What do I need for 2 cats joining the family?

cha97michelle

After one of my two kittens got in a fight last night, i would recommend some sort of plan for vets bills. Between the 2 of them, they've had about £350 in the last 3 months. £160 of that was for emergency treatment last night, when the vet consult was between 4-8x higher than normal.

When we got ours i had to buy things like litter trays, food bowls etc from the pet shop at a high price but i could get hold of it instantly.

I then noticed that Argos do a cat starter kit for about £30 that contained most things you need, plus a scratching post if i remember rightly. You can easily check online. I wish i'd noticed it sooner as it looked ok. The bed i bought from argos was also better quality than the pet shop one.

Badgergal

I know you mean material stuff, but pet insurance is a must in my opinion especially as they get older. If they need more than routine treatment, it pays for itself.

Emergencies happen when you least expect and emergency vet bills are eye popping because they have you over a barrel! Maybe post about that on the insurance board if you haven't already, to get some recommendations, I use Argos and twice it has paid for itself.

patchwork_cat

We have quite a few(ahem) cats and I really feel that there isn't a great deal that you need for them.

Litter tray and litter Possibly a scoop, but not essential ( I use toilet paper for solids and woodlit so the liquid doesn't smell provided you empty it every few days )
I litter tray would do for 2
Food bowls - pop into your local charity shop and buy some old cereal bowls - they will almost certainly have some.
Obviously they will need food _ I feed dried as anything else would bee just too expensive with all mine!

1 cat carrier would be alright for 2 cats( a big one) maybe even a cardboard one( although they may claw through it) especially at the beginning perhaps trying to pick up a cheap second one later.

A bit of string, a ball of aluminium foil and a toilet roll inner for toys. Each other will usually suffice for 2 kittens!
You could buy beds but my betting is that they will prefer yours or the comfiest chair in the house! You can always find the comfiest chair because the cat is on it!
A scratching post is perhaps an idea.

they should be wormed and deflead when you get them - so not a necessary immediate expense.

I am picking up my ragdoll kitten soon too- the restart of my breeding programme.

Julie84

Yes, cats don't need too much.

A bowl each for food (and food), a bowl for water (they can share), a litter tray and litter (I would prefer two for my 2 cats but space doesn't allow and they are fine), I don't use a scoop - they are unhygienic anyway and some toys - ones you make or are free are normally best received.

Coming from CPL they should be neutered, vaccinated, wormed and de-flead already - check if they do a micro chipping service, some places do it for free so it is worth asking.

I personally find pet insurance a false economy but it the best option if you are bad at saving. I put £60 into an ISA each month as my animal fund. This pays for everything - any vet visits (for illness, vaccinations, flea treatments, neutering), any new equipment they might need (like a cat flap) and anything else - but not food as that is included in my weekly shopping. I have 6 animals (£10 per animal) and use the ISA money to pay for them all - and still manage to save a fair bit and get paid interest for it! Worth considering?

I only use 1 cat carrier - for convenience (they take up a bit of space) and because my boys got very stressed being apart.

Poundland and Lidl often have some good pet supplies if you have them near you? I got a lovely cat tree Lidl for £4.99 just before Christmas and saw them being sold on eBay for almost £30 a few weeks later!!!

Wizwoo

Hi SS,
Ask CPL about collars - flea collars are not usually suitable.
We used to use old saucers for cat food and an old fashioned soup bowl for a water bowl (you know - the ones that had straight sides!).

You could make a scatch post and kittens love pompoms to play with (hang them down from something so they can fight with them).

One cat carrier and one litter tray should be plenty and our 5 (OK 1 is an indoor cat due to an illness) but the other 4 just go outside now. Do you have a freecycle group near you. You might be able to pick up a cat carrier and a litter tray up from there?

If you do go down the insurance route (most of ours are too old to insure - or would cost rather a lot to due to their age) ask the CPL or your vets advice re: who doesn't give them much hassle with claims. We used to be with Direct Line and they were very good.

What about a bed? I know "Cats sleep anywhere" but if they do use the bed you'll find that it helps with regards to their fur that gets everywhere. You could get one for now that they could share and then get another later on (another one for freecycle?).

And finally SS - I am sooooo jealous, 2 lovely new cats.
Have lots of fun with them :T

donner_kebab

Hiya!
I have a Cat (it was his birthday yesterday 1 year old so officially a cat!) and I think the list you have should be more than eneough! I only feed my cat dry food as I only thought you meant to give them one type but I don't really know if that is the case, but my kittie's happy so that's all that matters! One thing I remember is that when I got my kitty, I took him for a consultation at the vet and the vet didn't charge me a penny as it was my first visit! He checked him over, and like many here, recommended insurance, which if I used the one associated with the surgery, meant I could get my first 2/3 months free! Now I pay about £7 per month. I use Catsan litter as you only need to change it once a week as that's what it states on the pack but obviously empty the poopies out each day! As for a bed, mine hardly sleeps in his - he has become accustomed to sleeping on my bed even when I'm in it! The vet also gave us some free Worming medicine and Frontline flea control too, so that saved a few pennies!
I hope you enjoy the cats! I love my kittie more than anything; he well and truly is a huge part of or family!

angchris

you might want to think about getting them neuteured(sp?) as i remember years back when i got 2 kittens that were brother + sister all was great to begin with, they play and attack each other and scale your curtains and fall off the tops of wardrobes etc but when they started getting a little bit older they took a "liking" to each other and were "at it" like rabbits at every given opportunity :eek: needless to say this freaked me out as they were brother and sister and it didnt even enter my head that they would do this! so unless you want to be overrun with kittens assuming you have a female cat this is a must!
i love cats and would dearly love to have another but i dont think my rottweiler would agree as they are nice titbit size snack to him lol and as he even tries to attack buses + cars i think a sweet little kitten is a big no no for me for the foreseeable future

bluemoon_3

angchris wrote:

you might want to think about getting them neuteured(sp?) as i remember years back when i got 2 kittens that were brother + sister all was great to begin with, they play and attack each other and scale your curtains and fall off the tops of wardrobes etc but when they started getting a little bit older they took a "liking" to each other and were "at it" like rabbits at every given opportunity :eek: needless to say this freaked me out as they were brother and sister and it didnt even enter my head that they would do this! so unless you want to be overrun with kittens assuming you have a female cat this is a must!
i love cats and would dearly love to have another but i dont think my rottweiler would agree as they are nice titbit size snack to him lol and as he even tries to attack buses + cars i think a sweet little kitten is a big no no for me for the foreseeable future

I'd imagine the CPL will already have neutered them, unless they're not old enough, in which case it will probably be written into the adoption contract that it be done as soon as they are old enough. I think it's pretty much standard procedure for rescue centres nowadays.

P.S. I'm actually very jealous. I'd love a kitty or two, but I'm desperately allergic so I have to be satisfied with giving the neighbourhood cats a fuss when they come into my garden - and then changing clothes and washing all over straight afterwards! Even then, I still get a reaction. It's worth it though, for those few moments of happiness!

Best of luck with your new kitties, scottishspendaholic!

jennet1

you could try joining Freecycle and asking if anyone has any bits they want rid of, people often have this kind of stuff lying around in a garage

susank

Try car boot sales or second hand shops for heavy dishes so they cannot tip them over! (Important that one) Also instead of beds - get cheap fleecy blankets each and they are easy to wash and dry and drape over the settee or chair they prefer and believe me they will prefer that or a bed!!!
HAve fun with them though.
s