Decided to get a rescue cat. What will we need?

seven-day-weekend

Initially, make sure there is a quiet place in the house where the cat can hide if it wants to, cats are not very good with change and it might just want to go behind the sofa for the first week. Let it stay in its quiet place if it wants, feed it there, put the litter tray there, just gradually move things further and further away as the cat gets more confident.

It will have wormed its way into your heart (and onto your lap) in no time at all

A good article in this link:

http://www.catchat.org/bonding.html

Better_Days

If you can get at least one covered litter tray. If your new kitty is a bit nervous it is likely that s/he will happier using a covered tray and less likely to tiddle in an inappropriate place.

Find out which litter the rescue place is using and get the same/similar initially. Some kitties hate some sorts of litter and refuse to use it.

Be very careful not to leave wool out. I found one of my latest pair of kitties (admittedly the daftest cats I have ever had) with some wool in his mouth which he was swallowing. I pulled it out not realising that he had swallowed quite a long length. Thank goodness I found him quickly.

Also I would recommend you purchase a special spray cleaner - pet specific - that you have in the cupboard in case of any accidents.

Zooplus does have an excellent range of wet and dry cat food. In my experience cats will love a food for a couple of weeks then seem to get bored and turn their noses up. In the day mine have biscuits - Arden Grange is good quality, also James Wellbeloved and Burns. They have wet in the evening - currently Bozita chunks which they seem to like. But no doubt they will look at me as if I am trying to poison them when they get fed up with it.

seven-day-weekend has given some very good advice for when you first bring your new kitty home. It can help the kitty gain confidence if s/he is confined to one or two rooms (with food, water, bed and litter tray) and when kitty is more relaxed allowing access to more of the house.

There are quite a few threads on here about flea treatments. Don't bother with any from the supermarket. You can get some without prescription though, although I have found that the more effective ones are the prescription only ones. You can usually buy meds quite a bit cheaper online, although it does depend partly on how much your vet charges for a prescription. An reputable online retailer like Animed Direct http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/ can save you a lot of money. (I can buy a medication for my dog from Animed for £18, my vet charges £43)

And don't forget pet insurance. Again there are quite a few discussions about this on the forum, just do a search.

GL with your new kitty.

moggymutt

I think it's lovely that your son wants to make sure that he looksa after the cat properly.

So nice to hear of a rescue getting a chance of a home.

Lil_Me_2

All cats love a good cardboard box. Doesn't have to be big, they will fit! This could double up as a quiet safe place when they first move in.

Ask the rescue place what food the cat has been eating, and also what brand of litter they use. Some also recommend asking for some of the litter from their current tray to mix in with the one at home so it smells the same. I had a few issues with my two with them not knowing where to go as I was using a different brand of litter.

Good luck and you'll fall in love soon enough

Addiscomber

Thanks everyone, very helpful.

We have a friend visiting on Saturday who has cats so I will pick her brains about things such as best places to put litter tray and food, and where best to let the cat settle in. I will then get our home check done, ready for the next CPL homing day which is December 7th, when cats who need re-homing will be available in a church hall and DS can hopefully fall in love . I'll do a shop at Zooplus so that we have our equipment in time, leaving food and litter to get on the way home.

I presume that if the familiar food is not readily available locally they will give us some to start off with. CPL cats (at least from the local branch) seem to come with 4 weeks 'free' insurance with Pet Plan which can be extended on line. I say free but it is probably accounted for in the fee they charge for a cat, only reasonable as they are all volunteers.

seven-day-weekend

Aw. Enjoy your cat. xx

meritaten

Yes - go along to the rehoming day - but, if there isn't one cat there who son falls 'in love' with, make sure you chat to the volunteers as there may be more available who for one reason or another wasn't selected for that day.
But - I bet the problem will be more that he falls in love with them all!

Good luck!

paulineb_2

Addiscomber wrote: »

We have pretty much decided to get a rescue cat from the CPL. I have been reading the information on the website to try and work out what equipment we will need to buy. So far I have come up with the following


Litter tray – at least 1
Bed – at least 1
2 bowls – 1 for water and 1 for food (Ceramic best to avoid taint from plastic?)
Scratching post
A lap pad (for me!! I have always resisted having a cat since my cousin's cat sat on my lap continually digging it's claws in my legs :eek::eek: I shall discourage the cat from sitting on me if possible but if needs must …..)
Toys – presumably we can make something with string, bits of fabric etc.


Is there anything that I have missed?


Would we need to have any 'medical' stuff on hand – anti-flea for example, although it won't go out in the garden until it knows that here is home and safe.


Also roughly how much does it cost to feed a cat decent quality food for a week?? I know that we will need to see what the cat is used to and likes before getting any.

My cats dont use a cat bed. Nor a scratching post. Nor toys apart from a couple my brother bought them a couple of years ago, they dont really bother about toys.

Depends what you mean by decent quality, my cats dont eat wet cat food, but they are as happy eating B and M bargains own brand dry stuff as they are cat biscuits

I would assume if you get them from a rescue shelter, I have 4 rescue cats, they will have been checked and treated for fleas already

Also, its a good idea to take the cat out, on a piece of string or harness with you, so it knows the area and just doesnt go to run off as soon as you open a door to let it out.

paulineb_2

I also dont have pet insurance for my cats, because there are so many loopholes where the insurance companies dont pay out, I figured it would be cheaper not to pay for it, my mum has cats and had terrible trouble getting insurance to pay out for one of her cats, even when they said they would pay out if the cat got ill with a certain problem again, when she tried to make a claim, they wouldnt pay up.

Addiscomber

meritaten wrote: »

if there isn't one cat there who son falls 'in love' with, make sure you chat to the volunteers as there may be more available who for one reason or another wasn't selected for that day.

I have told him that if none of them "call his name" that he doesn't have to choose one that day. There will always be others coming along who need a home.

meritaten wrote: »

But - I bet the problem will be more that he falls in love with them all!
Good luck!

We are only having ONE