Newbie cat owner questions ... mainly about poo ...

[Eekisthistherightkittyforus]

Brand new to this cat lark, please reassure me I'm not about to kill him with fussing!

1. we've had him 3 days and he's eating less each day. Today he had half a pouch at 6.30am and hasn't touched the second half. Doesn't seem to be into dry food at all and not drinking much water at all. Is this normal at first? He doesn't seem scared in his new home and is very affectionate ... just doing verrrrrry little. Sleeping in the sun at the moment.
2. anyone who doesn't have their litter tray right next to the toilet, how do you deal with it? At the moment I'm lifting the whole tray through to the bathroom every time he poos (once per day, which makes me thing he's probably not dying of starvation, right??). And dropping the poo down the toilet. Can't stop the bloody splash! Grrr. And the clumping pees, when I dry and dig the clumpy bits out of the tray the scoop has suddenly going 'pyoooonng' a few times and I've had pee-covered litter up the wall ... am I doing it wrong??
3. with the pee-clumped litter, I'm currently scooping it into a black bag in the garden. Is there any really neat, tidy, efficient way of doing litter trays that I've not thought about? Honestly, I'm clueless.
4. the one I feel most guilty about –at the moment he's shut in a big back room all night, where his bed (which he hasn't deigned to approach more than once ), litter tray, food and water are. Plus big floor to ceiling windows so he can look out at all the nocturnal wildlife. I can't hear him from my bedroom so he's basically left from 11/11.30pm to about 6.30am or 7am. My friend 'complains' that her cat wakes her at 4 or 5 each morning to be fed by coming in and jumping on her head etc ... am I being cruel totally ignoring DCat all night, until I'm ready to come down in the morning? Is this traumatising him so much he's not eating?

Heelllllp! And thanks for the hand-holding.

Hi, congrats on the new cat!

1. He may be nervous and therefore less hungry. It’s been warm- cats tend to eat less in summer. He may not like the food/ be used to something different.

Keep bowls clean and stick to small portions so it doesn’t spoil, maybe leave a tap dripping to entice him to drink and if that helps maybe invest in a pet fountain. Offer high value treats - dreamies! - to stimulate appetite and bond with him.

1. The litter tray- in my current house I keep mine by the toilet and use a scooper to collect and deposit! However, in the past I kept it in a utility room and then used poo bags to remove poo as needed and put it straight in the bin outside.

Different types of litter clump or don’t - try a couple and see what suits. I used to keep the litter quite shallow and change it often rather than trying to remove the wet stuff. My cats much prefer weeing outside so just use the tray when it’s raining.

1. You could use a small bucket with a lid to scoop out clumpy bits and then dispose of it all in one bag when full.
2. Cats are not great with change but they are pretty adaptable. My eldest cat used to be shut in the kitchen at night but now I have 2 I leave the doors open and they settle down when I go to bed- usually on the floor near me. Give him a cardboard box to sleep in And ideally somewhere high he can sit - mine love to be on top of the kitchen cupboards. Make a fuss of him in the morning and enjoy :)

Just to be clear - he's too little to be up high now - but once he's older. For now just the box!

I bag poo and clumps of pee in a dog poo bag and bin it. I don't put it in the toilet. At night ours can go anywhere to sleep and they often choose to come upstairs but only one of them occasionally sleeps on a bed. That are happy enough with the floor, computer chair or the big cat tree downstairs.

Are you giving the same food as they had already? Mine like thrive dry and get half a wet pouch each twice a day

Mine also like cardboard shoe boxes

Welcome to cat world, send us a pic if you can, it's obligatory on here. You can just buy clumping litter, Sainsbury do one, then scoop wee and poo out, put it in nappy bags then into a bucket with a lid like pp suggests, then you can just put the bags out together. I wouldn't flush it down the loo, it never goes and just seems to leave a clay mess at the bottom of the pan. Where is the tray, why are you carrying it through to the bathroom every day. You can get tray liners but they are expensive, make sure you wear gloves when you clean out the tray. I am sure he is fine overnight, have the tray, food and water all kept separately from each other and a cardboard box with an old jumper or fleece in it is often the preferred bed. Cats do seem to automatically wake up around 4am and will try and wake you up if you let them into your room, they don't usually want anything except a cuddle. Wash the food bowls out when he's finished eating, in the summer the food goes off quicker and you don't want to attract flies. He sounds a sweetie, how old is he.

And remember we need a picture! Here's my two boys

They like to to smell themselves around the place so will 'wipe' around the place (on you too) with their under chin glands, when they can smell themselves everywhere the feel happier.

Dementedpixie- your cats are gorgeous
I'm gonna try to add a pic of mine

Feliway plug ins tend to help cats relax in new environments.

As for food, it might be an idea to try different varieties, I would try and stay away from high street brands as most of them full of poopies like ash and grain which is not good for cats on a whole. if you try a food with a good protein content and moisture content along with no grain that tends to be better for their indigestion. I give my cats Purizon.

Also try different types of wet foods if kitty is being fussy give him so tuna in sunflower oil or cooked chicken breast. I feed my cats a raw diet which is quite good for them.

Honestly OP it is all try and tested, always buy small tester packs of foods that way you can gage what kitty would prefer.

A good online site that i use which is a fraction of the price that you pay on the high street is Zooplus.co.uk.

They have all different types of not only foods but also litter. i use hooded litter trays which helps with poopy smells and is less messy. You do get a a litter that smells quite nice and clumps really well and will last you quite a few weeks. It is called Biokat which I get from Zooplus, just use the scoop to scoop out the poopies and wee clumps.

