Getting a kitten

Faerie

Hi I'm hoping to get somebody can help me.

A colleague has 4 kittens she needs to rehome and I am seriously thinking about having one. They are 5 weeks old at the moment. I have always wanted a cat but put it off because we lived on a main road. We have since moved to a more kitty friendly area but live in a second floor apartment. Growing up, we had outdoor cats so I need some advice on owning an indoor cat before making my decision.

What food is best? My collegue is feeding a mixture of (cheap) wet and dry, so I know I need to start the kitten off on the same and maybe wean off if I change the food.. Which brand is best?

I don't remember any of our cats using a litter tray once they were old enough to go outside. Any recommended trays and litter?

Any advice on insurance?

I've researched vets in my area so I think I've sorted that. So injections, microchipping, neutering etc is ok.

Anything else I need to get/research?

dogstarheaven

i've no experience of having an indoor cat, but if you're on a 2nd Floor would it be possible that your cat can go out now and again? Personally, I don't agree with them being kept in permanently, but if you do, then please ensure that you stimulate them as much as you can

They would need to be taught 'how to play' with lots of climbing posts/ladders/planks and find wands with suspended feathers etc.,/balls/ battery-powered mice for them. My cats were/still all brought up with lots of things to play with. Even newspaper, and hiding a stick underneath and poking out of them or out the botttom of the door between two rooms...

Their claws would need sharpening regularly so having a scratching post will help (or else your furniture will suffer!)

hope i haven't come across harsh, but if you want to 'rescue' one, then pls ensure you are committed to spending lots of time with them. being indoors is awfully monotonous and if they're on their own most of time whilst you're at work then they'll not be v. happy (put yourself in their shoes).

if i were you, i'd donate to a cat/animal rescue place and wait till you're in a house in the future.

BECKIN1507

Mine was once indoor, only because we lived in a flat, they did ok and I know alot of people have indoor cats but my lot much prefer to be outside. I can't recommend cat litter of anything but have you thought of maybe having 2? While your not there they have each other then.

valk_scot

If you have indoor cats then two would be better than one,. they play with each other and keep each other company. It would be a bit sad for a cat to go through its entire life not ever seeing another cat, after all. And it makes them very dependant on you, to the point of clingyness. Two is better imho.

I've got indoor cats btw, after having had two killed within weeks of one another on the road outside. We have a big house, lots of activity, four of us to play with them and I'm a SAHM so they're rarely on their own. Plus the kids have friends round a lot. I still made a point of having two and recently added a third, they're all rescue cats buit have settled down fine together. I come in from the shops to find them all sleeping in a heap together on my bed, waiting for the heating to go on. They play with each other, they scrap with each other, they follow each other round the house to see what ech other is doing. They've definately got their own catty lives and interactions seperate from what they have with us and I think thats a good thing. So yes, if you can get two it would be beneficial for them.

ETA: Mine just get Tesco Value cat litter btw. It's frequency of scooping and changing that's the key imho. And the litter tray is just a basic tray. They eat a mix of dry and wet foods, Purina ONE and Butchers Classic in tins, plus fresh water of course. Very ocassionally they get a tin of tuna between them or sone chicken scraps. They all look hale and healthy, not overweight and very active.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Don't take them too early - let mum cat teach them the essential things of being a cat herself, like how to use a litter tray, that kind of thing.



It's not impossible to teach kittens yourself, but it is harder work to have to take them to the tray, stimulate the evacuation response, clean them and generally provide them with everything their mum would do naturally. As you're new to all this, let the four legged expert do the work.



They need stimulation - so big cat trees, lots of places to sleep, a good selection of toys, etc.

And two litter trays would be better than one as they get bigger.


Other than that, they need security and love.




(and breakable objects of sentimental value put in cupboards)

southcoastrgi

yes i agree def get two as VS said they will keep each other company & entertained (after all it's not like they can switch the tv on to stop being bored), i've got one of 4 & a kitten of 7 months & they are both house cats, i couldn't bear it if i came home to find one (or both of them had been run over), i also leave a radio on when i'm out so it's not too quiet

Faerie

The kittens won't be ready until the 2nd week in January - at 8/9 weeks old. Although they are eating solid food they are still taking milk from their mum.

The kitten wouldn't be on it's own for very long, a max of an hour or so a day, we both work shifts, so somebody is always at home. We have booked a honeymoon for March and have already got volunteers ready to look after him/her when we're away

I suppose the cat could go outside, it's a safe enough area, near woodland and away from main roads. I was just worried that I wouldn't hear it wanting to come back in. I would just have to keep looking out of the window to check. Our old cats used to meow on the window sill when they were ready to come inside.

I think we've pretty much decided on having one. We're going to a big pet store this week to price things up.

My friend is going to give me some of the feed and litter they use at the moment. She's having them vet checked again and they will have flea treatment and be wormed before they go. She has said if for whatever reason I need to rehome the cat, she will have it back.

The question is.. which cat to have. They are all healthy and playful. There is an all grey with a white nose (the smallest), a ginger tabby and 2 fluffy ones with a grey body and black heads. They are all pretty cats. I'd have them all if I had the room!

Bettie

Faerie wrote: »

The question is.. which cat to have. They are all healthy and playful. There is an all grey with a white nose (the smallest), a ginger tabby and 2 fluffy ones with a grey body and black heads. They are all pretty cats. I'd have them all if I had the room!

Does sex come into it? I subbed to this thread as my daughter is getting a kitten, it's a little girl. Would a girl be happier at home than a boy? or cleaner?

southcoastrgi

IMO boys are more loving than girls ie lap cats, the girls seem to be alot more independant (too b1oody right i hear all the girls on here saying lol), the more they are handled as kittens the more they want to lay with you, colour choice is down to you personally i love tabby's, i havent found any diff in them being any cleaner (providing you get them done), boys will normally grow bigger than girls, i use sanisbury clumping litter & some litter tray freshener.

ps i'd still get two

newcook

Faerie wrote: »

The question is.. which cat to have. They are all healthy and playful. There is an all grey with a white nose (the smallest), a ginger tabby and 2 fluffy ones with a grey body and black heads. They are all pretty cats. I'd have them all if I had the room!

You could always let them decide who wants to go home with you! One of my friends did this with her cat – she sat on the floor near the kittens (not too close though) and although a couple of them came and had a look at her only one of them decided to climb onto her lap and start purring!

gettingready

Instead of going to a pet shop - have a look at:

www.zooplus.co.uk

You will find lots of very good quality stuff there.

2 is always nicer than one.

I got 4 boys, they are ALL very very clean and loving - I had females before and TBH I prefer boys....