About to get our first two kittens!

[Wishfulkitty]

We are picking up our kittens in a couple of days. We’ve not had cats before in our adult lives.
Please give us any advice we need! We’ve got two as everyone says it’s easier as they can play together and will never be alone. They will be primarily indoors cats.
Please also recommend some cheap but still decent food! Thank you

Decent food is Eden 85/15 looks expensive but they hardly need any as it’s 85% protein. Less 💩 too.

My main recommendation is to keep them confined (kitchen maybe) unless you want to be woken up very early! Mine are happy enough to be confined to the downstairs (access to food and outside) because I’ve always done it.
Good scratch post/multi level climbing thing. Ours also love those wands with feathered toy at the end you let them chase. Little cuddle toys plus some that roll. They sleep in the dogs bed! Or any empty Amazon box.

Get a scratching post and a cat nip toy/toys. Talk to them, interact with them. Make sure they have some place up high to get away or just nap, watch the world go by. Feed them on a schedule, twice a day. Cats love a routine. Enjoy them!

Ahem. Cat tax please.

Please can we see some pictures when you get them back home?

Feed them on a schedule, twice a day.

Maybe not while they are still kittens, assuming that they are this year's. Kittens need an awful lot of food compared to their size, and I gather that 4-5 times a day initially gradually reducing the number of feeds down to 2 when they get to be 6-8 months old.

Get them insured right away, and registered with a decent local vet - remember that they will most likely not have completed their immunisations yet, will need neutering at about 4 months, and will need to be chipped (legal requirement now). Your vet may do a "kitten" package that covers all this at a slight discount, but if you intend for them to be indoors only then the monthly "flea & worm" package shouldn't be necessary.

Find out from the rescue/breeder which food and litter they are using and don't change that until they've had a chance to settle in. When you do change, do that very slowly over a few weeks.

Read up on the subject as much as you can before they come home especially from organisations like Cats Protection.

And remember - you don't "own" cats, they own you!

Whistle train them - Everytime you serve food or treats you whistle. Means you can summon them easily as and when required.

Pictures or no advice

Photos, please!

Getting two kittens (rather than one) was a fantastic decision for us. Ours are now 9 months old but still spend most of their time together and look after each other. They play together so they weren’t particularly destructive and learned how to be gentle with their paws and teeth, and they keep each other entertained so they don’t get lonely if we are out. And it is the cutest thing in the world when they snuggle together.

Put them in one “safe room” at first and make sure nothing is breakable or dangerous in it. New spaces can be overwhelming for cats and it will be easier if they get used to one place at first. Depending on their personality it may be a while before they feel confident enough to explore the rest of the house, and it also means you don’t have to play hunt the kitten for hours (expect them to find tiny hiding places and not want to venture out much when they first arrive).

We don’t let our cats in the bedrooms at night as they are too annoying and don’t let anyone get a good night’s sleep (they don’t settle down, just bounce around the furniture and one of them brings you toys as gifts and then miaows until you thank her). They are fine with this as it is a rule we imposed from early on. Ours are allowed everywhere during the day but if you want to keep them out of a particular room it will help to have that as normal from the start.

Put water a little away from food as cats don’t like to drink where they eat.

We buy food from Zooplus - they often do good discounts and you can get a regular saver plan too.

This isn't official advice, but my tip is to get them used to a variety of (good quality) food of different brands. It's made life so much easier as she's not fussy (I know some cats are and that might just be their personality) - and cheaper, as I can take advantage of special offers. I mix wet and dry so she benefits from the hydration and from the dental advantages of eating kibble. My cat isn't keen on water, so I add it to her wet food and that way she drinks happily. Enjoy the madness which is having kittens!

Train them and keep them active! It's part of play for my cats, which I aim to do for at least half an hour a day. I've only trained older cats and you do need a lot of patience, and not all cats are smart enough, but mine can sit, raise a paw, sit at the door to have their collar put on to go outside. They've also trained me ...to play with their favourite toys, open the blinds in time for the perfect sunbathing spot, and give them their bedtime treat on time.

Re feeding, it's really down to the cat. Mine free feed on dry food, but one has his own bowl (microchip) as he gets anxious and overeats (got fat) when other cats can get his food. The other has 1 pouch of wet food split at 5am (timed feeder) and 6pm. But maybe you shouldn't take my lead as I'm clearly catering to their every whim 😁

Take lots of photos of your carpets/sofas/wallpaper/curtains as they are now , because they'll never look that way again

My cats were a year old (so old enough to know better) when they came along to overlord us but ignore the scratching post in favour of everything else .

Maybe if we got them as tiny kittens they might have been different ?

Any update ?

I am in need of wholesome kitteney cuteness as FemaleCat left a turdy line on the upstair hall carpet , then the stinkiest pooh ever in her tray ( thankfully) , eating snails no doubt .

And either Female or Male threw up spit'n' grass on the carpet . Couldn;t do this on the hard floor then cats ? Don't know who the culprit was .

Just as well we luffs them eh?

Thank you everyone for all the advice!! Sorry I’ve not been active. We are now getting them on the 12th. I’ll attach some pics of them, they are adorable!
We are naming the tuxedo boy Cosmo, anyone got any suggestions for the little girl (white and black)?

Cute!! Nyx for the girl maybe?

Or Politan to go with Cosmo😹 Polly for short…

Lucille, wasn’t that the name of Cosmo Duff Gordon’s wife?

Aww they're so gorgeous.. ❤️ 😍 The pattern on the girls side, reminds me of Mickey Mouses head 😄

So.. I'd suggest Minnie as in Minnie Mouse 😄

Cosmo(s) and Stella(r)? Something sky/galaxy related maybe. Though I'm not too keen on paired names, because eventually you'll only have one of them... Raisin? I used to have a spotted rabbit called raisin.

Clover ( her three spots look like a clover leaf)
Trinity ? (again three spots)
Domino
Puzzle or Jigsaw

My Go-To b/w cat names are Pingu or Magpie

They are gorgeous BTW , they'll be featherlight with little needle teeth and claws

Lovely kitties 💕 How about Cosmo and Luna?