New kittens are coming!

[EnjoyResponsibly]

I am in a state of major excitement. Two kittens will be coming to live with us next week.

It has been 18 years since I last had small furries scampering up my curtains around. What has changed in that time wise MNers?

They are brother and sister.

I was planning to get:

Insurance
A bed
A litter tray with a lid

Our old cats ate dried food (Iams) is this ok in kitten form?

What toys can be assembled to keep their little furry minds occupied?

Can cats be chipped like dogs?

Thank you xx

Yes you can chip them , My kitten loved to bat around ping pong balls.

Dried food is fine although I do give mine wet food sometimes for a treat.

at your new cute kittens.

hi there we just got our kitten a few weeks ago he is 10 weeks now ,we didnt get him a bed ,we used a cardboard box with a blanket never went in it once !!,they will just find somewhere they like to sleep (my daughters fleecey dressing gown on the sofa) ,litter tray ,litter,scoop ,toys they love any dangling things on sticks also balls with a bell inside and feathers,food wise try to find out what they were having before so not to upset their tummy ,dry food is fine but i give the whiskers kitten pouches of wet food 4 small meals a day with dry food down for him at night ,always fresh water down for them i change his twice a day,we tried to have him upstairs during the night but he kept us all awake using the house like a race course,so we shut him in the living room at night along with his litter tray and food,water
he loves to climb the curtains so if your curtains are very expensive consider changing them -pluck city !!!
good luck and enjoy they grow up too soon

How exciting. We got 2 little kitten brothers last year. It had been 14 years since we had kittens and I'd forgotten how bloody mental they were. They were literally chasing each other round at top speed then collapsing for a sleep. Up the curtains, down the sofa. Luckily we had a very tolerant elderly cat who dished out the discipline.
We got about 3 el cheapo scratching posts from Argos rubbed them with catnip and had them around the place which saved the furniture. We had both hard and soft and found one that they liked. The Whiskas kitten gave them the runs.
We usually use the woodchip litter but with kittens I found they were in and out so often and then all over the place so quickly we ended up with sawdust everywhere so we changed to the clay based one.
You get them microchipped at the same time as their vaccs.
A pair of kittens will keep each other entertained so you don't need many toys.

oh and yes they should be micro chipped ,our kitten was already done by the breader at 8 weeks but they should be older really ,big needle

Curtains cost a fortune so are coming down this weekend.

Good advice re posts and catnip. I have one, but will get another I think. Notes Argos connection.

Ping pong balls - genius

Honestly, I'm so excited. I lost my elderly cats last year and my house has been so empty. I think I see them everywhere.

Thank you for your advice xx

Our two love playing with the plastic inside of a Kinder Egg. Bonus - you/DCs get to eat the chocolate.

Very excited for you.

I have always used the Aldi cat litter, It's fine.

Asda smartprice cat litter here, no odours.

I use cheap cereal bowls from homebargains for food dishes, they are dishwasher proof and dont move around like plastic ones.

Dont forget no going out until neutered. You dont want them buggering off after a female and getting lost/run over.

If you want collars the pound shop do 2 for a £1 and they are snap release, elastic ones arent as safe.

Pets at home do a spray on catnip for scatch posts, I found it useful for getting him started on it.

Lazer pointer - lots of fun.

Tin foild balls are just as good as shop bought.

My two were chipped at the same time as they were denutted.
They play with anything. Literally anything that can move is a toy.

We got a kitten last October, first ever pet and he's brilliant. Never touched a curtain though, or the scratching posts we gave him .
I really don't think insurance is worthwhile as it never covers the routine stuff.
Yes he loves ping pong balls. One of his favourite things is a pop up laundry basket ( which was never any use in it's original role). Also a plastic straw threaded onto a long shoelace.
We use the woodchip litter and a large covered litter tray.
Boy / girl don't delay the neutering

Disagree about insurance. One of ours was hit by a car in 2010 & broke his back leg. £1300 to fix . Insurance is £4.90 a month.

Yes, I think insurance is very wise. It's not really for the routine stuff, it's for the possibly putting them back together stuff.

Hello, I may be picking up a kitten this weekend so this thread is very timely! Can anyone tell me:
How many times a day does a little kitten (9 weeks) need to be fed?
When do i get her vaccinated?
At what age can i have her spayed? She'll be a house cat until i get around to that...
Thanks!

kitten 3 small meals a day morning noon and teatime and a bowl of kitten biccies available for her to graze on and fresh water available at all times

spaying from 4 months onwards some vets prefer six months ask your vet

vaccinations is usually 12-13 weeks for first one then the second one is two weeks later

my pepper had his first jabs at 9 weeks and then again at 12 weeks ,he has 4 small meals a day and dry biscuits to snack on
wearent going to use insurance as the excess is £65

I'd be wary about feeding them only dry food. Mine had only eaten Dry when I got her, so that's what I bought to not upset her tummy. However, I picked her up one morning just after she'd used her litter tray and when I put her down I found blood on my hand. I then introduced wet food into her diet and things improved. I did discuss it with the vet when I took her in for her jabs and he agreed with me that the dry food had been too hard for her insides. :(

It was quite sad that when she saw the meat in her bowl the first time she had no idea what it was and wouldn't eat it til she had biscuits on top. Even now she often won't eat meat without some biscuits for crunch.