Novice cat owner seeks words of advice!

[Jynxed]

We have given in to the begging of the kids and agreed to take a kitten from a work colleague. I'm looking forward to collecting it, but surprisingly nervous! I've never had a cat - how do I look after it??

It was born in the middle of Sept and we will collect next week when its 3 months old. Its a little tabby girl.

What do we do then? Do we have to take it to the vet for flea and worm treatment? What will it need - basket, travel box, food bowl, collar - anything else? What should we feed it? When can it go into the garden? When we all go back to work and school in Jan can were leave it on its own for any length of time? How old does it have to be when we take it to be spayed.

Help! So much I don't know! Words of advice desperately needed!

Any decent breeder should worm and flea it on the day you collect. The breeder should also give you some of kittens food and cat litter that it is used to, if not ask in advance what she has and stock up.

It will be fine left alone but have you considered buying two to keep each other company?

Female cats should be spayed at five months.

Thanks.

WE're not getting her from a breeder, but from a normal family whose cat had kittens.

How do you worm and flea a cat - is it a tablet, powder, or what? Is it a treatment you get from a vet or a pet shop? How often does it have to be repeated?

Good advice on food and cat litter, and I will ask about that.

I thought about 2 cats, but as beginners the thought of one cat is daunting enough, let alone two.

Ask the person from whom you are getting the kitten what they use/do and also what the kitten's routine has been and what it is eating. Stick with the food it is familiar with, otherwise it may have the runs.

Check whether it has been vaccinated, and if not make sure you get it done asap. It may be worth you taking to a vet for a quick once over anyway, and they will be able to give you useful advice re fleas & worms.

You may find that getting a bed for the cat to sleep in is a bit of a waste of money - so if you haven't already shopped don't spring for anything expensive, if at all. I've had 6 cats in my lifetime and none of them have ever slept in cat beds purchased for them - in a cupboard, under a table, on the chair my DH likes to sit on yes, in their own bed or basket - not a chance!

As for cat carriers, you can probably pick up a small sturdy plastic one from somewhere like Pets at Home for about ten or fifteen quid.

You'll probably need 3 bowls - one for water (never cows milk, as a lot of cats are actually lactose intolerent) another for wet food and another for dry food. My cats have water and dry food always available, and they get wet food 4 times a day.

I wouldn't worry overmuch about leaving the kitty by herself. Cats are pretty big sleepers, getting as much as 14-16 hours a day and she will quite possibly snooze much of the day away if there is nothing interesting to stay awake for. Just be sure to play with her in the evenings and she'll be happy.

As other posters have said, definitely don't switch the brand of food she is eating, cats can get very set on what they eat and are known for being picky. If you give her something different to what she is used to she may either just refuse it, or eat and get an upset tummy.

Finding a good local vet is worth doing right away - make sure the kitty is healthy and has no problems.

Worming is usually done by pill (though you can get liquid forms) you can buy worm pills in pet stores or online, or visit the vet and have them drop the pill in for you (but they will of course charge you for that.) It all depends what the cat is like and what your budget is. I have one cat who is very placid and easily 'pilled' and another who turns into a flailing howling psycho and requires both me and DH to manage her - and even then it takes a few attempts and we both inevitably end up clawed and bloodied. We repeat this madness every 3-4 months.

Fleas will probably only be a problem if it is an 'outdoor' cat. I swear by Program for my cats (six-monthly injections at the vet) and never have flea issues, but I know a lot of people do well with monthly drops on the back of the neck like Frontline or Advantage. Flea collars are okay, and better than nothing for an adult cat, but are not suitable for a kitten. Flea powders are a waste of time in my opinion and will make the cat hate you.

Make sure the kitten is kept indoors for a minimum of a week - preferably two - before you let it go outside. Cats are slippery and master escapologists, so you'll have to take some care about opening outer doors. If the kitten leaves the house before it understands that your house is her new home she may run away and not return.

The main reason I have two cats is so that they are company for each other, but they are both from the same litter and have always been together - introducing two strange cats can be risky as they may not get on at all.

I'm not sure what age your children are, but if they are young 'uns make sure they let kitty find her feet in her own time (even if she mainly hides under the bed for the first day or so) and don't drag her out to try and play.

Cats have to trust their owners and if their first impression of their new home is loud lively children trying to force them play they may be reluctant to ever join the family and you'll be stuck with a scared kitty hiding away somewhere.

And that was probably far too much info in one big lump hehe

Thank you Piggles, that was great!

