Just Adopted My First Cat! - Tips Please?

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oEmmao
oEmmao Posts: 466 Member
in Chit-Chat
hi guys,

my hubby brought home a stray today, she must have been left out in the cold, she seems to be trained and loves people and cuddles, shes a gorgeous white young cat with black/brown patches, SO CUTE! :flowerforyou:

its my first real pet, only ever had goldfish as a child! lol :laugh:

hubby is great with pets, but just want to look after her properly, any tips, and dont be afraid to tell me all the obvious stuff, i need to hear it too :blushing:

bringing her to the vet on saturday, and gonna buy all the gear tomorrow, remind me what i need?

its 10.30pm here, so heading to bed shortly, hope my new little kitty likes her new home! :happy:

oEmmao :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • sarahgaye
    sarahgaye Posts: 19 Member
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    Kitty litter, water bowl/food bowl, litter box, when we got our girl we got a bunch of little toys for her. The litter was the main thing! At first try to get a generic one, like Max Scoop (the goround up gray stony kind)...I wouldn't get pellets or something unless you KNOW she's used to them! Our cat wasn't and she ended up peeing on our bed because she didn't like the litter!

    You may want a collar if she is going to be indoor/outdoor! Have fun with your new baby!! :o)
  • becomingsara
    becomingsara Posts: 205
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    litter and a box she can jump into
    dish for water and food (no milk! it could upset her tummy)
    we bought a bed, but neither of mine slept in it
    one of mine LOVES to bat small balls around the house (but not too small that she can eat it!)
    be careful with any wires hanging (they think they are string and will chew into it)
    dependent upon her coat length, a brush (flea brush too for later)

    Thank you for adopting a stray and taking her to the vet!
  • daryls
    daryls Posts: 260
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    If she's a stray - take her to the vet!

    I got my kitty off the streets and she had flees!!!!!! It was very easy to treat, but I also had them to check for any other diseases.

    Lots of love, clean water, food, litter and play time!

    FYI, mine's a priss - she has an automatic dry cat feeder and running water fountain....but the basics work too!

    If she's off the street they say to sometimes add a little dirt to the litter so that they recognize it as where to go. Did it for mine and it worked like a charm. The other issue I had was that when I got her she was too small to get in the litter box - we had to build her little stairs.

    Enjoy your new cat - I LOVE MINE!
  • erica79
    erica79 Posts: 242 Member
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    we took in a stray over the summer. She was really young. 5 weeks maybe. I was so scared she was not going to use the liter box becasue she was feral but she did with no problem. So liter box of course :wink: plus if she's young some toys are always good. brush, collar and food. cats are pretty self sufficient so they are great first pets. enjoy your new pet. Did you decide on a name?
  • Myndi73
    Myndi73 Posts: 270
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    My suggestion is to buy her a cat dancer. It's the greatest toy ever invented. I do fostering for dogs and cats, mostly cats, and I have yet to meet a cat that does not go absolutely crazy for this toy. Best part, it's only like 2 dollars. Enjoy your new feline friend and thank you for saving a stray.
  • strongerthanb4
    strongerthanb4 Posts: 61
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    of course the basics. but be careful of string especially at christmas time, the LOVE it but it can get caught in their intestines and require surgery. cat's are fantastic pets....we have a few.....they love to be close to you and talk to you and if you let them, most will sleep in the bed with you! do take her to the vet (or him!!) and get shots, and maybe some basic blood work and get it on a flea pill that prevents other stuff too. enjoy your new baby, it's alot of love to give and recieve!
  • sunlover67
    sunlover67 Posts: 158 Member
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    We just took a stray in also. We had to put our cat that we'd had for 13 years down this past summer and we said never again. And 2 months later, this precious baby showed up. I think it was meant to be. :happy: Definitely take her to the vets, ours had tapeworm and fleas. And here's the sad part, they checked to see if she'd been spayed, said she hadn't. So we made an appt and took her in a few weeks later. The vet couldn't find her uterus so obviously she had been fixed. We were so heartbroken, all of that for nothing. :cry: Good luck and I hope you fall in love as hard as we have. :heart:
  • crissi66
    crissi66 Posts: 98
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    Get her some nice treats :).

    Shampoo and a collar, just in case she is the wondering type.
    toys
    catnip
    laser pointer for chasing. my brother's cat went crazy for that thing.
    a nice brush and a slicker for removing the underhair .

    Maybe you should invest in a scratching post of some type. there are so many now. This way she doesnt decide to sharpen her claws in your couch.

