with their own lightweight frames that are attached by various methods to the window frames - velcro or turnbuttons. I was worried the velcro wouldn't be strong enough but it was really strong. I've since moved and the adhesive from the velcro came off the window frames with no problem.

nicci1807

Hi

I'm not sure if this is useful to you, but it was some advice given to me by my vet who specialises in cat care/treatment.

He was very clear that we weren't to feed our male cat dried food at all as male cats/kittens have a longer urethra than females, which in turn can cause them to have repeated urinary infections/problems.

Our Gary (I know, but my kids named him after Sponge Bob's snail!) is absolutely massive and will even steal food by dragging pouches out of the box and chewing them til they spill out the meat!

Initially this wasn't a problem as, once he'd eaten his Felix/Whiskas meat, it was done until we fed him again, and we were able to control his intake. But recently he's begun to steal our female cat's dried food (he'd previously refused point blank to go anywhere near it and it meant she was able to graze at her own leisure) and he's massive.....a HUGE chunky cat of almost a stone....but also very, very broad and long (vet says he's not overweight!).

We now have a problem with him shoving our female cat out of the way at feeding time. I'd say he was a big bully to be honest, but he's so laid back he's almost horizontal......very tame, so I haven't a clue as to whether he's greedy or plain old hungry.

Interestingly, my mum bred long-hairs for 28 years and I'd never heard of this before, but I know our vet has done lectures on this to veterinary students and his colleagues have all agreed with him when I enquired on further visits.
My mum has suggested feeding the kitten on cooked chicken. Apparently she's done this with hungry cats before and it helps. She also said that Aldi sell very cheap frozen chicken pieces (they're pre-cooked, so you just defrost and feed)......around £1.99 for a large bag. Or buy chicken wings/ends from a frozen food store and boil them, cool and feed. She said the pure protein hit keeps them fuller for longer!

Hey, he's male.......and we all know they could eat as an occupation! I have a teenage son and a dustbin of a hubby as proof of this!

Apologies, I've rambled slightly here ...... my main point was to let you know what my vet had said about the dried food in the hope that it'd be helpful.

Good luck!

Nicci

RacyRed

winsoar wrote: »

I don't think it is fair to keep a cat inside unless you live in a mansion and they have full run of the house.

Sorry but I really do not agree with you about keeping cats indoors.

Many cats do not like to go outside for all sorts of reasons. Is it any less fair to let a cat out onto busy roads than it is to keep indoors a cat who is not used to going outside? There are many cats who, for various reasons, must not be allowed outside.

It is perfectly possible to keep an indoor cat stimulated, entertained and happy. It does take effort and anyone considering it should be aware that they will be one of their cat's main source of entertainment so should build time into the day for that. I'm out of the house a good 10 hours a day but it doesn't appear to bother my cats. If anything I'm in the way of their valuable nap times at the weekends!

I have an ex-stray who is used to going out whenever he likes via his cat flap. I've also a rescue cat who previously was not used to going out at all. She can use the cat flap but chooses not to. She will potter outside with me for a few moments but that is as far as she goes. My flat is tiny but has plenty of sleeping, playing and hiding places for the cats.

XDA, the important thing is to talk to your local re-homing centers. They will probably do a home check to ensure your home is suitable and then try to match you with a suitable cat or pair of cats. Well done to you for considering a rescue cat, it will be much better off at home with you than it is in a pen in a rehoming center. :T

Not many of us are able to offer our pets the perfect environment but what we can offer them is the best we have. All they ask for is food, a warm place to sleep and lots of love - same as us really

Milford_Cubicle

picklepick wrote: »

all cats sleep for about 28 hours a day

Edited for truth

Sirbendy

Ours have occasional "romps", but it usually happens after we go to bed..they go demented then..heh.

Kitten is lying full length on a warm floorboard with pipes under it..not entirely sure where big cat is.

Kitten had a lot of growing to do..we picked him up for an absolute hellhole, appaling conditions, we think he was about 5 weeks old tops, and 450g. We had to feed him mushed up food little and often for several weeks, meaning I was coming home from work every lunchtime to do it.

He's as "big" as Hex now, who's almost 2..! Skinny boy though, but VERY leggy.

Sirbendy

We're moving into a top floor flat soon, and have 2 indoor cats...I'm working on a chicken wire (or similar) "airlock" arrangement so we can open the door without them trying to slip past..heh..

Cats, got to love 'em.

UKTigerlily

I posted a link about dried/wet food but idk if anyone read it, was interesting. Said wet is closer to what they'd eat in the wild, high moisture & protein & low carb content & dry cvan have quite abit of sugar in it & be bad for the teeth, also something about it doesn't help teeth that much as it doesn't get to where it needs to be to clean the plaque off. I definitely believe wet to be much better for them, I too can't feed dried because mine's had Cystitis & the Vet said it's more of a problem to sort that than teeth if teeth needed to be & Cats on dried have just as bad teeth.

It's horrible when they get Cystitis & worse for males I think. Mine's been clear for two years since being on wet only & I hope she stays that way.

http://www.naturalmatters.net/article-view.asp?article=621 I think this was the link, it might've been another one, was quite interesting.