First Cat - what do I need to know?

[CakeRage]

We are hopefully going to go and pick up our first cat at the weekend and I'm dead excited but also feel a bit bewildered - I don't know much about cats at all!

I think we have all the gear - litter tray & scoop, food/water bowls, scratching post, carrier - not bothered with bed after reading posts on here! Have I missed anything? We're waiting to see what food/litter she's using at the mo before we buy that.

I'm nervous - what do I need to know?!

Ooh, exciting! What type of cat? Kitten? Rescue?

One word: SPAYING!!!
SparklyCat1 and SparklyCat2 have the same mother but are from different litter. The poor mum had 6 litters in ridiculously quick succession. Turns out the owners had her booked in to get spayed after the first litter, vet got her on the table, opened her up....and a tiny paw fell out! She was already half-way through the pregnancy with the next litter!! This happened a few times due to the very horny, unmetered male cat a few gardens over!!
Also, set boundaries in your house from the start!! My SparklyCat1 is a spoilt princess and pretty much has the run of the house: big mistake. She has no concept of personal space. If she wants to sit somewhere, she sits there...regardless of what is in the way. She parked her arse on my DHs face while he was sleeping once because we forgot to completely close the door between the living room and the stairs

Un-neutered*

She's a Siberian, from a breeder, but not a kitten (would have loved a rescue, but DH is allergic and can only tolerate certain breeds). She's 4, and an ex breeding cat going into retirement.

We were told an adult would be best cause we work full time. Hopefully we'll get her a friend soon, but Siberian adults are pretty thin on the ground!

Will she be neutered? (Totally agree with sparkling) make sure she is.

Make sure she has a safe space (a room?) she can settle into first. You may not see her for a few days!

Make sure the house is secure so she can't get out for about 3 weeks whilst she settles. And also, consider microchipping her, if she has not been done.

The cat treats dreamies, are excellent. We put our in a tub and shake it before giving our boy a few. He now comes in from the garden at the shake of the tub, which is very handy.

I'm pretty sure she is neutered, but will check! We will get her done if not.

She can have the run of the dining room, that has loads of good places to hide :)

Should you keep their names the same when you take them as adults? Do they learn them?

I don't think it matters they will learn to recognise whatever you call them if it's linked to food or something!

Personally, we kept our rescue pets' names but then, they are nice names that suit them and not the same as any relative in the family!

Siberians

If she's a Siberian YOU will be her friend if she's anything like
Bogbastardkitten. I have never met a more stupidly people oriented cat. You have to watch it when opening the door coming home as he is usually lying right across it trying to get to you and at all times he wants to be where we are. Whenever he hears the door he bounds straight to it to see which of his humans has arrived!

Just a note, don't panic if DH has some mild reaction in the first week or two. Obviously watch it carefully but don't assume all is lost. We got a Siberian kitten for the same reason and DH having been fine at an allergy sitting was a bit itchy and sneezy the first few weeks - but after that acclimatised and all was well.

Hehe, thanks Bog! Been warned about the allergy already - hopefully it won't be a problem. He spent an hour in a room with 15 cats, liberally covered in fur, litter and pee, so if he didn't react in that situation hopefully one cat in a full house should be ok!

Excited now

No that does sound like testing to destruction! DH got one cat to cuddle, in a hoovered room, for one hour.

Hope all goes well

Thanks! I expected our allergy visit to be a bit like that, but it was pretty full on!

Probably for the best, though - it was a great test

She's here! I can't believe how chilled out she is. She hid for about 25 mins, and is now making herself at home!

Aww, she's lovely.

You'll probably need to groom her, a bit. Is she used to being brushed?

She's gorgeous!

She's beautiful.
Booked into vet? Is she spayed? Ours are shut in the house awaiting spaying and chipping. They will not be allowed out until both are done or ever if I can't stop worrying about my babies
Tried catnip yet?!

Ooh! Lovely

Glad to hear that she is so chilled.

She is spayed and chipped. Looking into insurance now. We have a vets down the road, so will register with them asap. Will she need to go in for a check? I need to find out from her last owner when she was last wormed/vaccinated and so on - forgot to ask!!

We didn't take ours as he looks so healthy and we knew exactly where he had come from but we did take our dog as her history is so much more unknown.

I say go with your gut feeling and what your vet suggests

Oh she's lovely! Ever so elegant compared to my Bogbastard - I think the females do come a bit smaller. And what a lovely colour :)

For comparison this is Bogbastard who is only 7 months!

Re vets and vaccs I think worth asking the owner for her vaccination certificate. Otherwise the vets will probably start again which won't hurt her but will cost you.

Has she been kept in and is now going to be allowed out? If so don't forget she will need feline leukaemia. It isn't needed for solely indoor cats so Bogbastardkitten hadn't had it, but if they're going out at all they need it.

Enjoy her she looks lovely

She's a bit skinny at the mo, and her hair's patchy in places. The breeder said it's because she's only just weaned her last litter and she should fill back out again pretty quickly, especially now she's been spayed.

She is going to be a house cat as there are lots of cars and dogs where we are, and we're not far from the motorway. She's been an indoor cat at her previous home so she's happy enough!

She's still mostly hiding today, but been for a good explore around the house She's nominated a bottom drawer that she likes to hide in, so I've put a blanket in it for her to make it a bit cosier!

Flea treatment from Vet ASAP, advantage or advocat are the ones that worked best for us.