Do you replace all the old stuff when you get a new cat?

[BrainInAJar]

Hello all,

Hopefully I won't be there for a while yet but part of my coping mechanism is to prepare myself.

When my singleton cat passes and I get another, should I throw away her scratching post and toys and get new ones so as not to distress the new cat with previous cat's smell?

What about bowls? I presume blankets are ok as long as they're washed.

Do I need to deep-clean my flat to "get rid" (make me so sad!) of her fur and smell?

Thanks

I haven't. But my cats have always overlapped. My new initially used her late sister's wicker igloo. ( changed the actual bedding) I was also hoping that she would use the tipi. As I can't bear to put it into storage. However remaining cat and new cat haven't been overly keen on cat beds. Unlike the first two who loved them.

Used the same bowls and fountain.

@Toddlerteaplease thanks. Same, my cat has never liked specific cat beds, she just likes blankets.

I couldn’t bare to see it all so donated it. I’m not yet ready for another cat but when I am I think it will be really nice to buy it new things !

I got rid of the scratching post but not bowls and blankets. I cleaned but didn’t deep clean.

But, new cat found the scratches made by old cat in garden on fence posts and trees etc. New cat seemed thrilled, started purring and scratched all over the old scratches.

Reflecting on this, I think new cat could smell that there hadn’t been a cat in this territory for many months, but the old scratches indicated that there had been a cat living there for a long time, so new cat concluded that this was a territory which had been abandoned and was now ‘up for grabs’ unchallenged. I can’t think why else the sight of the scratches made her so happy.

Something that did startle me was how much new cat made me miss old cat. I thought new cat would erase the grief but each time new cat reacted differently or just simply didn’t love me yet, it brought back a lot of painful memories. I don’t really have a point other than don’t be surprised if that happens.

Enjoy new cat :)

I've got a scratching post that was bought in 1993 and has been used by 4 cats over that time. They were all kittens and it didn't bother them. Actually as a spare by the back door it has lasted longer than the two that 4 year old Haribo has had bought for him.

Stainless steel bowls have been reused but litter trays and brushes are always new. There was a 3 year gap between Troy and Haribo so I had got rid of toys. No cats have had a cat bed, they just sleep where the want to.

Our first cats all overlapped so there was no need . With our last one I did get rid of everything and buy all new . For two reasons , firstly because the vets were unable to confirm what exactly had been wrong with our old girl and I didn’t want to risk it being anything that could be passed on like a virus etc however unlikely. Secondly I felt our new addition should be spoilt crazy just because I wanted to .

I used the old stuff and it makes me happy to see it in use. Scratching post was ignored by old boy, so new to the new one.The new one has been super friendly from day one and settled well. Still miss my old boy, but could not bear a cat free house. New boy has helped me get over the loss

This is actually really helpful to hear.

my lovely cat died in September and people have encouraged me t to get a new cat , even on the post I made here about having to put her to sleep .

I know I’ll get one eventually but I’ve not wanted to move fast because I was worried of exactly what you described. So it’s nice to have that validated.

I foster, so almost all of my stuff has been used by multiple cats. They all take a couple of favourite toys to their new homes, but most stuff just gets replaced when it wears out. None of them seem to mind hand-me-downs!

Thanks everyone, some really useful thoughts here.

@Shadowssang sympathies. There are probably equal amounts of cat-related grief and joy in my future.