New Cat Advice

Tester46

I've just moved into a new house in the country and have inherited a young adult female cat. She is very friendly and affectionate, and has already started bringing us presents (dead birds), so I guess she'll be staying .

My question is, what should I do now? I have bought litter tray & food and bowl. I guess I need to take her to a local vet. What should I get done? What vaccinations, wormers, etc? I presume she should be speyed also? Anyone got an idea of the cost of that first visit to the vet?

On an ongoing basis, what can I do myself, e.g. flea treatment, wormers, etc? I am not squeamish and can give an injection if that is useful...

Thanks!

P.S. I grew up with cats, but parents did all the vet stuff, so I'm just realising now I don't know what to do

Tilly Tally

Congratulations on your new cat!! If she's an adult, you'll need to look at getting her neutered asap so you don't suddenly have litters of kittens to look after. That will cost about €80 - €100 depending on vets but its worth it in the long run. Vaccinations and stuff like that will cost about €60. Get stronghold for fleas and lice - it'll kill everything. Once you've all that done, its plain sailing for there!!

Oh and if she is indoors for a good bit, get a scratching post!!

Tester46

Tilly Tally wrote: »

Congratulations on your new cat!! If she's an adult, you'll need to look at getting her neutered asap so you don't suddenly have litters of kittens to look after. That will cost about €80 - €100 depending on vets but its worth it in the long run. Vaccinations and stuff like that will cost about €60. Get stronghold for fleas and lice - it'll kill everything. Once you've all that done, its plain sailing for there!!

Oh and if she is indoors for a good bit, get a scratching post!!

Thanks for that. Pretty much what I needed to know! The sofa was the cats' scratching post while I was growing up.

anniehoo

Tester46 wrote: »

On an ongoing basis, what can I do myself, e.g. flea treatment, wormers, etc? I am not squeamish and can give an injection if that is useful...

Yep all this can be done yourself. At least 3-4 times a year with the flea treatment and wormer. Can you guess at what age she is? If shes around the 5/6mth mark id keep her in until you get her spayed. Cats are nearly always guaranteed to get pregnant when in heat and theres toms around.

A little bell on the collar might help with the dead bird problem.

wantolose

yes get her spayed asap , however you might be able to get some help with this through the spca, we had 2 cats dumped with us and they had kittens, we got them rehomed but didnt want the problem again so we contacted the spca and they sent us out a voucher, we already had 2 of our own cats and we had them spayed at our cost plus we had our 2 dogs done so it can be expensive but it really needs doing....kittens are cute but they go on to have more, and fighting cats have kittens!!!!:eek::o

Growltiger

four other places to get low cost spaying/neutering, through the blue cross, at ucd veterinary hospital, st francis dispensary and cats aid.

ro09

If you see her scratching a lot then thats an indication of fleas, you will need to get some flee ointment only then. Cats are very good at healing themselves of illnesses, they have herbal remedies they eat in the garden, certain leaves etc.