    Dont forget a litter box and there are a million litters to choose from so take your time and pick one that will work your house.
  • sarahgaye
    sarahgaye Posts: 19 Member
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    Oh good comment about the string - also avoid tinsel on your tree (if you have one)! It is VERY harmful if a cat is to swallow it and it gets wrapped around their intestines. Otherwise they will just have sparkly poop...
  • Jamiecfc1
    Jamiecfc1 Posts: 75 Member
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    Remember that in general cats will climb and scratch pretty much anything so especially a decent scratch post or some old carpet, and beware of your christmas tree, my cat never has been brave enough to climb up but they can go for the lower branches, oh and also don't put any chocolate decorations on lower branches as they eat them (wrapper and all!) Good luck! :laugh:
  • becomingsara
    becomingsara Posts: 205
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    Remember that in general cats will climb and scratch pretty much anything so especially a decent scratch post or some old carpet, and beware of your christmas tree, my cat never has been brave enough to climb up but they can go for the lower branches, oh and also don't put any chocolate decorations on lower branches as they eat them (wrapper and all!) Good luck! :laugh:
    HAH! I completely forgot that! Last year we had a real tree for Christmas, and my then 1 yr old kit would NOT stay out of the tree!!! AS far as we could tell, he never chewed on the lights, but there is something about that real pine that he loved...
  • goingwithgrace
    goingwithgrace Posts: 109 Member
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    We have 5 cats - they're the greatest souls! You'll have fun!

    Cat Fancy magazine has a website with super tips and information. It's called the Cat Channel.
    http://www.catchannel.com/kittens/default.aspx
  • lauramorris85
    lauramorris85 Posts: 87
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    Definitely get kitty something to scratch on and sharpen her claws. We had double sided sticky tape (sticky paws i think it was it was called) for our furniture to try and get our cat to stop scratching on the couches and such. Definitely some toys, litter and box, food bowl (dry and wet food) and water. We got ours a little "cat house" so he could hid and play in it and also layed a towel inside so he can fluff it how he wanted.
  • xxthursday09xx
    xxthursday09xx Posts: 85 Member
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    Oh man! Congrats! I have two babies and I love them so much! Zoe May I had since she was about a week or so old. She was abandoned so I had to bottle feed her which was amazing. Of course litter box. My cats like foil balls, the little plastic ring around the milk and my lap. :) They like to cuddle with my face too. Some people can't handle that but I love it. Just give them lots of love, remember they are cats, they are mischievous but with proper care and training you can lessen the mess they get into :):) Good luck!
  • CHANGES4ME
    CHANGES4ME Posts: 132 Member
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    i have a silver cat, every 1 said all the same rite things.. but also get him/her a scratch box... at wal mart it is called a super scratcher..... believe me when i say if u do, it will save from your cat scratchin everything he/she gets its paws into....:wink:
  • RCharlesworth
    RCharlesworth Posts: 14
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    All great advice so far. The obvious: food bowl, waterbowl, litter box, cat litter, cat food, collar. Cats are relatively self sufficient, so very little is absolutely needed. Some extras that are good ideas: cat litter deodorizer (comes in boxes), scratching post (cats can't help trying to "sharpen their claws" and will use furniture -- however, if you train them on the scratching post from an early age, they'll use that instead of your furniture). Toys...to tell you the truth you can spend a bunch of money on toys (we spoil our two cats rotten), but rolled up newspaper, empty cardboard boxes work fairly well. Our two enjoy the laser pointer (they chase the dot of light and it was under $5) and the little fuzzy mice (they're partial to pink ones, though I'm not sure why, but also like the grey and the white. They also like the crinkle-cellophane like balls.

    We made a decision to avoid catnip with ours -- I've heard that only about 1/2 of cats respond to it. It's optional -- it won't harm them. Food -- kittens specifically need kitten food. We started ours on IAMS, but any high-quality food will do. They always have dry food available 24/7 and we give them 1/2 a can of friskiescanned wet food at night (avoid giving them canned food for breakfast if you can avoid it -- they'll get you out of bed at 4AM to feed them and you'll never be able to sleep in!). We also get treats for them (pre-packaged), but try to limit how many we give. Cats are pretty good about self-regulating their diets (as opposed to humans). We also avoid table scraps and human food since they are highly caloric and there's no MFP for cats! LOL!

    Definitely have them checked by the vet. Take along a stool sample for your first visit because the new one will need to be checked for worms. They're not a big deal -- just an oral medicine to get rid of them, but they become a problem if left untreated. Pick the stool out of the litter box and place in a baggie -- the vet will look at it under the microscope. Fleas might be an issue from an outdoor cat -- there are a variety of topical flea medicines that work well and the vet can recommend one. You definitely don't want fleas breeding in your house. Spay/Neuter please, unless you intend to breed the kitten.

