Getting a cat on Sunday - need to get stuff! Help. - Long!

[charlieandlola]

We have never had a cat before, and after 4 months waiting, Cats Protection rang yesterday to say that they have a cat for us. We were specific in what we wanted as dd is autistic and as far as she is concerned, cats are only black. We are going to pick up a 5 yo black female on Sunday, called Rolo.
Anyway, I now need to get stuff for her:
I have bought a carrier on ebay, so that is sorted.

Is Pets at Home a rip off? Are there any good ( ie not expensive) online shops

Do I need a cat bed?

Food - CP have said Purina, and then wet stuff in jelly, not gravy. Which brand is best.

Cat litter - I am at a complete loss here, it all looks so complicated.

Oh, what do I look for in a vet ?Do I buy flea and worm stuff from the vets? If not where?

If you have read this far, thanks!

Any help whilst I am on the school run gratefully received.

We tend to go to Pets at Home for cat litter and big bags of cat food but our 2 are only fed on dried food so cant advise on wet food and ours arent fussy eaters so they just get whatever works out cheapest.

As for a cat bed it depends on the cat ours wont use them anymore they prefer our bed or whatever dark private place they can find. having said that some cats do like their own bed to go to.

Cat Litter wise we find Pets at Home big bags of wood pellet stuff is best regarding smells.

Cant really advise about vets as we just went with what was nearest and I think we had a family recomendation as well but maybe not.

HTH even just a little bit.

Claire xXx

Ask CP what litter she's been using. Cat's can sometimes be fussy.

I like the wooden pellets and you can also get pellets made out of recycled paper which is good. I hate the clay based stuff as it goes everywhere but my cat is particularly messy!

You can get a cat bed in PAH for about a tenner I think. Ours is from IKEA for £4 iirc. She'll maybe not decide to sleep in it but it's nice for her to have a place of her own.

Congratulations on your new cat! I have a C.P. cat, all black female too. She was 12 weeks when we adopted her. Now she's 2 and 9 mths

Pets at Home aren't necessarily a rip off, as with all things it depends how much you want to lavish on your pet!

Get the same food and cat litter that your new cat is used to, you can make a gradual change to something else when she is well settled in her new home.

Don't spend a fortune on a cat bed, cats are fickle and change their sleeping places on a regular basis throughout the day, two or three cheap ones in different locations are better (look in Argos) Hopefully, she will come to you with the blanket or VETBED (a fur fabric bedding) she had at C.P.

Choose a vet close to you, if not the one that C.P. use. When you collect your cat, they will tell you when vaccinations/ treatments are due, so you can register with a vet when needed. Call at a few and ask for their lists of treatments, prices, and any loyalty schemes. My vet offers two health checks a year, vaccinations, and all flea and worming treatments for a monthly fee of around £9 so the cost is spread over the year. I also get discount on Hills Science diet, and any vet treatments.

Your cat will be microchipped, and insured for a short period of time, you can choose to renew this policy, or go with another provider. She should be spayed too. You will probably get a file with vaccination card and information leaflets when you collect.

Other things you may like to get are a scratching post, get one that is as tall as the cat standing on its hind legs, and always praise her when she uses it, and some toys.

If you have any worries, you can email Your Cat magazine, and their cat experts will try to help. The mag itself is very informative I have found, and I bet your DD would enjoy it too.

Congrats!

Cat beds are a waste of time - I have several but my cats never use them. Fresh piles of laundry are the preferred sleeping area for my cats!

Food - use whatever she has been on until now, and change gradually. I use Felix in addition to dry biscuits (Royal Canin), but there are lots of good brands.

Cat litters fall into two main categories: clumping, where the urine makes the litter form lumps, and non-clumping. It's really a matter of personal preference, and some cats can be picky although I have swapped mine lots of times . I prefer clumping because you can take the urine out and I think that reduces the smells.

There are several online vet pharmacies which sell wormers & flea treatments, as do some of the bigger pet shops.

HTH

All of ours love the radiator beds, others were a waste of money - saying that for a new cat they like somewhere to hide, most like a box with a hole cut in it in a quiet corner! we use www.vetuk.co.uk/ for worming and flea stuff!
good luck

cats like cardboard boxes. no matter how small they will sit inside it. pets at home have real beds on offer at the mo (i noticed yesterday). Food wise ours rotate between classic and felix. they will happily scoff one then suddenly go off it after a few months. they also are obsessed with go cat crunchies. litter - we go for the cheapest value stuff and change it often.
how exciting. i love cats. hope you'l be very happy.

We adopted 3 cats from a friend of a friend last year. To start with we bought feeding bowls, litter tray, water bowls, tinned food, dried food and cat litter.
We didn't know what brands they had eaten before so just got supermarket own brand multipack of gravy, jelly and supermeat. After a while their preference for supermeat was obvious so we stuck with that. As for cat litter we use supermarket value versions.
After a week or so we bought some cat toys, balls, things on elastic strings and catnip.
They don't have catbeds. Their previous owner said they liked to sleep together in one cat heap on a sofa or bed. We keep old cardboard boxes in various corners of the house so they can go and hide in them if they want. To start with we lined them with some old clothes so they could get used to our smell.
You may want to prepare your daughter for how the cat might react when it arrives. When ours arrived we opened the cat carriers in the closed living room and they all scuttled away and hide behind sofas and bookcases for two days. Gradually they came out, enticed with food and made friends with us.

Thanks for all your replies, I appreciate all the advice Am feeling a bit calmer now!
DS's godmother is cat central and she has told me the same as the advice here:
Wood cat litter, open litter tray with newspaper underneath
Whatever food she is on at CP
No beds, just a pillow with clothes on it re scent, and a fleece blanket
A scratching post and some toys on elastic/balls/scrunched up foil.

I am going to register her at the vets that CP use for the time being , and get all the worms stuff etc from there, until I have got my confidence up.

DD spent all day hiding behind chairs in school today pretending to be a cat, going Miaaou.. bless.

CAn't wait till Sunday

Look on Freecycle for toys and bits

People are always getting rid of stuff

Bestpet are really good for wormers etc

my cat used to sleep in a cardboard box stuffed with shredded paper with a woolly blankie on it

I used ASDA smart price cat litter. it's a clay granule clumpy one

As far as toys went, she loved chasing rolled up balls of tinfoil, or chasing string.

good luck with your new addition, hope all goes well