Got the kittens - not sure how I feel about the whole thing now...

[FindMyLocalSite]

I have NC because if I get slated I can disappear.

After years and years of daily begging by the DC, we have got two kittens from a rescue centre. They came on Friday, they are 10 weeks old.

I was always a bit ambivalent about the whole cat situation. I feel a bit 'meh' about cats; even though I am an animal lover, I have never felt a desire to own one or live with one.

Anyway. I researched for months, if not years, and when we felt the time was as right as it was ever going to be, we went for it. This has been a long process of research, visiting rescues, registering with them and finally waiting for 10 weeks once we knew two orphan kittens had been allocated to us.

The two kittens, a boy and a girl, came home Friday evening. They slept through the night in their open travel crate (by choice, they have several bed choices). In the morning I opened a pouch of wet food and the smell of it made me feel sick. Later on they both used the litter tray and the smell brought tears to my eyes. I went out shopping and when approaching my house, I started dreading the smell of cats, cat food and cat litter in my house.

I then started mentally resenting the cost and aggravation of owning cats. The extra planning and expense it will involve when we go on holiday...

I am having a bit of an inward panic.

Is this normal? Is this because they're too new and too little for me to have bonded to the point where no effort is too much for the little kittens and then cats? Don't get me wrong, they already live like royalty, we take care of them and the DC are smitten. But I want to love them. Will that happen with time?

[Heyheyheygoodbye]

TroysMammy

[RubbishMantra]

Definitely invest in a couple of covered litter trays - they have charcoal filters that filter out the stinks. I couldn't stand an open tray. The better quality food = less stinky poo.

Food wise - I gave Applaws Kitten dry (you can buy it online much cheaper than pet shops). And Animonda Carny, (bit smelly) Also my sense of smell is much keener in the mornings, can you delegate that job to another family member? Now my boys are adults, they have Applaws Adult dry and Butchers Classic wet.

Kitten poo (IME) is smellier when they first move in with you, a combination of nerves and excitement and getting used to a new environment.

I know I'm always extolling the virtues of the PurrSuit cat toy. Used to be called flying Frenzy, but they really are the best cat toy, and DCs can play with kits interactively, without getting bitten or scratched in the excitement. They come with 3 feather attachments, but have about a gazillion end attachments that you can buy separately. The kits will keep each other entertained when no-one's about to provide it for them. Oh, and a Kong Kickeroo, so they can practice their "rabbit kicks", disemboweling practice. Oops, nearly forgot, a good, sturdy, tall scratching post, tall enough so they can reach right up and have a good old stretch. You don't want your ambivalence to turn into dislike because they're scratching your furniture.

I'm sure they'll work their spell on you in no time.

[Mycatsabastard]

www.amazon.co.uk/Cats-Best-%C3%96ko-Plus-Litter/dp/B001MZWR76/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1466350779&sr=8-4&keywords=best%20cat%20litter&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

This cat litter is amazing (and lasts for bloody ages). It can be flushed down the loo as well, is incredibly light, clumps into balls and seems to mask the smell very well.

My cats (three of them) have Purina One biscuits, two of them have wet food as well. The cat who only eats dry food refuses pretty much anything else we offer her although supplements her diet with spiders and flies. She drinks water which we refill daily.

Boy cat eats anything offered to him, loves fresh beef and chicken (raw) and only drinks rain water.

Girl cat 1 licks the jelly off the wet food, eats biscuits and drinks water from the house.

Both girls will only use the litter trays and boy cat refuses to use as he is 14 now and is so used to roaming outside (we live quite rurally) that he would rather be shouted at for waking us at 4am to be let out than have the indignity of using a tray.

Experiment with cat litters and food. But you will grow to love them. Cats are lovely and so, so funny. Buy a laser light pen and forget you ever owned a tv, there's something highly amusing about watching kittens haring about chasing things.

[sepa]

Try worlds best cat litter (the multi cat red bag) as this is flushable & compostable.

Cats are hard work. I love mine but they can be a right pain in the ass (especially as boy cat has started to pee everywhere since baby came along) still wouldn't get rid of them. Hopefully you will become a cat person as cats are also hilarious!

[TroysMammy]

heyhey exactly.

[RubbishMantra]

Yes, Hey, that sadface and air of deprivation and disappointment when they can see the bottom of the bowl...

[RubbishMantra]

Just a thought, did the rescue centre allow you to visit them much, and get to bond with them a bit before they came to live with you?

[WeirdAndPissedOff]

I always found Royal Canin really stinky! Though it's a "better" brand than what we currently use. The litter tray you get used to - depends on the cat as one of ours really stinks, .and he never covers it properly. The others you don't really notice until the litter tray gets a little dirtier.