I also use woodchip for some of my other cats as cats do like different types of litter.

Also if you do not have one a cat tree or scratching post would be good and will stop kitty from scratching things around the house.

Hope it goes well :)

My litter tray is hidden away in a corner of the living room - that was their only room when they came home & like it there so never moved it. Food & water are in a different part of the living room.

I scoop into an ultra cheap plastic bag which I tie up & put in the general waste; I gather cat litter down the loo is frowned upon by sewerage companies. the bags & scoop live near the litter tray, so they are convenient if I notice there's been activity in there.

I'm not sure about using bleeding' plastic bags specifically for the cat tray. Then putting in ANOTHER plastic bag in the large bin. I put it all in old paper bags (the ones the litter comes in are better). Or put it on the compost heap. I know some people say not to, But it's ok .

Pp, I've always been told not to compost cat litter as it might have parasites or toxoplasmosis in the poo and the clay and deodorisers don't break down.

At least my Council requires for cat litter to be double bagged for the bin. I use wood pellet litter and scoop poo daily (into bags) and pee as more of the litter turns to sawdust.

My litter comes in ginormous plastic bags anyway, and I can't face the thought of it being unsealed for any length of time. Non-food waste is only collected here fortnightly, can't have it hanging around unsealed for that length of time!

Thanks for all the advice, it's really helpful! Had no idea it was frowned on to flush cat poo down toilets, I had a friend once who taught her cat to use the toilet, and I thought that was the pinnacle of cat-training achievement! Seems I was wrong.

He just gets Felix at the moment. I really have no clue ...😁. I guess I'll try those testers someone mentioned though - what a good idea. Just don't want him to end up preferring a luxury brand that costs the earth though!

He's 4, and very lovely 💜

Beaverhausen, how do you feed them a raw diet, what do they eat?

It's ok to flush cat poo but not so good if there is litter attached to it. Litter is the issue not the poo itself.

Eek We feed ours a semi raw diet. We feed cheap turkey, lamb, steak cut in in thin strips, with warm water ( if it's been in the fridge ) they love it, they think it's mouse meat!!. We do buy the James Wellbeloved pouches \dry food because they are cereal free and they sometimes get that.

Though our older lady house cat won't touch raw so we give her some cooked turkey or pintade or tinned tuna.

Hi OP you can either order the raw food online, I am part of a group on Facebook called Cats Completely Raw and Proud (www.facebook.com/groups/CatCrap/) . They have an extensive list of raw food providers or you could make up your own batches, but if you are squimish it is best to order.

I tend to get my cats the raw chicken from Pets at Home too, it is in their freezer section when I do not have time to make batches up.

www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/natures-menu-lp-dog/natures-menu-just-chicken-freeflow-mince-2kg-%28available-in-store-only%29?pageSize=45&orderBy=1#

But generally I give them steak mince, chicken mince (Icelands), chicken breast, diced beef, and prawns. The chicken breast and diced beef I cut into smaller chunks for them and mix with chicken, I also buy a tin of sardines in oil and mix the oil in with the food as it is good for their coats. If you do not give them the pets at home mixture a few times a week you will need to mix organ and bone in too but it is only a 10% ratio to the meat.

The facebook page I gave you will give you an idea of how to mix batches up. It has helped my cats drastically, no runny poo's their coats are in fantastic condition, they are much healthier and happier in themselves.

I refuse to feed whole prey and that is something that some people do, the mince from PAH is whole prey so you do not need to add any extra bone etc.

Hope it helps. :)

Oh also chicken wings raw is safe and good for your cats as it contains all the benefit of minerals and taurine which chicken hearts also contain, you can order dried chicken hearts online which cats love.

Thanks. But blimey. I never knew there was so much to feeding a cat. I thought tins of Whiskas were it and my Felix pouches were incredibly high-tech in comparison ...🤣🤣 Am I feeding him cheap shit then?? 😣

He doesn't appear to have runny poos, at least ...

Apparently if you start early then cats will eat raw veg. (they eat grass anyway) I grate some carrot into their food sometimes and they like peas! The problem with most prepared cat food is that it has stuff in it that cats are allergic to in it like wheat or pork and chicken.

And they don't tell you on the label, it's just called animal by products, it could be anything!

I think there's some confusing advice going on here - one pp is saying they feed chicken & chicken hearts for the Taurine, and another pp is suggesting cats are allergic to chicken!

Eekisthistherightkittyforus yes a raw diet can be very good for cats, but if this is your first cat you're probably safer feeding ready made cat foods. There are many makes & types out there, the basic rules are to ensure they are getting something labelled "complete", and that you try to aim for as high a meat content as you can. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they should get as much of their diet as possible from animal sources rather than vegetable.

You will find there are as many views on which brand/type you should feed your cat as there are posters here, just follow the "complete" and high meat content of a reputable brand & you should be OK. If in doubt, you can ask your vet who may try to push his/her favorite brand on you but the principle will be the same.

We look after 4 strays and our own house cat, we have noticed that the strays start to look unhealthy, limping etc. when they eat the normal 'complete" cat food. When they eat raw they get better! I don't know any cats that go out and grind their own cereals do you Allergic ? Most of the 'named' heavily advertised cat foods are not good quality, of course.

I have no axe to grind but the only proprietary one that doesn't affect their health badly is the James Wellbeloved cat food.