help getting a young cat!!! first in a long time...

LilacPixie

I need mucho helpo We are getting a cat from a small local rescue. He is an 8 month old boy, typical story stray shows up at random house house owners feed but can't adopt unti a space in cattery comes avaible, he has been in rescue for 11 weeks now and he is coming to his forever home on Saturday now the formal home checks are finished

Anyway rescue say he has just been eating whatever food they have donated with no special preferances :eek: My question is at 8 months should he not still be on kitten food? Sorry I am showing my ignorance here, I haven't had a kitten in a long time.

Other question is can anyone recommend a food brand?? my old cats had a 100% dry diet james welbeloved but they were old house cats, we have a huge enclosed garden and this boy is showing signs of wanting to explore from the rescue centre.

So far he has been snipped, had his needles plus 2nd set and i have him booked into our vets for microchipping next week, I intend on letting him explore the house for 1-2 weeks minimum and then see how he settles before letting him explore the garden.

What else do I need to do? I'm gonna grab a selection of toys from a pet shop with food/litter tomorrow lunchtime. Toy recomendations would also be good

rising_from_the_ashes

Congratulations on your impending new arrival!:D It's so nice to hear of cats finding homes as everywhere is just overflowing just now.:(

Anyway, re food, generally it's felt that having wet is best due to water content etc. Mine both prefer dry and I'm trying to get them to eat a bit more wet (although I'll always leave the dry down for "grazing"). For wet, he eats Whiskas but she'll only eat the "pate" style ones.

Butchers Classic is a good quality tinned food - on offer at P@H for £10 for 24 tins just now (usually around £11.50) http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?freeText=butchers+classic+cat&x=0&y=0&storeId=10551&catalogId=10601&langId=-1.

If you start with tins you should be OK but if you start with pouches, it's harder to get them to switch to tinned (pouches much more expensive).

Most of my kittens have gone onto adult food at around 6 - 7 months - usually as they've started to pinch the adult cats food by that time!;)

Mine get Royal Canin dry - on the expensive side but if you buy the bigger bags it's not too bad, I've just managed to get a 10kg bag for £38 (delivered) which will last them around 5 months. At just under £8 / month for both of them, I don't think that's too bad and works out very favourably against the "cheaper" foods.

One of the (many) "benefits" of getting a rescue is that they will eat most things (unlike the wee monsters I've got who've been spoiled their whole lives and are very fussy as a result).

Someone (apologies, if reading but I've forgotten who), gave me a link to a website which has most wet & dry cat foods listed with nutritional contents etc etc - it's great (a big thanks to "Hobbs" for compiling it):

http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-nutrition/112132-z-wet-food-cats.html

http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-nutrition/112132-z-wet-food-cats.html

Re toys, try the Purrs in our Hearts shop which helps out charities:
http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/shop/ The Da-Bird gets tremendous reviews!

A couple of scratching posts are a must!:D As for beds, you can spend a fortune on lovely ones and they'll not go near them - mine have "proper" beds (which they do sleep in) but also have a couple of old pillows around the house with fleecy blankets over them - these are used just as much!


I do love your description of "sniping" and "needles":D - you must be soooooo excited!

Yup, keep him in for a couple of weeks if you can (esp as he's been in the centre for a wee while) and then introduce him to your garden!

Good luck & we'd love to see some pics once he's home!:)


(:eek: very long post:o)

Fridaycat

Hi! So pleased you are homing a new fur ball :T in terms of food, they should be on kitten food until they are a year old. I have three cats currently (will have 5 at end Aug) and I feed mine a mixture of wet and dried food. I have always fed mine Royal Canin Fit 32, but after further research via these boards, am going to change to Orijen as it has a high meat content and no grain. The wet food I feed them is Grau which I believe is only available via Zooplus, but again is considered to be one of the best wet foods available.

In terms of toys, I am sure that almost any will amuse an 8 month old kitten, but any with catnip should go down particularly well

I agree with your plan of keeping him in for 1-2 weeks before letting him outside.

You are also wise to get him micro-chipped - it seems to me that you have everything covered! good luck :T

rita-rabbit

sign up with online stockists - far cheaper & better quality food.

toys - at 8 months he may not be that interested.

kitten food - not necessary.

Fridaycat

My current cats are aged 2, 7 and 13. I bought some catnip mice the other day (actually they were meant to be for the two kittens I'm getting next month) and couldn't resist, so had to have a play, and all three LOVED them - it was just like them being kittens again. So what I'm trying to say is that cats are never too old to play with toys

LilacPixie

I am very excited. Our last rescue was PTS in 2009 at the grand old age of 21, her brother was PTS in 2008 at 20. They were both rescue cats too. I only went in on Tuesday to donate some clutter to the charity shop and fell in love with the wee guy, note of interest done that day, my husband went in yesterday just to make sure he was also fine with him and they popped out today for our home visit so technically we could collect him tomorrow but I have to go ito hossie as a day patient tomorrow for a few hours so we are collecting him at 10am saturday

We have largish house so I think we may end up returning for a little companion for 'Gil' once he is settled. the home visit woman was saying they have 30 pens and I am only her 2nd visit in the whole of july. I am too soft hearted, I would take then all home. It broke my heart yesterday leaving him after attatching the yay I have a new home label to his name plate because he was crying. He is quite a small boy for 8 months

Da Bird is winging its way to dundee now.. order done.
x

delain

My kitten eats everything the baby throws it, including sprouts _pale_ Although he does of course have cat food too!




He loves ping pong balls, they are so light and skitty he chases them all about under the table and everywhere.

LilacPixie

Haha I think he would be wise to avoid Ava, she has just discovered she can jump in the thing that hags on the door frame. Three kids under 5, a juvenile cat and a husband... I am obviously nuts

He is apparently a fiesty wee boy so I think things he can ttack and pounce on will be good. Pingpong balls would be nuts, our downstairs is open plan with polished wood floors, we all know what happens to cats chasing balls on wood floors....

delain

They start looking like they are on ice skates? lol.

My nan's now 14 year old cat is OK with the ping pong balls on laminate floor, but I don't think that'd be as slippy as polished wood!

LilacPixie

well he is home.

rising_from_the_ashes

Awwww Pixie, he's gorgeous!


He looks very comfy and settled already!:) (My rescue hid under the bed for 3 weeks before I even saw him:eek:).

Wishing you many happy years together (and sure he'd love to have a wee friend to play with in the not too distant future;)).