Costs & Considerations of Rescue House Cat??

Fire_Fox

I think I am rather jumping the gun as I have been looking at pet supplies on the net this afternoon. It's such a distraction from the desolation I feel inside. But all three rescue centres have got back to me - I felt the RSPCA were a bit 'off' about the idea of indoor cats.

Adel Cats Protection have just e-mailed so I have given my contact details and expressed a particular interest in Fox. He may be gone or we may not 'click', but it's good they have several indoor cats available so we should be able to make a match.

I am going to have to say something about Mr. Fire Fox leaving me, as I guess we will be in a right pickle here as he packs. I hope they can see past that and are able to wait for me to be ready ... you can't bring a cat into disruption like that unless they are very confident.

nanokitten

I had a rather timid (older?) cat who had been kept at the RSPCA over a year (so they can't really be too sniffy about indoor cats!) she hardly ever went out and then only sat on the back step in the sun. There will be plenty of moggies out there who don't want to go out as they are older, or timid, disabled. Somewhere there has to be a poor old thing like my Megan, just waiting for a warm bed and lots of attention, maybe a good thing can come out of your tough situation and you can find a cat who really needs you.

paddypaws101

I do hope you find the right furry friend to keep you company. I know that in London the Celia Hammond Trust home some 'difficult' cats on a long term foster care arrangement. This would include older cats with medical conditions or those needing special diets. Whilst the cat lives with you, the charity continue to provide medications, or food or ongoing vet treatment as needed.

loulou123

One thing i'd consider is if you get a "problem" cat. (not trying to put anyone off rehoming, all my pets have always been rehomed by me, even the guinea pig and gerbils! personally thats all id ever have.)

My boyfriend took on a "indoor" cat from a rescue centre, she was about 9 months old at the time. For the 1st 3-4 months she would pee, everywhere, including on our bed at night-or during the day if someone left the door open. We literally had to replace all of our bedding. Thankfully he has wood flooring, so this could be easily cleaned, otherwise im pretty sure we'd have been recarpeting too. She had no medical problem (was confirmed by vet) and was litter trained, but refused to stop. In the end we contacted rescue centre for advise (they actually offered to take her back, which had never crossed our mind.) and we have now mostly stopped her from doing it. This said, if we leave any clothing or anyting on the floor, she'll still pee on that.

Also she destroyed our sofa in a matter of days! We'd had her for about 3 years at this point, she always used her scratchy, one day we came home from work to find huge rips in the sofa! And then when we got a new one, she peed on that on the 1st night!

Im sure most rescue cats arent like this, but you need to be prepared for all sceniros. But i wouldnt swap her for anything, even tho at times she is a complete pain in the bum, i love her to death and we have never regreted rescuing her.

We let her out occassionally, but she is definatley an indoor cat at heart, shes scared of everything, people, cars, bikes, the wind, pidgeons, mice - you name it shes scared of it.

We de-flea her, as you would an outdoor cat to be on the safeside, and also worm her, (got bit behind on worming this year and she actually picked them up-not quite sure how!)

Id say insurance is a must have, and as far as food goes we feed a combination of hills dry and wet foods, of the adult light variety as shes abit fat its not cheap, but its what she was eating when we rescued her and she certainly looks well on it.

Fire_Fox

Cats Protection have just rung, asked a few questions and are coming to do a home visit on Thursday!! :j

walwin

:T All the best for Thursday.

I'm sure they'll be impressed with all the research you've done

Buttonmoons

I have 2 indoor cats, just regular ol' moggys but I think the kitten is a mix of something pedigree because his ears are massive and has a very pointed face.

I just use value litter, I used to use the Asda one, it's not that great, I now use the tesco value lightweight litter which is a lot better (makes it easier to tip it out too!) Obviously the more premium brands are better at absorbing the smell and I'm still trying to figure out which one to get, I don't/can't want to spend £20 on cat litter!

If you use value litter, I suggest getting a hooded litter tray, you really don't smell the pong! Of course you are more likely to forget to change/scoop the litter and when you lift off the lid....poo!

I feed my cats whatever wet food is on offer or cheap, dry food is better but my older cat refuses to go without wet food, and she also doesn't drink much water (I never see her!) so the wet food is the best way to get a bit of liquid into her!

Fox looks gorgeous btw!

Fire_Fox

lowis wrote: »

cat food has changed a lot since you owned cats too

the quality dry foods are sold by vets and the online pet retailers. Hills Science Diet is one of the best sellers, but they are getting very expensive at between £14 and £18 a bag. James Wellbeloved is also very good, and costs around £10-£12 a 2kg bag. There are organic foods and foods with no additives such as Arden Grange and Applaws. Within these categories you can buy food for kittens, young adults, adults, seniors, indoor cats, diet food... Then there are also specialist foods for cats who suffer from such things as dry skin, food allergies etc. And one manufacturer even makes food for specific breeds - I think it is Royal Canin. it can get as specific and complicated as you wish...i just stick to Hills Senior and James Wellbeloved Senior for two old boys the quality dry foods usually end up costing far less than the cheap wet food or biscuits from supermarkets.

x

I've been rather geeky and spent the morning looking online at the nutritional content of dry cat foods. In my defence I work in healthcare! The cheapest is Asda which is approx £1 per kg and contains just 4% meat ... :eek:

Everything else is between £4 and £5.50 a kilo for a large bag, and contain between 20% (Purina Pro Plan) and 80% meat (Applaws). I definitely want a product containing fish oils and prebiotics as I know these are key to good health especially of the immune system. I also like the concept of an indoor cat food which contains fibre to help improve digestive function (normally achieved by exercise), to fill the cat up so they don't gain weight and to reduce furballs.

I'm going to get as many free samples as I can, but just by looking at the ingredients I think Fish4Cats and Hills Science Indoor are good value. Royal Canin Indoor is another option but am struggling to find out how much meat it contains. Probably would switch between a couple of brands, but the taste test will be the decider!

spookylukey

Good luck for tomorrow

If you're thinking of feeding dry then definitely consider the Pets at Home own brand (premium one in silver packaging) - it has very similar ingredients to the likes of James Wellbeloved ie high meat content but is much cheaper, they did go through a phase of it being BOGOF every Bank Holiday but at the moment it's buy one get one half price on the 2kg bags. They also offer a money back guarantee so if you open the bag and your new cat doesn't like it then you can take it back for a full refund, plus they do small free sample bags in store.

Here the James Wellbeloved ingredients £12.89 for 2kg:

White Rice (Min 26%), Turkey Meat Meal (Min 26%), Turkey Fat, Maize Gluten, Potato Protein (Min 9%), Poultry Gravy, Tomato Pomace, Omega-3 Oil Supplement, Chicory Extract, Carrot, Cranberry Extract (Min 0.05%), Dl Methionine, Lysine Hydrochloride, Taurine, Threonine, Zinc Methionate, Yucca Extract, Rosemary Oil

Pets at Home (in silver packaging) £9.99 for 2kg currently on offer BOGOHalfPrice or 4kg for £15.99:

Fresh Chicken (Min. 25%), Poultry Meat Meal, Rice, Maize, Animal Fat, Maize Gluten Meal, Egg Powder, Pork Flavour, Fish Meal, Brewers Yeast, Sugar Beet Pulp, Barley, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Cranberry, Methionine, Citrus Extract, Molluscs and Crustaceans (Glucosamine HCI, Chondroitin), Yucca Extract, Rosemary Extract. With Antioxidant EC Additives (Vitamin E and C). Total Chicken Min. 40%.

kindofagilr

Good Luck for tomorrow

YOu are doing a great thing.