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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Bed for a kitten??

20 replies

umiaisha · 17/09/2013 13:25

Picking up our kitten on saturday.

Think I have got everything we need (litter tray, food/water bowls, toys, carrier) with exception of a bed. My mum has assured me that a box with a fleecy blanket in it will suffice - what do you think?

Thanks!

OP posts:

Iseeall · 17/09/2013 13:33

Don't bother with a 'special' cat bed they don't use them.
Your new kitten will choose its own bed. Usually clean washing, clothes you want to wear, fresh towels etc.
Seriously though, in whatever room you are keeping new kitty in, just make sure there are some small fleece blankets or an old bath towel, your kitten will normally choose a place to sleep and then you can put a fleece there. hth

cozietoesie · 17/09/2013 14:36

As Iseeall said - but by all means try the box with the fleece in if you have them to hand. Kittens like boxes.

As a general rule, I try to avoid special 'cat' anything, particularly in big stores. They usually add on £££ to something that you can acquire or make much more cheaply yourself.

Have fun on Saturday. Let us know how he settles in.

dingit · 17/09/2013 14:39

If you really want a kitten bed, I got mine really cheap in pound stretcher. ( they used them for a while...)

BehindTheScenesAtTheMumseum · 17/09/2013 14:48

We are just using a cardboard box in the kitchen with the side cut down and an old pillow and a fleecy blanket in it for our kitten who arrived 2.5 weeks ago and he loves it - although he has also claimed the armchair in the living room as his own and likes sleeping on the stairs and in DS's toy garage too! I may buy something more permanent/ attractive in the long run as I think we will continue to keep him in the kitchen at nighttime, but it has been quite nice to see where he likes to sleep most before spending any money on it!

The DCs have had great fun making a 'kitten playground' out of cardboard boxes from the supermarket with various holes, doors and windows cut into them, the kitten loves it!

Have fun with your new kitten, ours has given us a bit of a roller coaster ride in the short time he has been with us (see my thread re kitten with a lump) but we all adore him!

WakeyCakey · 17/09/2013 21:28

I bought our little girl a bed before we got her and she loves it. I took the cushion part of it in the carrier when I went to collect her and she's slept in it ever since during the day.
At night she sleeps in my bed/on my pillow/on my face.

timtam23 · 17/09/2013 23:35

My kitten sleeps on a woolly blanket but he also likes to snooze on newspapers and DS1's school rucksack . We have never managed to persuade any cats to sleep on proper cat beds, the radiator bed was completely ignored although the fleecy cover makes a good cat blanket

cozietoesie · 17/09/2013 23:40

When I got Twoago, I decided to strike a blow for independence and have him sleep in a box with a fleece.

He thought that being put in the box, leaping out and being put back in the box was an excellent game...... I tired out before him though. Last time I tried that one. They've just slept with me ever since.

ZebraOwl · 18/09/2013 04:01

I got a bed for my cats before I got them (as 8 week-old kittens) as they were shut in the kitchen overnight & when Home Alone (which was never more than a couple of hours at a time!) to start with & I wanted to make sure they had somewhere supercomfy to curl up. I also made it part of a hidey-place by putting it under the superugly chair the OTs wouldn't let me home from hospital without after my last knee op & draping towels over ugly!chair to make a kind of lair/tent/cave effect.

A friend from uni very kindly sent me a parcel of stuff her cats had outgrown/lost interest in a few weeks after I got the boys, including a basic cushion!catbed. The bed I'd bought was a fabric open-top cylinder with a big cushion to fill it & a ring-shaped cushion to go on top of that to give effect of bringing the sides of the cylinder in & make the bed cosier for wee kittens. I put the ring cushion onto the bed from my friend & a wee fleece blanket over the top (matching blanket went onto original bed) to make a "proper" bed. The beds were put on the landing, opposite my bedroom door, and the cats slept there at night until they started being allowed to sleep in with my brother a few months ago. The beds were pretty much ignored over the summer in favour of cooler options but with the change in the weather they've come back into vogue, with black!cat being especially fond of his (the made-up) one.

My two do also like sleeping in other spots - the sofas & chair in the living room are all popular; our beds; on the blanket/towel I put down for them on/in boxes in the dining room (to make it comfier as they were snoozing there without any padding); and I put a cushion on top of my wardrobe to make that sleeping spot comfier for them too.

