Bringing home 2 kittens on Sunday - what have I forgotten?!

[Cadela]

We’ve got 2 eight week old boys coming home Sunday morning and honestly I’m more anxious than when I brought my newborn home 😅

I’ve kitten-proofed as much as I can and I’ve bought a large soft enclosure for them when I’m on the school run (15 mins morning and afternoon) so they don’t get into mischief when I’m not home.

We’ve got whisker friendly bowls, a water fountain, 3 litter trays, a cat tree and lots of toys.

I’ve researched but there nothing like first hand experience! Please tell me everything I need to know about having kittens in the house!

awww fluffties ,when they calm down as they get older it is worth letting them in your room .You get a few months of disturbance ,then they learn to go to sleep at the foot of the bed when you sleep

£42 a month for two kitties sound incredibly expensive!

@Cadela my boy last time was neutered by the rescue at 17 weeks; the girls who have just come home were done at 9 weeks, which although I understand why the rescue does it (presumably they want security that they are not sending unneutered cats out into the world), my vet was very shocked that they did it so soon - particularly when they are girls. Be guided by your vet, is what I'd say.

I know how terrifying it is to contemplate letting them out! I've hated doing so every time I've had a cat... but they enjoy outdoors so much. Just one of the awful risks of having cats, really.

My two are putting on weight - though the greedy one faster than the skinny one... but she is at least eating a bit more wet food now. We've introduced them to the dog (who is being AMAZING), and one of them at least is now quite relaxed with her - the other still a little more cautious.

If it’s lifetime cover, then that seems pretty reasonable to me at £20-odd per cat. When I first insured my previous cat 15 years ago it was around £17 per month for LT cover.

£42 sounds about right for the two of them. You get what you pay for and lifetime cover isn’t cheap

And the annual limit can make a big difference remember.

How are they getting on OP?

HINT - there's no such thing as too many kitten pics - HINT

They don't have to go out!

I used to have outdoor cats and got lucky, but the average lifespan of an outdoor cat compared to an indoor one is horribly short. So, my last three have been indoors only. One of them was a rescue (dumped, actually, due to an intense hair-shedding problem!). He had always been an outdoor cat but adapted to indoors without a moment's hesitation.

My first pair were ex-ferals, lived in a colony until they were a year old - lived very happily as indoor cats. When I lost Boycat due to CKD I got his sister a toy boy as a companion who was an ex-stray, he'd spent from 6 months to 2.5 years as a stray and he's converted very happily to indoors only.

Good thing too with Tobias - turns out that in his 2 years of being a stray he'd contracted FIV so would most likely be dead from that by now if he'd gone out!

I paid less than that to insure two five year old Persians with Tesco. Although that was a while ago. It was life time cover.

Another update, our sweet Ember is actually a girl! We took them in for their vax & microchip today and the vet spotted a vagina 😅

They’re booked in for their spay and neuter next month because I absolutely do not want my kittens having kittens!

Also they’ve already gone off the kitten food I bought (60 pack of meowing heads) so now onto Blink! I bought less this time. I’m learning!

Give them a few weeks on Blink, then when they go off that try the Meowing Heads again. Cat food tends to have quite a long shelf life, so you should be able to get a few swaps out of them 😁

Aww they are gorgeous

Yes keep the food they have turned away from.

I used to get excited when my cats enjoyed a good quality wet food, bulk bought it and no the prince didn't want it.

Now we have good quality dry food (purizon) to ease my conscience and lower quality wet food

I do think it depends on where you live.

My 15 year old cat spends a good part of the day when it is sunny asleep in the middle of the road. But it is really quiet and everyone knows her.

Aw they are absolutely gorgeous! One thing we ended up getting for ours was clear Perspex that closed the gap underneath the sofa- they would go underneath and then scratch the bottom of the sofa off! We left it on until they were too big to fit under anymore.