New to cats - advice please

[SarfEasticated]

We are just about to get a cat from our local cat sanctuary - a 5/6 yr old female. She is lovely and friendly and me and dd6yrs fell in love with her. We have passed the home visit and hope to pick her up on Saturday. We don't have much time to prepare so I would really appreciate some advice. Could you let me have your recommendations for the following?

1. Food - would like to feed raw if possible.
2. Cat litter - there seem to be different types - no idea which to choose
3. Toys - we have been recommended to play with her a lot to bond but not sure what toys
4. Scratching post - are these important?
5. Where is the best place to buy this stuff - online preferred.
6. Pet insurance - have been recommended pet plan - are they good?
7. Anything else I need but don't realise yet?

We have also been visited by mice recently and have had 'pet friendly' poison down. I assume I should remove it now - hopefully cat will sort them out? Any advice appreciated.
Thank you :)

Also I think catsan absolutely stinks. Literally. The dust, the mess, and the overriding stench of urine has ensured I'll never use it again.

After trying loads and loads of brands, I despaired until I found cats best oko plus. Fresh wood smell, clumping, so no need to empty the tray weekly, and hides odours.
Alas, I couldn't handle the tracking.
Finally found my 'forever' litter. Fresh woody smell and hides stinks well. But best of all, great big pellets that don't track around my flat, in my bed or on my sofa. Bliss.

Didn't say the name OP
It's cats best natures gold.
I order from zooplus and have found them economically priced. They deliver in good time and I like their reward system and discounts.

Well beautifullymixed I had decided on Natures Instinct raw food, but sadly Modom has decided that she prefers Whiskas chicken pouch. We have 5kg of Nature's Instinct. My mum bought the venison one and I think in hindsight chicken would have been better. I think I would rather mix Natures Instinct with chicken wings and giblets, but then it's not up to me!
I think I'll wait until she has settled in properly and then we'll try it again.
The Catsan was all they had in the late night supermarket, and she doesn't mind it. A shallow tray had 2 wees in it and a poo so I just emptied it in a bag and put it in the bin. I wasn't aware it could last a week! I'm hoping that once she is allowed to go out, she'll just go outside.

In other news, she has been sitting with us in the sitting room all evening - running off when something startles her - so we are nearly there I think.
Bless her...

She's lovely, OP
Her fur looks very thick & fluffy
It sounds like she's settling in really well

My cats have always ignored "proper" cat beds, the current incumbent sleeps on my bed or occasionally in an old cardboard box on a blanket

Ping pong balls and a laser pointer pen seem to be popular toys here

Litter - I have the Cat's Best Oko Plus mentioned above by Beautifullymixed - I don't find the tracking too bad. It lasts for ages and doesn't smell. Catsan I don't like because it gets very smelly & there were little hard bits of it all over the house

Well the raw Natural Instinct food is not going down well. I even fried it to make it taste better but still no. So I guess Whiskas it is! I tried mixing them but she didn't fall for it at all. hmph. We also went to Pet World and stocked up on balls (I am hopeful she will catch the mouse that seems to live with us) but she is showing no inclination to play or chase anything. I guess it's that she maybe hasn't quite relaxed enough. She is so much more relaxed now - lying on her back and sprawling around - it's lovely. We all love her dearly already - she's such a darling - her little chirpy squeaks are adorable.

Never buy a big bag of food, they will go off it straightaway.

This week our cat is on whiskas, he's refusing to eat the pate tins from waitrose.

Maybe no ones played with her, we had a cat that had never been played with.

Thanks fluffy just got home from the park and Modom was eating her flash fried natures instinct - a result.

If she has never been played with before, can you teach her how to do it now, or is it too late. I hope she is a keen mouser though...

Hmm I read somewhere that the whiter the cat the more useless they are at hunting!! Your lovely lady looks quite white....... sorry

Not sure I could go for the raw food thing and have a feeling both my moggies would give a 'wtf is this' look if I did. My cats are both healthy and look in great condition on a mixture of a good quality dry food and the occasional pouch of something in gravy. They both go mad for tuna so they sometimes get a bit of that as well. In rl everyone I know with cats does this as well but I recently got flamed for pointing this out on mn so I will shut up now

We fed my dearly departed dog raw food and she loved it, and it just kind of felt right to try to do the same with el catto. I wouldn't judge anyone for how they fed their cat tbh, as long as they feed them and look after them

re the white cat thing, I wonder if that is because some white animals are deaf? that would hamper their hunting wouldn't it. There is a white cat a my local train station who often deposits dead mice at waiting passenger's feet.

Not sure what the reason is tbh, I read that if you want to help local wildlife you should only get white cats!!

I have a black and white cat and he catches the odd thing and our kitten who has no white on her has only caught flies and spiders so far

OP my cats refused to eat the venison flavour. Couldn't get them to touch it. Reading reviews apparently it's a strong flavoured variety. Maybe try mixing it with the whiskas, and gradually reduce it , as they've now taken the plunge. Of course they would prefer the whiskas though, it's like junk food for them.

Sounds like it's all going well.

Ahh that makes sense. Yes it seems an odd kind of meat for catfood. They aren't likely to bring down a stag are they! I'd like to see rabbit, chicken, pigeon rather than venison....

Mouse, vole, spider.......

Oh and fly flavour. That would go down a treat in my house.

She's much more relaxed now. All seems fine now

at thought of moggy bringing down a stag!! Funny, yes spiders, flies even the odd butterfly (bad puss) flavour cat food would be very popular here. I think I have spotted a gap in the market

This is a regular scene on our home