Adopting two kittens next week & I'm Panicking!

[PushkaMcgee]

I need to be talked down, and, hopefully given some kitten tips!

My loved and adored cat Scully had to be PTS in March due to kidney disease, I was heart broken and my house is way too quiet and doesn't feel right, so I'm adopting 2 kittens from the same friend who I got Scully from 11 years ago as I feel there will still be a connection to my kitty (if that makes sense!). About 4 years ago I had a post on here when she went missing for 3 weeks and everyone was incredibly kind and supportive and I lurk on this board a lot though rarely post.

I realise it's ridiculous I'm panicking so much, it's not like I'm not used to having a cat in the house but it seems such a long time ago that I had a kitten, let alone two!

I plan on keeping them confined in my snug for the first few days, it over looks the garden, has Scully's cat tree and a minimum of hiding places, I have of course, bought new toys and beds etc.

I'm worried about them getting out before they're spayed (they will go outside once they've been done) especially in the warmer weather with open windows. Then, I'm wondering how it works with feeding and a litter tray? Do I get them both a litter tray and separate food bowls and water bowls or do they share stuff? Won't one eat the others food?!

(I plan on blocking the patio doors from the snug so I won't accidentally open them!)

I keep veering between incredibly excitement, sadness at not having Scully here anymore and then wild panic!

Any help, hints and tips greatly appreciated - many thanks!

I’ve always had one tray and separate feed bowls. Yes my male will shove the female out of the way so I think I did move her to another room to eat but now I just let them deal with it. I’ll occasionally give her half a pouch extra if the male has gone out. They have dry kibble down all the time. He’s a lot bigger than her and is greedy. But she gets what she needs.
I think it was just a bit tricky about outside as it meant we couldn’t have the doors open but it wasn’t a huge deal. If they ever got out they were so stunned by the enormity of it they were easy to scoop up and take back inside. They were 13 weeks old when they arrived and very active! Now they are five and are such great companions.

I have 2 cats and have 4 bowls down at a time: 2 for dry food and 2 for wet food. Its recommended to have 1 litter tray per cat plus 1 extra. I just had 1 water bowl

Don’t panic! It will be totally fine and I’m so bloody jealous 😆

I sympathise with your panic - our pair of kittens came home about 3 years after our previous cat died, and I remember kittenhood being stressful with him!
But you get used to them again very quickly. They did of course shred my curtains, but that was the worst of it.
I recommend implementing a sort of airlock system, if you can, to stop them escaping.
We have two litter trays, I offer them their own food bowls, and they have one water bowl - but prefer to drink from the dog’s water bowl in the kitchen 🙄
I had forgotten how much I needed cats in my life again until these two joined us ❤️
(I love my dog… but she is not a cat!)

We have one litter tray and one water bowl plus two food dishes.

Yes they eat each others food - on more than the other. The less greedy one gets top-ups when the other isn’t around as needed

And don’t panic - once they arrive you’ll all settle down together and very soon you won’t remember life without them

The person who is handing over these gorgeous kittens will give you the gen on what they are eating ,how much,what times and what their quirky little ways are . The kittens will welcome the routine of keeping things the same for now. We slowly changed our cats food over and offered them breakfast/Dreamies/dinner at set times so they know.
Our vet said don't leave biscuits out .They eat together but slight distance. Female is picky and will come back. Male would eat his then hers if he could .
Enjoy them you know they are waiting for you and you won't regret it.
Your carpets and furniture might.

Thank you all so much for the replies and your reassurance! I'm getting two girls, still undecided on names!

Two/four food bowls it is and one water bowl - thank you!

I had read that cats should all have one litter tray plus one more but Scully only ever had one (that I obviously cleaned out very regularly) so I may just start with two and see how it goes.

I like the idea of an 'airlock' system @TeaandHobnobs I'll give that a go!

I have curtains hanging in the snug that Scully always ignored and I'm undecided as to whether to just leave them and keep my fingers crossed that they aren't used for gymnastic or Cirque de Soleil training and or tie them up for now!

Many thanks again, be prepared for more inane kitten questions! I will pay the obligatory cat tax when they're here and causing chaos!

I have a mat like this to sit the bowls on to minimise food getting on the floor

@dementedpixie thanks for that link, I have added it to my ever growing list of new kitten purchases!

The big thing with kittens is keeping them occupied - then they're less destructive!
Have a variety of cat toys, but don't have them all out at once - rotate them. Give them a regular supply of cardboard boxes to hide in/chew. The cardboard scratchers were also a hit with mine.

Ive bought lots of cat stuff from zooplus. Does food, toys,scratchers, etc

I have these mats, they’re great and they’re also easy to wipe clean.

Am so sorry re Scully, it’s so hard when they go. Was devastated at losing my previous two (a few years apart). I had about the same timeframe as you between losing my final one and getting my next two. Slightly different in that I picked them up two weeks apart - one was 11 months and one was 4 months old.

They do have a tray each plus one extra, but I only had one tray for my previous two.

They have two separate “stations” for food on the mats linked above. One in the kitchen and one in the adjoining open plan hallway. I have a bowl of dried food on each mat, then they get a bowl of wet on each mat in the evening. They both know which mat is “theirs” and trot straight to them when I dish up dinner. And then, two minutes later, they swap mats - every evening, without fail. And then swap again - pair of nutters!

I knew my previous two like the back of my hand. With each of them, we had our own rhythm and way of co-existing. I was REALLY worried that I’d never feel the same way about my new additions. They will, rightly, never replace them. But it has been a joy getting to know their new personalities and I adore them both in their own way and in a different way from before. It’s given me quite a bit of comfort to know and love them in their own way - if that makes sense!

Wishing you lots of joy with your new arrivals - probably along with a bit of “what on earth are these tiny terrors doing now” moments. And please post the cat tax when you can.

@EskarinaS that's a great idea to rotate the toys/boxes etc, I hadn't even considered that 😆 I have bought 2 cardboard scratchers, 2 different tunnels and an ice-cream cart hideaway thingy along with other various small playthings! I will slowly bring these out over time and find out which they like best - probably cardboard boxes!

I didn't discover Zooplus until researching renal food for Scully, I hadn't even thought of looking on there thank you @dementedpixie

@Ijwwm thank you for your lovely, reassuring message, I have worried about not being able to love these two as much as Scully (she kept me company and was my saviour in some very tough times) but, as you quite rightly say, these two will be vastly different with different likes and dislikes and personalities and they're not here to replace Scully but to give me another two fur balls to love and spoil.

We got kittens last year. They had their safe room for the first couple weeks. We also shut them away when we went out so we didn’t need to worry about them running out front door. Windows and doors shut.

Send us a photo when you get them, OP! There’ll be lots of suggestions for names!

Favourite toy in this house are the brightly coloured cat spring toys. The younger one goes nuts for them 😹. She likes to carry them round the house, so I do need to check when using the stairs as she’ll sometimes dump one halfway up.