New cat - what do I need?

[Fleurdelise]

Hello! We are adopting a 1 year old cat, we may be able to pick her up this weekend coming.

I didn't have a cat in ages (last one about 15 years ago) and I was wondering what do you expert people recommend.

What is the best food? Best odourless litter? Litter tray? Best bed? Scratching furniture? What else do I need?

The cat is app 1 year old and she is gorgeous!

Thank you!

[QueenFuri]

Food wise mine is a fussy madam she eats Felix as good as it looks and purina one biscuits, they're are much better brands out there but mine stuck her nose up at them and didn't eat them.

I use wood pellet litter and a bog standard tray from Sainsburys

I bought mine a lovely bed from the petshop and it was donated she refused to sleep on it, I got her a bed for a fiver from B&M which she sometimes lays on. Most of the time she sleeps on the floor!

Loads of toys with feathers and dangly bits, I also have a 6ft scratching post which gets used a lot it was 40 from eBay.

Don't forget a cat carrier

[Fleurdelise]

Thank you! Do they eat dry food at this age or wet food? Both? Which one is better?

I guess the rescue place will tell me all this but I am quite excited and I want her to feel welcome and loved.

[Fleurdelise]

Also (sorry I have so many questions as I am excited) my Dd wants to name the cat with a different name than she has at the moment. Would that be ok?

[givemushypeasachance]

Congrats on your imminent new arrival! I think most cats don't really "know" their name, they just respond to certain tones of voice - I wouldn't worry too much about a rename.

Best toys ime are the Flying Frenzy rod (they make loads of different attachments too) and boinks. Catnip things too, some cats love catnip and others don't react - maybe try one catnip toy and if she likes it you can always get more. They make cardboard scratchers now and they can be a good alternative or addition to regular scratching posts.

I use paper based litter but it's a combo of both cat and owner preference - they say get a tray per cat plus a spare, so best to have two, and stick them in a reasonably private place as many cats don't like having an audience in there. Ideally for food go for something with little or no grain as that's just filler - many people combine some wet food (e.g. one or two meals a day) and some biscuits. Then perhaps a few Dreamies now and then for a treat (aka cat crack).

[QueenFuri]

She eats a mixture two pouches one in the morning and one at night then dry food down at all times, my cats name is Belle but answers to cheeky so the cat has basically changed her own name

[QueenFuri]

Oh yes she supplements her diet with dreamies and flies!!

[RainbowFlutterby]

Your cat will choose her own bed. It will probably be yours.

You must have clean water available at all times which your cat will ignore and go and drink out of a puddle.

RainbowCat has a pouch in the morning (Gourmet Mon Petit), biscuits down all day and a pouch in the evening (Felix MeatyLoaf atm).

His favourite toys are a scrunched up sweet wrapper and a catnip cigar.

You will need a lot of Sticky Mitts.

[Fleurdelise]

Thank you all I am so excited! I have been advised against buying a bed also at the moment as it may be a waste of money by a friend cat lover at work. I'd love her to sleep in dd's bed but I do realise she will chose her own space. Dd is 7 yo and I can't tell you how excited she is. Keep your stories coming, I love reading about your cats and picture how my new cat will fit in our lives.

[Fluffycloudland77]

We changed our cats name, he had been Spartacus and Peter before we got him.

Our cat has a dog bed. I noticed cat and dog households usually had a battle over the dogs bed so I bought him one from pets at home. He loves it and it can be taken with him to catterys for reassurance. Sometimes he takes himself to bed when he's tired.

He loves me best but I suspect it's because I feed him so maybe your daughter could feed him in the mornings?.

[Fleurdelise]

I will make sure that once she picks a place to sleep I will lay down a blanket or something similar so she can take with her to the cat sitter while we go away in the summer. I am sure I will find it hard to take her there but we'll have to accept it.

Has anybody got a brindle tortie? I think they look lovely but some of the people that I shown pictures to went "oh, she's...sweet". I picked her by her personality as she is described as affectionate and playful but I also like her fur colour. Are they not that popular?

I will encourage dd to feed her, in fact apparently I am in charge of the litter tray and she is in charge of the feeding part. That's what dd decided.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Torties are usually very popular. It's the black and whites and pure blacks that struggle to be re-homed.

