Shopping for the new addition

[Thisismynewname123]

We're probably going to collect our kitten next week some time, which means that this will be a fun weekend of shopping. As a newbie, I need some advice on the right things to get.

1, Cat bed - I know everyone is going to tell me that the kitten will ignore the bed anyway, but for cats that do like their beds, do they generally prefer a hooded, cocoon type of one, or just a simple open one?

2, Scratch post/cat tree - My DH says we just need to get a scratch post to hopefully discourage it ruining the sofas, but when we visited the kittens, they had a tree and seemed to making a great use of! So, is a tree necessary, or can we make do with a scratch post?

3, bowls. This seems like a silly question :) . When I read about how to prepare for a cat, it seems to say everywhere that cats whiskers are very sensitive, and to get low sided bowls that they can eat/drink from without it touching their whiskers. But when I had a wander around Pets at Home, they all seemed like high sided bowls, like a dog's bowl. Where do you find the low sided ones? When we visited the kittens, she was using a frisbee as a feeding bowl. Is that a common thing to do to get the low sides?

Do you think we should get everything we need from Pets at Home, or will there be much better choice if we get it all online from zooplus or something? My DC are really looking forward to the whole shopping experience and picking stuff out, so will quite disappointed if I tell them that I'm just going to get it all online!

My cat tree was from zooplus. I have that in the kitchen and a scratching post in the living room. Its from pets at home. I have lots of little bowls from pets at home too and silicone mat to sit them on

My girl likes the igloo style. She has a teepee that she absolutely adores. My other one prefers open cushions.

Currently have 7 cats.
Toys - catnip, bouncy ones, glittery ones rattly mice, laser pen and kicker style ones.
Beds - a mix as they like a change. Plus our bed and clean laundry.
Bowls. Low ones from pets at home or b and m. Tilted ones from amazon. Again I mix them up due to our age range - 18 weeks through to 13 years.
Food - as soon as you buy it in bulk they will go off it. But mine have a mix of wet and dry all flavours.
Treats. - webbox always seems to be a winner as do the dried chicken, beef and duck fillets from pets at home in the dog aisle. Cats will try human food too.

Pictures are a must on here!!

Don’t forget litter trays, litter, litter scoop and bags and carry baskets😊

mine also like webbox sticks and freeze dried treats - cosma snackies from zooplus are good
I have a high sided litter tray. Dog poo bags are good for poop disposal

@Bargebill19 all that stuff is on my list. I was just putting here the things I want to check about

Sounds like we should he able to get Natalya of it from Pets at Home which is much more exciting for my DC than me just choosing it all online

We're planning to get a covered litter tray. Will it confuse the kitten who has been trained on an open tray? Or will she know what to do with it?

Mine like my bed the most, followed by the back of the sofa! However they do quite like the Igloo style beds, and have been known to squabble over it when I only had one.

I think most cats appreciate trees, many like to get high up and observe their realm from a vantage point . Putting it near a window also gives them "cat TV". My Girlcat likes to sit or lie on the highest point (about 5 feet up) watching the world go by, my Boycat likes to try to (very unsuccessfully) hide in one of the caves - see attached pic of him "hiding".

I had fun in PaH before mine came home, and got their litter tray, food/water bowls, feeding mat etc there. The cat bowls in general do seem to have lower sides than the dog bowls, though mine happily eat their dry out of a higher sided one (ad lib so always full), and drink fine from one. Ceramic of some form is always better than other materials, and I gather plastic can affect the taste of the food a bit.

Then again, in "the olden days" people used to use an old saucer for cat food!

Don't forget fishing pole type toys as well!

Maybe leave the door of the tray off to start with. I went with high sided rather than covered

my cats dont seem bothered by plastic cat bowls. I have a ceramic water dish that only 1 cat drinks out of. The other drinks out the pond

One of mine lies on a cushion on the couch and the other sprawls across the middle so you cant sit down

Have a look at other pet shops as well - you get some unusual/different bits and bobs in the smaller shops.
I have a hooded litter tray (all cats and kittens have used from day one) plus two high sided open ones. No matter what the official advice is - the kittens like the corner high sided one and the older cats like the hooded one for preference. The oblong high sided one is shunned by everyone unless it the only one available as I’m cleaning the others. The kittens also love to share poo time - often going together, I suspect because it they can both look out for imminent attack from their sister.
No one has ever used the low sided oblong type available from Tesco etc - that’s apparently was only good enough to have dead toys buried in.

Have lots of fun shopping!!