We're getting a cat... please advise

[wearegettinacat]

Hey we are getting a cat and I am looking for recommendations for the following please:

Most budget friendly but healthy cat food. Also dry/wet or a bit of both?

Best cat litter?

Any particular bowls ?

Also seen a lot about catnip?! What is it? Do I need it?

Budget friendly- get it delivered by Zooplus. Ideally a grain free cat food.

Wet or dry - your cat may decide this for you. Wet - better for bladder and kidney issues. Dry - supposedly better for teeth. However these are all common problems in cats.

Litter - start with what they are used to. I don't think there is a perfect litter so it will be a compromise between your and the cat's preference. I use Cat's Best.

Bowls - doesn't matter

Catnip - not all cats are sensitive to it. If they are they get very obviously high. I save catnip toys for stressful times such as holidays.

Good luck!

I'll be unhelpful here, and say it depends a bit on the cat (congratulations on your new arrival) but 30 years of cat ownership leads me to believe that they impose their own tastes on us as far as food and litter go. I prefer a mix of wet and dry food, wet to give them hydration (they aren''t good about drinking) and dry to help their teeth. Bowls are better as metal - plastic can harbor bacteria that give them chin acne. Catnip is a herb that's mildly hallucinogenic to cats in a harmless way and gives them great pleasure if they are susceptible to it (not all cats react to it) and you get pleasure watching them go a bit silly with it. Good luck!

Thanks! I think with food I need to confirm what they are currently eating (rescue centre) and either stick with that or wean on to something new. I guess at a rescue centre it can change depending on what's been donated at the time!

How exciting!! Cats can be incredibly picky eaters and will refuse any food they don't like and so it can be a bit of trial and error. I would recommend using the same food they are used to now and then adjusting slowly if you want to make a change (particularly if you are getting a kitten as it can upset their stomach) but don't buy a big bulk of new food as you never know whether they will eat it. We always have dry food available (we're still on the brand she was on before we got her, Purina go-cat tuna, herring and veg) that she likes to snack on throughout and feed wet food twice a day. It took a while to figure out the best routine and when she wanted her breakfast and dinner. Our cat was actually hit and miss with the wet food she was on but really likes Purina Gourmet mon petit intense when we made the switch. My cat growing up didn't like wet food at all so you never know what you are going to get.

I highly recommend the tilted bowls - our cat is a messy eater and they prevent it going everywhere, be it wet or dry food.

I grow nepeta and each Spring the mog rolls
in it to his hearts content 😌

congrats on your new kitty! With regards to food you can choose to feed them highly nutritious food but if all they’ll eat is whiskers then it’ll have to be that 😂 I like a ceramic bowl for food and water but that’s just personal chose, it’s easy to clean, dishwasher safe and cheap. One of my cats loves cat beds the other is only content on a fluffy blanket on the sofa. Cat litter I just buy what’s on offer at the time and the kittens have never kicked up a fuss!

Definitely ask the rescue centre what they currently eat and which litter they are on and start with that. Changing wet food immediately can lead to upset stomachs, especially with the stress of moving. Don't go mad with beds, as someone else said, they may prefer a blanket somewhere, they'll choose their spot and you can furnish accordingly.

Catnip can certainly be fun and as for toys, not many cats can resist a laser light to chase! Some like balls and some like pretend mice or similar, however, the cheapest, most ridiculous toy that most of my foster cats have not been able to resist are the plastic springs. Honestly, they look pathetic but they seem to be magic! 😂

There are loads on Amazon, I get them in packs of 40 but these are the Amazon Choice ones:
Cat springs

Warning though, you will spend most of your life fishing them out from under the sofa!

Every cat I’ve had (8 fosters, 1 adoptee) has loved cardboard boxes, whether to hide in, sit in or sleep in. Apparently they’re also great for rubbing your chin against.

Cat fountains are good for encouraging them to drink.

I had one cat love a laser pointer and one be scared of it.

Then read they can be frustrating for cats as they never get the satisfaction of killing the toy.

For cat behaviour Jackson Galaxy is excellent on Youtube or Vicky Halls if you would rather read a book.

Stick with the same food and litter as the rescue have been using to start.

I like the Mason Cash ceramic bowls, they stay in place plus plastic gets scratched and stainless steel gives off prison vibes.

Provide a selection of different types of toys to see what's liked. Fishing rod toys must be put away when not in use as cats can get tangled up in them.

Provide both vertical and horizontal scratchers, cheap ones are fine, vertical ones need to be tall enough for a full stretch (most are too short!).

Remember to update the chip details and don't use a collar.

100% carry on using what the rescue center use, especially for the cat litter.

I prefer to buy shallow bowls because I feel like it give them more room for their whiskers (that might just be me though 😂)

I've found cat beds and scratching posts to be largely a waste of time, except the ones that are basically a cardboard box. They love those.