I guess what I'm getting at is that you'll find your kitten will find themselves plenty of spaces to sleep but it's good to ensure they have a safe-cosy space available & obvious to them immediately. I definitely wouldn't advocate going & spending heaps on a bed but I'd suggest a cushion of some sort as well as/instead of the blanket for maximum comfiness, snuggliness & also warmth.

Very much hope that your kitten settles in well & fast & wish you much joy of them

Original poster

umiaisha · 19/09/2013 22:03

Great advice, thank you very much. Think I will just go with the cardboard box lined with a cosy fleece.

Will keep you updated on how she settles in. Can't wait!

OP posts:

ZebraOwl · 20/09/2013 02:26

Good luck - I look forward to hearing about how kitten settles in & how quickly she wraps you all around her little claw with her adorableness

Original poster

umiaisha · 22/09/2013 21:47

Picked the kitten up today and so far so good :-) two visits to the litter tray and has been eating, drinking and being very sociable.

She has however managed to master the stair gate and can get up to our bedrooms with ease. I had planned to keep her downstairs at night but looks now like this could be a problem as our house as pretty much open plan. Am a bit concerned that she might try to jump out of our bedroom window as we have it open a bit every night and that she might bother the kids (2 and 7). Any ideas? Can't believe I am asking this but she couldn't suffocate the 2 year old could she???

OP posts:

ZebraOwl · 23/09/2013 11:20

Yay! Am glad the kitten's settling in well

You are all quite safe fro being suffocated by the kitten. She might bug the kids ("budge up" "share the duvet" "I'll just give your face a quick wash" "allow me to sing you the song of my people") &/or indeed you if she can get into your bedrooms.

Are you able to shut bedroom doors at night? My door's one you just push so I actually have to barricade the door (well, move a storage box in front of it) to stop the cats coming in...

cozietoesie · 23/09/2013 11:25

Glad she's settling in.

Ordinary stairgates are really to stop dogs and children - cats just regard them as part of the household furniture to me manoeuvred around at will.

Does your bedroom window open at the bottom (ie a sash type)? If so, you should be able to open it just a smidgin - to be safe. (I have an open bedroom window myself and I would feel quite claustrophobic if I couldn't have it open at all.)

cozietoesie · 23/09/2013 11:26

(I need more caffeine.)

Original poster

umiaisha · 23/09/2013 12:50

Thanks - know the suffocation risk was a crazy question!! I shut the kids doors in the end and left ours open. To the best of my knowledge she didn't come upstairs and slept under the sofa. No interest in the cardboard box makeshift bed though. I also cannot sleep without a window open but as they seem quite stiff don't think she would be able to push it open more to get out. Fingers crossed.

She has not left me alone today. Following me around chatting and jumps on me as soon as I sit down. So sweet!

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 23/09/2013 12:59

Open a smidgin should be OK - certainly at night. There might be a higher risk if she was in a daytime 'hot pursuit' of something or something enticing sat on the window edge but if it's only open a very small bit she wouldn't likely try to get through it.

(But when they come into heat for the first time, they appear to try to escape through keyholes! Best make the appointment for 5 months for the op.)

chillykitty · 25/09/2013 16:52

We are getting a kitten a wk sat
I am going to get a soft igloo bec

ZebraOwl · 26/09/2013 00:02

It is better to ask a daft question & get reassurance than to worry yourself over it!

Good luck with the window & general nighttime situation. Sadly are windows are not of a design that allows for safe opening with cats around so we have to have a system to air bits of the house at a time. And I open my window at night when the cats are banned from my room.

So lovely to hear that kitten is settling in so well & bonding with you so closely

TheWinterOne · 26/09/2013 09:27

My bed or at the back of the chair I'm sat on so they can paw at my head is their favourite spot. I did buy one of those radiator beds but it was a complete waste of money - not used once. I put male on it and he jumped straight off. It was as if he was scared of it.

ZebraOwl · 26/09/2013 23:38

Awww, is nice they love you so much they wish to be able to bop you on the head whenever the mood takes them.

You might find the radiator bed is viewed more favourably as the weather worsens, I guess? If you do find it is simply never used at all ever even if only alternative is a bed of nails I guess you could see if a local cat charity might have a use for it?

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