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

Waterfalls

when u get the kittens. u may be able to get a 'free health check' nurses clinic at ur local vet and they will be able to give u loads of advise

whenu choose the right vets for u, amke sure u check out if they have there own emergency service, or else u may have to travel far if the need ever arises-hopefully it wont, but its good to be prepared.

also if u need to get their vaccines done and it is a petplan approved practice, they maybe able to give u 6weeks free immediate cover, at least this will give u time to shop around if need be (they are a very good company)

UKTigerlily

They have vaccinations at 9 & 12 weeks & then once per year for flu & enteritis & if they go out then I recommend getting leukaemia also.
Insurance get a for life policy, that way if they develop a lifelong illness like Diabetes or Arthritis, the cover will be for their life not 12 months from the start of the illness. Also get a fixed excess, not one which is an amount + a % of the total claim.

Avoid E&L they're notorious for paying up, Pet Plan, Axa & M&S are good but M&S add a % once the cats reach 9yrs (So if you changed insurer at 9, any conditions they already have won't be covered by any new insurer)

Worm them every 3 months with something like Drontal, not Bob Martin or anything from supermarkets! You can buy Drontal online & also at [EMAIL="P@H"]P@H[/EMAIL]. Flea treatments are eery 4 weeks, Frontline is pretty good & can be bought online, Nutrecare do 6 for £17.99

Microchip them whether they go out or not! Even if you use a collar, they can come off & do! Even safety collars can cause accidents, if they widen up enough to free a cat, they also do to let parts in such as a leg.

They say one litter tray per cat + 1, so 3 in your case, but they will probably use one. Always place it in a private place away from their food. Clean it regularly. Mine won't use one but it's there in case she changes her mind!

With holidays they can either go to a cattery (Visit a few to get a feel for them) & will need flu & enteritis boosters up to date to do so, or you can have someone nip in to feed them, clean litter trays & fuss them. Some cats are more likely to go awol when the owners away so sometimes a cattery gives peace of mind. See how they are, some are terrified in catteries, i'd use one without kennels too as the dogs barking can upset the cats.

Neutering is done at 6 months, sometimes before, the Vet will advise. If you get rescue kitties they'll come neutered if old enough or with help towards the cost if not! (And vaccinated, microchipped etc)

Yep they can be left, that won't be a problem they'll amuse themselves, never leave them with toys with string on tho, they can get caught up & panic.

Kimberley

Thats it then all sorted, now enjoy the kittens

UKTigerlily

Kimberley wrote: »

Thats it then all sorted, now enjoy the kittens

And remember the pics! lol

rita-rabbit

If you dry feed unless you have OCD there is no need to clean more than once a day - I do so every other day!

Catflap depends where you live ie near a busy road - some people choose not to & let the cat `ask' to go out - you will have to decide when they are old enought to be let out.

If you use Advocate or Stronghold worming will not be necessary as these cover both fleas & worms.

UKTigerlily

rita-rabbit wrote: »

If you dry feed unless you have OCD there is no need to clean more than once a day - I do so every other day!

Catflap depends where you live ie near a busy road - some people choose not to & let the cat `ask' to go out - you will have to decide when they are old enought to be let out.

If you use Advocate or Stronghold worming will not be necessary as these cover both fleas & worms.

idk about Advocate but remember Stronghold ONLY covers Roundworms so you'd still need to worm by pill also

tealady

Hi again. If you get your kitties from a rescue centre then they are often chipped (I feel strongly that all pets should be easliy identifyable by some humane method). Unless you are after a specific breed then a rescue centre will be the place to look.
However don't be surprised if you go looking with a particular cat in mind and come home with something completely different! (I wanted a couple of couch potatoes and ended up with a cat that liked to visit all the neighbours!)

Minky2Slice

Thanks for all the info!

I cant wait to get them, but will only be somewhere in the next 6 months though. Will defo post some pics as soon as I get them...
I already have names for them, how sad am I?

(Will have to double my daily allergy medication, as I am allergic to cats lol, but I know its worth the hayfever/red puffy eyes/ itching and constant sneezing!)

How do i find a cat rescue centre near me? I dont really care what type they are, but i want 2 boys.
The one and only cat i had when i was still living at home was one that was found in the the woods behind someone's house, and he was still very tiny. Of course he grew up with 5 dogs, and thought he was one as well! but i wont have that problem this time round. I love the fact that cats all have their own distinct personalities, we've had 6-10 dogs (not all at the same time!) and they dont have their own personalities in quite the same way that cats do

Also, how does microchipping work? as far as i know u cannot trace the cat, but once he's lost, whoever finds him can them check who/where he belongs?

rita-rabbit

think the chipping works a bit like the bar scanning in supermarkets & that `chip' has that information imprinted in it - that's inserted under the skin.

well done for getting rescue cats - giving creatures that already exist a much needed home.:T

Waterfalls

the only information on the chip is a 15 digit number unique to that pet.
whenever a stray comes in we scan as mentioned above then have to call a data base the companies provide, relay that number in order to get urs and ur pets details.
if u get them chipped u may get offered to have a 'normal' chip or a 'biothermo' chip which also reads the pets temperature at the same time.