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

Lilith1980

Aww so nice you're giving a rescue cat a home:)

We've had our rescue cat for 4 years now and he is a total lap cat - he loves nothing more than laying out across my legs, whilst I have my legs across my OH's lap :rotfl:

You forgot one thing off your list...plenty of love!!

You'll be surprised at how they change over time. My cat used to sit on a towel on the sofa, then he figured out that our laps were warmer. He used to be very timid, he still can be in some ways (I think he was abused by his previous owners) but most of the time he is very chilled.

Hope you enjoy your new addition

Addiscomber

Update

We had our home inspection today, and now have the requisite certificate to take with us to the homing day on 7 December. Apparently there will likely be a queue, which is good for rescue cats in general but not so good if more than 1 person wants the same one :eek:

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhhhhh how exciting not long to go, please let us know how it goes on the 7th!

[Deleted User]

Good luck in finding your new cat! be warned, rescue centres can be guilt centres - they really pull on your heart strings! We went to get one and came home with two!!!

Also, pet insurance for us has been a really blessing - we have it for both our cats, but only had to claim (several times) for the other. He is a really boisterous and mischievous cat who gets involved in whatever is going on around him - the insurance saved us a fortune, and we've never had any issues with claiming. But do shop around.

Make sure you regularly worm the cat and make sure it gets all it's immunisations and yearly updates (we managed to pay a one off fee for ours at our local vet chain - and they will do the annual update for the life of the cat, a few years down the line and we have already saved.)

D9

atrixblue.-MFR-.

I know our local CPL select ready to be homed cats for their rehoming days and often have cats that are being taken care of by foster care or back at branch that didn't make the rehoming show due to lack of space carriers and people to take them there.


if you've had or going to have a home visit, once this is done and you attend a rehoming show usually they will make a time to call round with cat to deliver sometimes same day sometimes day after depending on how many people are available on hand to help with home visits that day.

Azmataz

Just to echo Domino9's sentiments about pet insurance. Please seriously consider getting a permanent policy once your free month expires. Look for 'covered for life' policies, which although are more expensive, are not time limited and pay off more in the long run. The benefit of getting a rescue cat is that they are all vet checked before rehoming and are therefore considered a safer bet by the insurance companies. It makes claiming a lot more straightforward if and when you need to.
Three out of six of our cats have had claims submitted for various problems over the past few years. Without insurance, we worked out that their combined treatments would have cost us just under £10,000. :eek: :eek: :eek: Sadly, most people don't really realize the cost of vet treatments until its too late and they're faced with a hefty bill or terrible decision.

ozma83

I have had my kitten for about 4 months now, and the biggest advice I can give you is - start with her flea treatment as soon as you bring her home! Don't just assume she doesn't have them or won't have them because she stays indoors. Once they get them it's a pain to get rid of them!

Chris25

Addiscomber wrote: »

2 bowls – 1 for water and 1 for food (Ceramic best to avoid taint from plastic?)

y.

We've had seven cats and none of them ever used their scratching pole, so be careful, it might be a waste of money.

Only one of our cats has ever eaten out of a bowl - they've all prefered to eat off of plates. I've bought loads of odd ones over the years from charity shops - I liked my girls to have pretty ones and the boys something more masculine - cat-sexist, I know

Our elderley cat has started taking a little bit of cat milk from a saucer but before that used to prefer to drink water from puddles as did the others apart from two who preferred it from taps.

In our case, it seemed that the more we bought, the less they used it.

One thing I would suggest is a laser pen - they've (and us) have had so much fun from them

Addiscomber

We have a cat. Her name is Cookie and she is very nervous having come from an abusive home (apparently whoever had her didn't want her and threatened to kill her ) It may be some time before I can get a picture of her as she has taken up residence between the sofa and the wall.

She has peeped out several times but shrinks back whenever anybody moves. DH and DSs are about to head off to watch Crystal Palace FC and Cookie and I will have several hours peace and quiet together and she can explore the front room at her own pace.

calicocat

Some rope or heavy duty string, nails and a hammer. This is to secure your xmas tree to the wall.

Apologies if already mentioned, haven't read all posts.


Have fun with the new kitty.