I came home from work to find a kitten in my living room

[BunnyBunnyBunny]

It's our wedding anniversary on Thursday, I've been considering getting a cat or kitten for ages, DH has been very anti. Turns out that's because he was planning to surprise me.

So, I have a very cute as yet unnamed little black fluff ball hiding under my sofa and I need lots of advice quickly.

Luckily I was already researching kitten care, but DH is unfortunately not the kind to plan things thoroughly so I feel a little underprepared due to the lack of warning. He has a litter tray, a bed, a box with a towel smelling of mum, kitten milk and dry kitten food, water and some toys which he seems non plussed about at the moment.

How can I help him settle in, he seems very shy at the moment. DDs are in bed now but will be making sure they are quiet and gentle around him. The bunnies are not impressed, but they'll forgive me.

I'm very excited, I've wanted a cat all my life. Hope he settles in, tips gratefully received!

Well, Whiskas is made by Mars (the same company that does the chocolate bar...) .... if you think about what they put into food they produce for human consumption, does one really want to think about what they'll put into cat food? Unfortunately dry cat food has the same effect as Mars bars and Haribos have on humans - they're addictive and have a similar long term effect.

I've written a more elaborate post about cat foods here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2135485-Is-my-cat-food-healthy

Maybe he's not used to wet food, so experiment a little? Maybe try some chunks of chicken or raw fish (a smelly one).

dogfish

I need a photo of the savannah, they are gorgeous!.

Pictures, as requested :)

Wow, he is stunning. Well done for letting him outside.

Thank you.

I love his meaty hind legs, very squeezable.

My cat had dried food as well as wet and had wonderful teeth. To say it is rubbish is ridiculous. You could argue buying tinned/sachets you are paying for water.

IME cats prefer meat sachets to just biscuits but given that we know our place our cats get both .

OP you know you are legally obliged to post a photo once you have said the 'K' word, dont you?

itsfab to say that dry food is any good for a cat is actually ridiculous. If you'd actually had read my post, I'm not bothered about the teeth, I'm bothered about the malnutrition, kidney stones, dehydration (and its consequences...

Some info pages on the matter:
www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-dry-food-is-bad-for-cats-and-dogs/
healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/02/17/dry-food-wrong-for-cats.aspx
www.onlynaturalpet.com/knowledgebase/knowledgebasedetail.aspx?articleid=147

He's so dark I can't get a photo to do justice to his cuteness :)

dogfish your boy is stunning!

dogfish
What a stunning cat. I love the look of bengals, but having indoor cats did not think the highly mischievous and energetic bengal would be happy indoors or I could cope

Regarding the dry food and teeth myth ,vets have sold that idea to us for so many years that it's hard for some folk to accept that dry food does NOT clean teeth as suggested. It just breaks up upon contact.

Raw bones ,raw chicken wings or raw turkey necks will clean your kittys teeth beautifully and leave their breath fresh.

Have been thinking about the food issues dogfish mentioned and altho interesting my cats will still be eating a mixture of iams/ science diet plus a sachet or two off normal cat food. I am sure you are right Dogfish but can hardly afford to buy fresh meat for me and dd let alone the cats!!
Infact its a struggle to buy the more expensive biscuits, the cats are very healthy and full of energy. I know lots of people that fed their cats a similar diet and all cats lived a healthy long life.

Your cat however is stunning!!

Op speak to your vet and make your own mind up your kitten looks beyond cute!!

He's lovely.

Black cats are really hard to get a good picture of.

Speaking to your vet will usually get you a biased view unfortunately, unless your vet is holistic or has an open mind.

Reserch for yourself online ,there is so much information out there. Petforum.cO.uk is a wealth of information. There are some seriously knowledgeable folks on there who truly know their stuff.

There will always be people who say 'my grandma smoked until 101 and was ok' blah blah, but there are lots more who don't do as well.

I have posted, as has dogfish some economical brands that don't cost the earth. And to be honest if you can afford iams, or science crap, than you can definitely afford bozita, animonda carny, butchers classic or reduced chicken wings from a supermarket.

Sachets are one of the most expensive ways of feeding your cats btw.
Compared to the costs of 400g tins of all the brands mentioned earlier in the thread it's a crazy comparison.

Feeding your cat good food on a tight budget can be done.

I should know.

I'm putting fluff cat on amionda carney in the next couple of weeks, it should work out at £6-7 a week.

I'll order off zooplus and use a cashback site.

Bunny how is Jesse doing? Any new pictures?

He's fantastic, after a couple of days settling in he's part of the family and we all love him to pieces.

Wuss bunny doesn't like him much but Little Bun is managing to maintain aloof and uninterested, which is quite sweet as Jesse can't suss him out at all.

Both DDs have been really good with him and its already becoming clear he's going to be DDs special friend, they play together really well and she adores him.

All in all except for a few accidents in the early days he's made himself right at home, and I'm already catching myself sitting on the sofa just that bit longer because I can't bear to move the little sleepy bundle of fluff on my lap