we have new kittens ☺

[VelmaD]

My cat was sadly poisoned by antifreeze by someone in April 2013, and we have been without cats since

friend rehomed a cat, tried to get her spayed but she was pregnant - she struggled to rehome the kittens, so today we brought two home.

not sure if theyre definitely girls (ones tortoisehell one is black and white) or girl/boy, but we have the vets on July 9th to sort immunisations, check ups, microchipping and neutering.

they have settled in wonderfully, used the litter tray, had a little food and drink and are currently curled up with each other napping

having never had kittens (always rehomed adult cats) what do i need to look out for or do? they have been well handled and loved by their previous home, but im so nervous they arent eating or drinking enough, or that theyre sleeping too much!!

I am checking daily for signs of fleas. That's something I definitely don't want!

Is there any foods poisonous to cats? One has just licked cheese off my plate....

onions, chives, Lillies. Do not have lillies of any sort in the house.

I rarely have onions, never chives, and lillies only once when dp bought me them, so that's reassuring!

Do not buy flea/worm products over the counter or from a supermarket. At best they're ineffective, at worst they're dangerous. Always get from the vet. But one of the best ways to control/prevent fleas is to vacuum daily. It might sound like a chore but it doesn't really take that long (my house is 300sqm and I vacuum every day). It's easier than dealing with an infestation....

Two anyway, Velma - they're only little - but bear the 'grown up' ratio in mind if they're to be housecats and/or you're not in a position to clean up very frequently. (I work from home so clean Seniorboy's trays as I see they're dirty. Or as I'm told they're dirty, these days. He's quite authoritative.)

We were advised about the flea/worming stuff not to come from supermarkets but from the vets - they will provide it all at cost on their appointment on the 8th.

I will get a second tray. Are they ok to be next to each other?

Put them separately, kittens are ok but adults can be seriously weird about toilet things.

Proper prima donnas some of them. Furry little tyrants.

Oh - and don't give them cow's milk even if they love it. Most cats have lactose intolerance and milk could make them squittery and unwell. (My own boy, surprisingly, is lactose tolerant but it's really not worth risking the health of an animal whose body you don't know yet. Water to drink.)

We give ours is lactose free milk as a treat. Until recently I had 11 indoor cats. I didn't have the space in my old house to have 12 trays though, so I gave over one of the bathrooms to the cats. It had 6 hooded trays in it. It worked out fine, we used to poopascoop several times a day. There were never any dirty protests anywhere else in the house so they didn't seem to be bothered. I use 2 trays now for 5 cats and they're good as gold but again, I'm home all day and scoop frequently. Good quality litter is also a must. Cheap litter is a false economy.

I think there needs to be a rider to the 'one per cat plus one' rule which is - 'where reasonable'. Can you imagine TCN's house if she had to have 23 litter trays?

I haven't tried the lactose-free milk on a cat, just myself and suprisingly palatable I found it so if it works on cats that might just be the solution to those who have incorrigible thieves-from-the-DC's-breakast-bowls. I think water is best, though, if only to get them in the habit of it and even if you generally use lactose free. That one time you forget is - by Sod's Law - going to be the time the cat nicks some.

Water is definitely best, absolutely.

I only have one bathroom and my house is tiny, even trying to figure out somewhere for a second try is hurting my head! I shall figure it out.

We are sticking to water so far, and a mix of wet and dry food.the litter - well we had kitten stuff which is horrible, and friend recommended wood pellet stuff which is amazing so will stick with that!

FWIW we have two cats and two litter trays next to each other, which has never been a problem. I know ideally they should be in different places but it's not practical. And we don't have space for a third tray.

We've got this tray, it's great:
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002BDU8EW/
And another standard one which they don't really use any more (they go outside in the day and don't seem to use it much even when we keep them in at night)

PS The same tray is much cheaper on Amazon US than Amazon UK

Ooh Ive seen them, that looks good!

My two seem to poo for England!!