Cat Novice seeks advice!

[DollyParsnip]

Hi, I posted this in Chat but was also pointed in this direction for advice!

DH and I have decided to get a cat after much discussion and are going to see a Mother and Son pair on Saturday (1yo and 4mths old) at our local Cats Protection.

We have a soon to be 7 yo DD who doesn't know our plans yet, though she'll come with us on Saturday.

So. What do we do next? How do we introduce them to the house? We will get insurance asap but do we need anything else? I'm sure the CPL lady will guide us but I would like to make them as happy as possible!

Thank you!

Set them up with a safe room (I used a giant box from a dishwasher with a towel draped over it as no actual room I could devote to him), food, water and litter tray to hand and just leave them in peace. Don't tip toe around but don't try picking up and cuddling until the cats initiate it. Chat to them or sit near by and read a book out loud. They may be confident cats that come out straight away but it might take a while. Scratching post and a few toys are a good idea. Toys can be free, mine likes feathers, loo rolls sliced into rings, widgets from beer cans and screwed up balls of paper.

Find out what food and cat litter they are on too.

We restricted ours to one room the first 24 hours and then left the door open. We left them with a box, some old towels to sleep on (some may prefer to buy a cat bed), a few toys, litter trays and water. We fed them a couple of hours later and then spent a few minutes in them before we went to bed. Ours were kittens and we were awoken around 6am to the sound of them playing.

You just need to give them some time to settle in and get to know them. Neither of mine have ever liked being picked up, but they are the most affectionate lap cats going, so you have to accept them for who they are. Your DD will probably want to give them lots of attention, but this will need to be restricted if they seem nervous.

As said before use the same food and cat litter they've been using. You can slowly change it over if you prefer to use something else. Cats Protection will be more than happy to give you advice as well, as they'll want to make sure your ready to welcome them.

I know it's hard to tell, but obviously make sure they look well, no runny eyes, bad skin etc.

Thank you so much for your brilliant tips, we went to meet them today and we all got on like a house on fire (especially DD and the smaller one) so we'll be bringing them home on Wednesday. The CPL lady was fabulous and has given us details of their food and litter etc so the basics should be sorted .

Have attached a cheeky picture!

Lovely, I always get broody when I see new kitties.