I've never found the best solution re dried or wet. Dry is better for teeth, wet is better for kidneys.
I think dry is more convenient for the owners (less dirty, less smelly and can be left out for longer).

[PuppyMonkey]

World's Best Cat litter and dry food and you'll be laughing.

[FindMyLocalSite]

You lot are amazing. Thank you. I have already had a better day with them than yesterday, so I think you're all right, it is just the panic of the first day... I will try the worlds best litter many of you have recommended. Will I just mix it up with their existing litter initially?

The kittens purr constantly when we are around them so I guess that means they're happy. They don't necessarily want us cuddling them and handling them and yesterday they were happier to play than today. Today they have wanted to be left alone for most of the time.

One of them got a catnip little mouse toy in his mouth and growled at the other cat quite aggressively. I think he's the dominant of the two. He likes wet food, dry food and the white fish I have cooked them.. The girl only likes the dry food and the fish.

I am going to study all the links you have posted. thanks again.

[TheCatWhat]

I really thought we'd made a mistake getting our kitten. But for me the biggest issue was the crying in the early morning. I really thought lie ins would never happen again. But now he is a bit older it is so much better. He doesn't cry until he hears us get up. And he often pops into bed with us for a little doze :)

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

Another one agreeing about Cat's Best litter, we just carry the tray through to the loo and scoop poos and clumps straight into the loo. A big bag lasts ages.

[DontOpenDeadInside]

Sorry, but can I also out point that you're not really meant to flush cat poo either as it can carry toxoplasmosis which can harm marine life and otters.

[RubbishMantra]

Wait until the morning when you wake up to one of them snuggled up to you. Little Monsieur rarely comes to bed with me, but when I wake up, there he is, hogging 2 thirds of the bed. MCat prefers the end of the bed, so he can keep an eye on the birds outside the window.

Ooh, just remembered, most cats can't resist a big paper bag. If it has string handles, just snip through them. They'll climb into it, run around with it stick on their heads and leap on it to make a satisfying scrunch noise.

[RubbishMantra]

*Gratuitous photographs of my boys.

MCat is the debonair black & white, the one who looks like a semi-plucked chicken is Little Monsieur, when he was about 5 months. (He's a Devon Rex, so they go through periods of baldness) He now has beautiful curls.

[gingerboy1912]

How are you feeling today op?

[FindMyLocalSite]

I feel so much better thank you. I keep reading this thread over and over to make sure I absorb all the info and advice. It is lovely to see the kittens' personalities blossom, they are very affectionate. The worst thing for me right now is the way my house smells when I open the door. That makes my heart sink a bit if I'm honest.

The kittens sleep so much and they are quiet throughout the night. I guess that will change when they're a little older and they want to spend more time with us?

[3amEternal]

The smell does go. I remember the first months when the house would stink every time they went in the tray. Never had so many scented candles on the go. Kittens are really farty and can be loose. Now they are older their poo is very firm and most days I don't even know they've been unless I see it.

[frostyfingers]

My cat will only eat dry food, we have tried endless brands and varieties and he won't touch any of them. He won't eat fresh cooked food either - he's one strange kitty!

[gingerboy1912]

Yep the smell will go. Or you will get so used to it you won't smell it

[stumblymonkey]

Will you have a cat flap once they are neutered and vaccinated?

If so, they will go outside to do their business so they will only use the litter tray for occasional desperate measures...

My parents have always had cats and don't have a cat flap but let their cats out as and when needed...they hardly ever use the litter tray either.

[NeedACleverNN]

The best cat litter you will ever buy is

Cats best OKO plus

It tracks a little bit but there is NO smell

[thecatneuterer]

I haven't read the whole thread but have to agree with Elegantdream - dried food is not better for the cats! In male cats particularly it can be positively dangerous. Cheap dried food (Wiskas, Go Cat) is a major cause of crystals in the urine and consequently blocked bladders, which kill a lot of male cats.

Even the quality dried food isn't as good as wet food when it comes to urinary tract health.

I also agree that Butchers Classic tins are a good option.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

I have to differ, we use Cat's best and it stinks for a while, but that's because my two don't bury their poos. The smell does go though, if they use the trays when we're out you don't smell it when you come home. It does absorb the smell of wee though.

[catbasilio]

OP I am not a natural cat person either and got my cat under similar circumstances to yours. I sorted everything out to the best standard (food litter etc) but almost a year on I am still not mad about my cat.
Coupled with the expenses (especially cat care when going away!) and busy life of a single mum I slightly regret the decision to get the cat.
I have not become a cat person. He is sweet and beautiful and still I sometimes dream that he ran away and a mad cat lady took him in.