The effect of cat nip kind of freaks me out to be honest, they go manic! I'd avoid it, at least for a while

My cat likes cardboard boxes to be her safe place. No giving medication or clipping her claws in the box! I bought her a cat cave when she was little. She never used it. In summer she sleeps on sunny windowsills and in winter she kips on the back of the sofa.

Brush your cat every week. You'll get the hair on the brush rather than on your carpet.

For basic vet care I have a plan with Vets for Pets where I subscribe some money per month rather than paying for the routine stuff all in one go. Insurance is also important, but what the excesses. You always have to pay extra for the more involved stuff, regardless.

https://sostrenegrene.com/en-gb/products/home/bowl-p-0ec01f?variant=502136-005

Shout out to these little bowls - we found our boy left wet food round the edges of the proper cat dishes we had had for our previous girl, but cleared the one flatter more saucer style one (shaped like a cat face). These wee ones are a hit and look cute. We use the other ones for dry and he’s fine with them his lordship prefers his Sheba from a shallow serve.

My cat much prefers shallow bowls - really a saucer is best. The deep ones irritate her whiskers.

she loves loves loves tunnels. The crunchy type. Quite cheap and she has played in hers for years.

I have spent a fortune on cat beds - she sleeps on my pillow😂

good luck - cats are a joy (and a torture)

The tunnel is the most beloved toy. We just move it every few weeks - whole new toy!

We got a 2 year old rescue and what a joy he has turned out to be. We all worship him and adore him but he is basically a fluffy mercurial psychopath. But you can’t help but love them.

As others have said don’t bother with a cat bed - our cat loves his bed box which is lined with a soft fleece blanket. And he is not fussy about cat litter - barely uses his tray anyway.

These are the bowls I use, shallow one for food and the deeper one for water.

You’ll find that once you get to know her, she’ll tell you what to do & what she likes! (Or he - which is it and have you picked a name?)

One thing I do which makes life much easier is leave the carrier out all the time & put treats in it fairly often. It means my girl will walk straight in there if we need to go to the vets.

My last 3 have all slept in cat beds...

Get a decent carrier, top opening is easiest, I like the metalcote ones as they are inescapable. Do not get a fabric one, they can fail (often the zips do) and are no fun if your cat has a puke/poo accident to/from the vets.

We adopted two kittens a few weeks ago so in a similar boat. All cats I ever had in the past would not use a scratch post but these two are brilliant with it. One of them started scratching a rug - I moved the scratch post onto the rug and she hasn’t scratched the rug again since! Similarly all my past cats ignored their beds but these two like theirs (though they prefer my office chair which they have colonised).

Pets at Home do a carrier which opens both at the top and at the side. This means you can lower the cat in from the top (easier than trying to force an angry cat through horizontally) but let it walk out again afterwards.

Ours love playing with fishing rod type toys and with toy mice - but they are kittens. If you have an older cat it may not want to play so much.

Get some licky treats (basically a paste that you squeeze from a tube). Cats will do anything for them.

I’m guessing you know about keeping them in a single safe room at first till they acclimatise to being somewhere new?

Ours has two identical fluffy beds, one in the kitchen (where he is shut in at night) and one in the living room by the radiator. He sleeps in both, as did our previous girl.

Orange menace is almost two and we adopted him from CP after having to very sadly say goodbye to our beautiful girl earlier this year.

Thing is, cats will love a certain food with a passion, then go completely off it, and give you the side eye, which means what the hell is this shit! Variety is often the key. So never buy mega boxes. We leave dry food down all day, and feed wet three times a day. Fortunately as long as we vary the flavours Felix Doubly Delicious is the favourite. Not the cheap standard, not As Good as it Looks, but only Doubly Delicious.

We use flowery antique china dishes as food bowls. Got them from DM, and they are super ugly, but great as cat bowls.

We have a scratch pole, and door mats. Hammock sleepers over the rads which are used overnight. During the day we have towels and blankets on all the IKEA chairs and blanket boxes. He moves around depending on mood.

I wouldn't plan on feeding any particular food - stick what the rescue suggest for now, but honestly, cats are fussy buggers and some will only eat Whiskas whereas others don't care and you can feed something much higher quality. My three are on Sheba as it's the only food they'll all consistently eat, but a few years ago they wouldn't touch it and it had to be Felix 🙄😂

We always feed a mixture of both wet and dry and if you're getting a boy, is really recommend the best quality dry food that you can afford to prevent blockages and urinary issues.

Litter-wise we buy Greenwoods. Never seen it in a pet shop but we order in bulk from ZooPlus - costs us about £25 for a six week supply (three cats, three trays).

In terms of bowls I really don't think it matters. We have cheap plastic and metal ones from the pet shop and they're all fine.

Enjoy your cat and don't forget to pay the cat tax

Thanks lots of great advice !

We're getting a girl and open to name suggestions

Ooooh, what colour and age? That helps with naming!