Great Feed, House and Keep Your Pets Hunt

Leonie

Yes, vaccination is worth it in my opinion. I lost 2 of my beatiful cats while still in their prime because they were exposed to a neighbours cat who decided to move in with us - until he died of feline leukaemia soon after. One of mine had asthma as a result, which eventually killed him - a neighbour found him outside in a ditch breathing his last, after getting involved in a cat fight - he couldn't get enough breath to come home, and by the time he got to me, carried by the neighbour, it was too late for his steroids to work and he died in front of me. His sister died of a tumour in her intestines - both of these things can be a result of exposure to feline leukaemia.

At one point, all 6 of my cats had cat flu - I hadn't been able to afford to get them all vaccinated, but the vet bills for 6 cats with flu were horrendous. All six of them are now gone - but 3 of them lived to a good age.

After grieving for about a year after the last 2 died - one from kidney failure, and the other with a thyroid problem, I decided to start again with one half grown kitten from Cats Protection, and to make sure she is fully vaccinated and insured.

It's short sighted not to get cats vaccinated - especially if they are going to be allowed outdoors - they will mix with other cats, even if it's only to fight, and could easily get infected with something that will have expensive consequences. I'm not making that mistake again.

Cats Protection had my new kitten's first vaccinations done, and she was spayed before I got her - I donated generously to cover this, she's worth it. Their literature said it cost them approximately £95 to keep a cat until it was rehoused, so that's what I gave them. I've had her second vaccination done this week at the vet and it alone was £28.39, just for the one!

Next up - insurance from M&S. Hopefully it will never be needed - but I'm not taking that risk again.

sticher

y9jcbcrb wrote: »

I have just become the proud owner of two 9 week old kittens. I am going to allow them outside when they are old enough so they will need thier injections in the next week or so.

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Just a thought - cats can become pregnant at a very early age (the rescue we got our cats from advised us to keep them indoors until we had them neutered at 6 months to avoid more kittens). Have you thought about having them neutered?

Gaia

Leonie wrote: »

Y
Next up - insurance from M&S. Hopefully it will never be needed - but I'm not taking that risk again.

We didn't think we would need insurance but I am SO glad we had it. Our little darling (only 3 years old) got ill and had to have 3 emergency ops in one day, lots of follow up tests (still on-going) a prescription diet.

M&S pet insurance is really good, it's a proper whole of life policy. We've just renewed our policy and for an extra £10 pa we've now got no excess at all on vet fees, which is great because we know we'll be claiming for vet fees and food (yes, that's covered too) again, possibly even for the rest of his life.

Nenen

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy pet carriers? Or anyone got any good ideas for adapting something to make them ourselves?

We are moving house in 12 days time and need to have these both to transport our animals and to keep them secure at times when we are loading/unloading stuff for the first few days in the new house.

The dog training cages look ideal for our medium size mutt but are incredibly expensive! We have two cats who can squeeze into the smallish carrier we have for short trips (e.g. to the vet) but it wouldn't be big enough to keep them in for more than an hour or so.

I've looked at a few places online but am not sure how reliable they are so would really appreciate any suggestions.:beer:

Any other tips for introducing:beer: cats and dogs to a new house would also be much appreciated!

Leonie

Thanks, Gaia - I have a few weeks left on the Cat's Protection 6 week policy, but I will be arranging M&S cover very soon. Does that extra £10 pa for no excess only kick in after the first year, or after you've claimed, or is it available from the start? It sounds s a marvellous option.

I'm so sorry to hear your pet has been so ill - it's heart breaking isn't it? I hope he / she is stable soon, and feeling better.

Leonie

Cats Protection recommend keeping cats in for 3 weeks in a new house - I never used to do it for that long when I moved house, but on one occasion I was so harrassed my 3 cats got out on the first day. One returned to the old house, one went totally missing for the whole of the winter (he had been a feral kitten) and the third hung around the field at the back until evening when I managed to coax her back in. I truly can not recommend that approach at all! If you can try and keep them in for a few days at least, and supervise them when they first go out, it might help.

Are they microchipped? If not, make sure they are all wearing collars with at least your new phone number on, or your mobile number.

I can't help with the carriers - I've been using a huge cat carrier I bought in Germany, when I quarantined the feral one back here - one of those heavy duty plastic ones, with a metal grid door, and vents at the top. It's done very good service - that was 1984, and it's still going strong. Definitely don't recommend the cardboard ones, I took one of those with me to collect a cat from quarantine - not the feral one! and she put a claw in the air vent at the top and ripped it open within 2 minutes of setting off! I spent the rest of the journey trying to keep her from under the foot pedals, and off my toddler daughter in the back seat! At one point she was on the dashboard in front of the steering wheel. Not safe at all.

Good luck with the move! I hope it all goes well. Try and shut the cats in a small room with their food and water, and a litter tray when you get there, so they don't take off while the doors are open for the removers.

Gaia

Leonie wrote: »

Thanks, Gaia - I have a few weeks left on the Cat's Protection 6 week policy, but I will be arranging M&S cover very soon. Does that extra £10 pa for no excess only kick in after the first year, or after you've claimed, or is it available from the start? It sounds s a marvellous option.

I'm so sorry to hear your pet has been so ill - it's heart breaking isn't it? I hope he / she is stable soon, and feeling better.

Hi Leonie

The no excess can be added straight away to your first policy. I only discovered it when one of the customer care folks told us on the phone. Also, if you want, I can pm you with a code so that if you quote the code, my name and my postcode you will get £10 discount (and I'll get a £10 voucher). Let me know if you want me to.

Cat's slowly getting better, and is as happy and lively as ever, thanks for asking. He'll need tests and special diet all his life BUT the insurance will cover it (food up to £200), whew!

Gaia xxx

Leonie

Gaia, that sounds like it might help both of us! If you want to PM it to me, I'll have a look in a few days, when it's closer to the time I need to do it. There isn't a short time limit on that offer is there? I'm trying to let the Cats Protection policy run through before I start the M&S one, but a few days won't matter too much! (I just don't like waste

micha1970

I went to Macro on Monday night and bought a 10 kilo bag of Iams for £17.99 plus VAT. Normally a 3kg bag costs £12-£13 in the pet shop or supermarket. The 10kg bag is about £40-worth. Result! They also have 10kg bags of own brand cat food that costs about £10 tempting but I wasn't sure if my little darlings would oblige and they don't have a small bag to try - being a cash & carry.

I also bought 20kg of clumping cat litter for £9.98 plus VAT.

If you don't have a company or aren't self employed (to sign up for Macro) ask around, a friend who has a card can take you along and get you into one their shops.

kittykat23uk

For rabbit and guinea pig owners:

Instead of getting the small bags of hay from pet shops, try and find a local farm or wholesaler that sells bales. A bale of hay breaks down into several bin-bags full and lasts a lot longer than the smaller bags do. Bales are usually about £3 to £4 each.

Another idea, post a wanted add on Freecycle for any pet stuff you need. I was able to get two hutches off of someone from my local group. Actually, my rabbits also came from someone on Freecycle.

If you are thinking of getting a pet then please consider a local rescue centre. You might be put off by the "donation" they require for adoption, however, most animals will come neutered and vaccinated and the staff will ensure that you and you prospective new pet are a good match. When you consider that vaccinations for a rabbit come to £30 per year and neutering is about £50 you can see that it is actually really good value to adopt from a rescue centre.