What Piggles said. To reiterate though... two cats isn't that much more work than one. Only more expensive food and vets wise. I actually find 2 less hassle as they entertain each other. Mine are older too so require less attention (I say that as one of my cats who is demanding attention hits my keyboard to stop me clicking so she can sleep in peace on my knee).

One purchase I swear by though (others may not) is a scratching post. Especially a tall one if you have young children so your kittens can escape them and not feel cornered. I bought this one over 3 years ago and it's still going strong and much loved by my cats. I do wish I'd have got a bigger one though but I only had one cat at the time. My sister got a floor to ceiling one of e-bay for £40. Worth a look IMO.

When you get you kitten take it to the vets to get a clean bill of health - you might also want to consider insurance. My eldest cat has just been released from the vets after being very ill for 3 weeks and I'm anticipating a bill I can't afford. Do check when getting a cat insured what you are getting for your money. Tesco insurance might be cheaper but if it doesn't do "cover for life" it probably isn't worth having. Cover for life means that if your cat develops an illness in the year of cover that illness will continue to be covered by the insurance year on year. Without Cover for life the condition will only be covered for a year and next year it will be considered a pre-existing condition which isn't covered by the insurance. Unfortunately getting pet insurance is nothing like car insurance, you pick one and if your cat gets ill you are stuck with that company. This is of course optional, having two cats I wish I'd have got the eldest insured and intend to get the younger one insured just as soon as she has had her boosters and I get my vet to wipe of the note on her record that says she has cat flu when she obviously never did it was just a bad diagnosis from a lazy vet.

Finally - get yourself a good vet. There are some fantastic ones but there are rubbish ones too. If you get a bad vibe from your vet ditch them, there will be a better one. When you find one you trust you will be willing to drive that extra 5 miles to see that person. Best bet is to ask around locally to those that have pets. Otherwise try your local one and assess them yourself, if the vet seems uninterested in your animal this isn't normal and you should leave. I once had a vet tell me that my cat had a lot of history so she hadn't read it, then asked me what I wanted. I then told her which drugs I wanted for my cats condition and she gave them to me. I never went back.

Good luck with your kitten, remember never to physically discipline a cat. Unlike dogs they will not understand this and will only associate pain with you not the action your are punishing them for. If your kitten does something undesirable a water spray bottle or loud noises are the best ways to deter them from doing something again. Make sure they don't see you do it though as then again the water is related to you not the action. To encourage scratching where you want you have to be patient and move the cat to its designated scratch point every time you see it scratch, demonstraite with its paws what it is supposed to do then stroke it in a good cat way iyswim. If you have something you are worried about being damaged you should get some double sided tape and put it over those items. The kitten won't like the feel of it and when it knows where to scratch you can remove these.

I think we've covered everything between us all We could write a book

Many thanks Catherine! Do you have any recommendations on pet insurance companies or products?

I agree with all of the above - but always remember

The cat thinks it owns you

Have fun.

Generally the most well known insurance is Petplan but I googled it and came up with Which pet insurance which found M&S also do lifetime cover and it is slightly cheaper.

Good luck with your kitty - they are always a pleasure to have. Today I have the other cat I have cuddled up next to me dozing. :)

If it's possible to reconsider, we got two cats (kittens actually, too little really at eight weeks) as first time cat custodians, and it's really not been twice the bother at all. Twice the cost most of the time (though not when they've been ill, as only one has been ill at a time) and twice the worming pills to get down them, but that's a small consideration. They have been more than twice the fun though, as they play with each other, and now that it's cold they've started snuggling up together again (they're adolescent boys and I thought they'd grown out of it).

Anyway ... be careful what kind of collar you get for her. I will only put quick-release ones on mine as cats can hang themselves from solid buckle-up collars, and can injury themselves even with elasticated ones (my friend's cat got hers caught round a front leg and did herself a lot of damage). Unfortunately this means only one of my two actually wears a collar, as his brother quick-releases himself within a day or two of having a new collar ... they're both chipped however, so both are identifiable even without collars.

Our little one has now arrived, and is much loved already after only one day. DD2 has named her Misty, and so far Misty and DD2 are coping brilliantly with the new domestic situation.

I am very keen to get pet insurance ASAP. Has anyone any recommendations of what to go for? TIA

If you are letting it go outside I would suggest you have the leuakaemia vaccince as well as the flu and enteritis one. Personally, I wouldn't let it out until it has been neutered as a cat's first call (i.e when it is season/receptive to mating) can happen from 4/5 months (normally later) and it can be difficult to detect