[thecatneuterer]

That's lovely. I hope you'll be very happy together. My number one recommendation would be to get insurance.

As Fluffy said, torties are very popular. Black cats will stay in the rescue an average of three months longer than the torties, even if they are more friendly.

[Fleurdelise]

I didnt care about the colour so I would have taken a black and white or black. She needed to be around 1 year old, friendly and affectionate for the kids (dd in particular as she is the one asking for the cat). She is the one we matched.

[Fleurdelise]

Oh and I will get pet insurance, more so as I have a friend who ended up with a 3k bill from the vet.

[thecatneuterer]

She sounds lovely. As you say, it's the personality of the cat that is important. Rescues tend to be really good at matching people with cats.

Are you going to get a cat flap?

[Fleurdelise]

We have patio doors at the back so not sure if we can install a cat flap there in the glass?

If not maybe at the front as we are not on a main road. I will think about what's best.

We also have a garage that is not used for it's purpose, would it be ok to put a cat flap in the garage door (opening in the garden) to maybe put some food and water there for day time when we are not home?

We could let her out in the morning and bring her back in around 3,30 when one of us gets home, she could use the garage as a second home during the day?

Still thinking about what's best as I plan to keep her in at least a month if not longer to ensure she knows who feeds her.

[thecatneuterer]

Yes you should keep her in for a month. You can have a cat flap in double glazed patio doors - you need a double glazing company to make you a new pane with a hole for the flap in it. The cost will depend on the size of the pane to be replaced. You can then store the original pane in the shed or garage in case you ever want to put it back to how it was.

I don't think she'd be too happy to be shut out of the house during the day, particularly in Winter.

[Fleurdelise]

It's going to be hard to let her go out as my last cat (15 years ago) was an indoor cat for a long time until she decided to inspect the big outdoor world. I thought it was mean to deny her this opportunity but after 6 months of going out daily she never came back.

So now the memory of the big loss is coming back, didn't even get the cat yet and I am worrying about her disappearance.

[thecatneuterer]

I know. It's hard. You can cat-proof your garden, but that requires good fences all the way round to attach the cat-proofing to, and is quite expensive

[RainbowFlutterby]

I recommend NOT using a particular insurance company whose initials are D L.

They're crap.

[Fleurdelise]

Any pet insurance recommendation? She is coming with 4 weeks pet plan, is it worth renewing?

[RubbishMantra]

It's good that you picked her on personality rather than colour. After all, it's about interacting with your little beastie, isn't it. Even though cats would probably like you to gaze and admire them every waking hour.

I use PetPlan, but never had to make a claim Bit pricier, but they do have a good reputation.

Cat litter - Sainsbury's fine clumping litter or Worlds Best from Zooplus, bloody brilliant online shop for pet supplies.

I do put collars on my cats, but only the quick release ones. Only for the reason I put loc8tors on them. The elastic collars can maim and kill, so please don't use those.

To eat, mine get Applaws dry to free-feed on, and Animonda Carny or Cosma twice daily. Cosma is only a supplementary food, so make sure you have a good old read of the label when choosing a wet food. Butcher's Classic is well recommended on this board, not tried it myself though. I don't give my cats any foods containing cereals, because cats don't tolerate them well. (gives them the shits)

Regarding a scratching post, a good tall one, so she can have a good old stretch while stropping her nails.

And as Peas says, a Flying Frenzy. Get one of these for instant cat happiness. And don't forget the Dreamies.

[Fleurdelise]

Today is the day! Hopefully we'll be able to pick her up, we've been told that is the case but you never know.

We are all so excited!

So I am trying to picture coming home: dd is hoping that the cat will be sleeping in her bedroom (even in the same bed) but we live in a town house so dd's bedroom is all the way up on the third floor. Do I bring the cat straight there and put a litter tray on the landing for a couple of days?

I would prefer to have her litter tray downstairs in the kitchen, shall I put one upstairs and one downstairs?

[RainbowFlutterby]

2 trays is a good idea. You can never have too many trays!

[Fluffycloudland77]

I'd put a tray on every floor, just to be safe.