    We bought the cat beds too, so they'd have a place to curl up. Basically they chose their own places and didn't use the cat beds. They pretty much curl up with us at night and sleep on the back of the sofa or a blanket on top of a cardboard box. Ours like heights, so be bought a carpeted tower for them (which they love).

    You'll also have to do some cat-proofing. Kind of like you do for a child. Avoid letting them have access to chemicals like under the sink or under the bathroom sink. Be careful of some houseplants which can be toxic to them (you can find lists on the internet). Tinsel on christmas trees is particularly bad -- they like to eat it and then it can block their intestines... String and yarn for the same reasons...

    Those are my thoughts. Congratulations on your new cat! They really are a joy!
  • Amylynn
    Amylynn Posts: 242 Member
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    IDK if anyone said these cuz I didn't read them all. My musts for mine:

    An enclosed litter box (the ones shaped like a box w/a square entrance for example). This will save you from having to clean up litter, or the occasional missed-the-box-turd, off the rug everyday & it keeps the odor down.

    Those little tiny mice toys that r furry. Both of my cats absolutely love em.

    I would get water & food dishes that are seperate (not the double ones) cuz otherwise the food always ends up in the water,

    I recommend getting your cat front declawed. Mine successfully ruined a really expensive leather coat, a leather couch, & several pairs of my shoes along w/scratching up the every door we have before I realized I just needed to get them declawed. Also, no matter what sex or if you only plan to have one cat, get it spayed/neutered. Girl cats make howling noises the whole time they are in heat & male cats spray everything if they aren't fixed.

    A climbing post is a great investment. My cats loved it the minute I brought it in the house.

    Finally, I know this will sound crazy, but get another cat if you can. They are even funner in pairs & they love company. It's barely anymore $ to have one then 2.

    Hope she works out for you.
  • goingwithgrace
    goingwithgrace Posts: 109 Member
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    All of our cats are good about using scratching posts. Just introduce it to them early. If you declaw, make sure your vet knows what they're doing. Declawing is a surgery that removes the first portion of their toe (like if you cut off your finger to the first knuckle). If done wrong, it can result in deformaties. Declawing can also change how they put their weight on their joints, so be aware as they get older if they show signs of artheritis.

    Definitely spay or neuter. It reduces the risk of several different cancers.

    We have Littermaid automatic litterboxes. LOVE THEM! They're fairly inexpensive at Target. They're pretty pricey at PetSmart.

    Get bowls that are ceramic or metal and somewhat shallow. Plastic bowls or bowls that are too deep can cause chin acne (we've had 2 cats experience that).

    Beds are good. They love to be snuggly. Our cats actually love a throw blanket just piled up.

    Get a food like Blue Buffalo that is all natural ingredents. Read the packaging and try to avoid fillers. We also prefer pet food that is made in the U.S.. Fillers make them fat and also can cause cancers. Some cats like kibble only, others like both kibble and wet food. We give ours canned tuna as a treat sometimes. There are human foods that can kill them or make them very sick so keep things out of reach if they tend to "surf" counters or sinks.

    Don't let your cat outside (unless you can train them to stay in your yard). Cats that live indoors have a much longer lifespan. Ours have lots of window seats and a few go out on a leash. Some people build screened in patios for them. We hope to do that some day!

    Get your kitty microchipped. The vet can do this. It's very inexpensive and doesn't hurt them at all.

    Get a good brush to keep them from getting hairballs. The first time you see your cat try to hack up a hairball you might be in shock because it's a very weird event, but they'll be ok. There are hairball treats if they seem to get them alot, but brushing helps!

    :) Yeah for kitties!!
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    All you need to know: You do not own the cat, you are a servant to the cat.

    Seriously, we have two cats and they are such princesses.
  • qwho
    qwho Posts: 157
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    congrats on your kitty! You will be owned in no time!

    Be sure and have things for kitty to scratch, like
    scratching posts, carboard scratchers, etc and
    catnip is great too (if the kitty is over a year old)

    at some point (if kitty lives indoors, which is a must)
    you can try offering some kitty grass (easy to grow)
    and choose quality dry foods with meat or seafood
    as the first ingredient.

    Kitty will invariably love empty boxes and or bags
    and for fun tyr putting down sheets of tissue paper
    or the foil gift wrap sheets for kitty to lay on

    please, never declaw your kitty either.

    I have not read the other posts yet, but I assume
    all the usual things like litter and toys have
    been mentioned

    Have fun!

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