Adopting a rescue. What do we need to get before he arrives.

[FourKidsOneCat]

We’re so excited to have found a rescue that we’re picking up next week! He’s 18 months and very active and friendly by all accounts.

We’ll prep a room where he can be undisturbed (with occasional visits) while he settles in. And I know I need food, water and litter tray all away from each other but what else do we actually need?

A scratching post or cat tree? A cat bed? A cat cave? Feliway? Toys?

Some kind of cat bed would be good. Not all cats use them but ours do. And you'll need a cat carrier, if you haven't got one already. Make sure you find out what food he's been eating at the shelter and what cat litter they use so you can keep things the same to begin with to help him settle in. Best of luck!

Ask the shelter what he likes/needs. Petshop will be helpful too but watch out for overselling! I wouldn't trap him in a room (prep area?) & pop in & out for visits? S/he needs to explore new home which s/he will do thoroughly whilst looking for escape usually. Let it go from room to room, sniffing & jumping up & down to check things out (make sure windows are all closed). Keep its bed & food bowl in one spot so it can learn quickly this space is for him/her... but if you want it as part of your family, you need to open up all of your home. Lucky you, enjoy!

Google how to be a good slave to a cat and you will be just fine

I kept my rescue in one room for the first week and it worked very well - then when she started becoming more confident I gradually started letting her out to explore the rest of my flat.

Don't buy lots of stuff, your cat may just ignore it . See what he likes first. I bought a bed and lots of toys for mine but she only wants to play with bits of string and sleep on the sofa!

My cat loved (LOVED) caps of deoderant...it was perfect size, shape & weight to play with/carry. He would appear as soon as he heard it being used. We kept a selection of caps for him...& even when he was very old, the caps caught his attention & you'd see bursts of his kitten days. He'd pretty much ignore other toys except the odd bouncy ball. And he loved laser lights...following the dot around the floor, onto furniture...jumping if it went actually on his paw...hilarious.

Thank you all - we really can’t wait for him to be here. Lots of great advice. We’re not planning to lock him in a room but it does make sense to me to give him a space to retreat to if everything gets a bit much.

We’re waiting to hear back from the rescue about food and litter. They’ve suggested keeping him in for 3-4 weeks. Do we need a scratching post/cat tree while he’s stuck inside or will exploring the house be enough?

And cat will be very well served by several cat slaves I think!

You could buy a scratching post but ours has wrecked my wicker washing basket instead!!!

Our cat is possibly a bit unusual but she has zero interest in scratching posts (we did start letting her out after we had her a few weeks and there’s a tree in the garden she uses) and she loves her bed. The bed is great because she is portable in it - it generally sits on the sofa during the day, then at bedtime we pick cat and bed up and move them to the kitchen until morning. She naps all over the place during the day, but after dinner she is generally in her bed unless she is out.

Toy-wise we have loads that she goes in phases of playing with, by herself or with us, but her absolute favourites are long ribbons. She also loves the little felt animals from the Christmas tree, and have several met their deaths over the years!

We had her chipped as soon as we got her, so that’s something to think about too. She tends to stick to our garden/immediate neighbours and is always within shouting distance, but I am glad she has it just in case she wandered off.