Questions before I adopt a kitty

Ollie182

I'm strongly considering adopting a small cat / a kitten that I know will stay quite small, so for a small cat, in regard to expenses what should I be expecting? Food, do I have to bring her to the vets regularly? Beds, toys etc.? I'm completely new to the cat world!


OH THE EXCITEMENT :eek:

The Sweeper

If you're going to the DSCPA, ideally your kitty should be:

• Fully vaccinated, and come with a vaccination card
• Microchipped, and come with a microchip certificate with the chip number on it - request that the chip be scanned while you're there and the scan readout be compared to the chip number to make sure that they match (mix-ups are common)
• Ask who the chip will be registered with - there are central registries where the chip number is matched to your personal details, so if kitty gets lost and is scanned, it can be looked up to get your contact information. For that information to get to the central registry, someone has to complete a form linking your details to the chip and send it into the registry. Given some recent confusion between vets / rescues / posters on here, I think it would be a good idea to check if it's your responsibility to make sure your cat's chip is in your name or if the rescue do it.
• Wormed and flea treated - either using a tablet or a spot-on (a pipette of liquid medication that can be broken open and squeezed onto the back of the cat's neck where it's absorbed through the skin - spot-ons are never to be given orally, and never give dog flea or worm medication to a cat).
• Desexed or come with a voucher for desexing or at least come with advice on desexing. Your cat can be desexed from six months of age in Ireland and it's vital to do it asap to prevent unwanted pregnancies, health complications and so on. If you can adopt a desexed kitty already that's brilliant because it means you don't need to worry about having it done.

So that's the basics of veterinary care for your kitty. To make kitty more comfortable on his or her first days at home, double check with the shelter what brand of food they were feeding and what brand of cat litter they were using, and purchase the same to use at your place during the settling in period.

Shopping list for kitty

• A kitty bed. There are lots out there. Just go for a cheap one because kitty will notoriously not bother using the bed after a few weeks, preferring instead to sleep on your bed, or your couch, or a pile of clean laundry.
• A kitty food dish. I prefer cheap, clean crockery in a colour or shape different to your own plates. Plastic bowls can retain smells and cats can be fussy. Stainless steel bowls are fine but the rubber rims on them to make them non-slip absolutely stink and my cats hate them. A friend buys old crystal dishes from the second-hand store for 50 cents apiece and feeds her kitties from crystal.
• A kitty water dish - cats need a supply of clean, fresh water. Many cats will jump into the sinks in the house to drink from running taps. As long as you keep the water clean and topped up, I find cats prefer wide, shallow bowls like chinese noodle bowls. You can buy pet fountains that keep the water moving and oxygenated and they're great if you forget to change the cat's water because the fountains start to suck air and hiss loudly when the water level drops, a good reminder to top them up. They can be expensive though.
• A kitty litter tray. A basic, plastic kitty litter tray is extremely cheap. Buy two pans, the litter the kitty is used to, and a litter scoop. Put just under one inch of litter in each pan. Scoop out poos and urine clumps every day and dispose of them. Keep the litter clean and kitty will keep using it. Sort out a place for the litter trays that's relatively quiet and out of the way, and choose it well because kitties don't respond well to their trays being moved about and will often return to the first place the tray was and poo or wee on the floor in the absence of a tray. Tray hygiene is essential.
• Kitty food. My personal preference is that I would never, ever feed a domestic cat a diet of nothing but dry cat food. It's too strongly linked to the formation of struvite and oxalate crystals in the cat's bladder, which can cause serious complications. I feed my kitties twice a day, and split their ration 50/50 between a good quality dry food and either wet food or raw meat (human grade - nothing off or rotten - strips of raw beef or raw lamb for chewing, or raw chicken necks if they'll eat them - helps keep teeth clean). Buy the best you can afford - I break the bank with Royal Canin dry food and top grade raw meat for my cats, and then balance it out with whiskas tins (though I woudn't feed nothing but whiskas tins!)
• Something to scratch. This is very important. Scratching posts these days are cheap, readily available, and they save your furniture. There is no scratching post too dramatic for a kitty. Buy one with a couple of levels and lots of scratchy upright posts, hidey holes and a hammock. It doesn't need to have toys hanging off it because they just get torn off in play anyway. Position the post somewhere central, preferably near your couch, and kitty will scratch the post, not the couch. The post needs to be positioned somewhere near where you spend a lot of time - contrary to rumour, cats are actually very social!
• Toys - kitty toys can be anything. A ping pong ball. A long shoelace tied in a big knot at the end. A toy catnip mouse for throwing around and racing after manically. You don't have to spend a lot, because kitty will play with virtually anything, especially if you start the game.
• A grooming brush. I swear by the 'Furminator', a long-handled brush with a fine-toothed head a bit like a nit comb. It strips out loose coat very effectively and my short-haired cats benefit from a comb out once a week when blowing their coats, and once a month otherwise.

Setting up for pet ownership can be expensive, but the initial outlay settles down after time. My advice would be not to scrimp on food or medication, but don't spend ten euros on a crockery bowl with a fish on it when you can use a cereal bowl for 50 cents just as effectively, and don't buy an expensive bed because again the cat may hardly use it. I'd spend more on a good scratching post because they really are worth the money, and less on toys because again toys can be home made.

OP one question - why such a fascination with a 'small' cat? Most domestic cats won't exceed 5kgs anyway, and females tend to be smaller than male cats, but I find size is much of a muchness. I don't think the cuteness wears off in cats because I think my adult kitties are just as adorable with their mannerisms and their expressions.

You've mentioned wanting a small cat a number of times and it rings some alarm bells with me I'm afraid - I'm worried you may adopt a kitten and become disinterested as it grows. I'm hoping you'll become very attached to it and you won't mind, but I just wanted to check why you're so hell bent on a small kitty? Be warned - kitten size isn't guarantee of adult size. I've met some boofa kittens that grew into average 4kg cats, and some average kittens who've grown into big adults. (My friend's cat, Casper, who's just a white moggy, was an average sized kitten who now tips the scales at 11kgs and is absolutely enormous - and it's not fat!)

The Sweeper

Last thing - ongoing vet bills - usually you vaccinate annually and worm every three months, flea treating as required if the cat has fleas. If you have an indoor-only cat or a cat who doesn't leave your yard, you may consider vaccinating every three years and worming and flea treating on an as-needed basis once you learn more about your kitty.

Ollie182

Awww man, thanks a million sweeper! That's exactly what I was looking for, perfect advice coming from genuine experience. Little things you've learned. I really appreciate it!

As for the small cat thing, I honestly wouldn't get fed up of a kitty after it grows a bit, its really just that I think my mam would prefer a smaller cat around the house rather than a giant silly, I know. Just a little bit of a compromise I guess

You're right it is the DSPCA I was headin for, and the €80 adoption fee covers everything you first mentioned. Which is fab. I will ask about the chip though thanks for the tip off!

I was half expecting it to be expensive just for the start, then the fee's go down and you confirmed that, so, WHOOSH, panic over! Haha. I'm 17 and work the minimum wage for a few hours a week so thats a relief.

I laughed at the idea of feeding the kitty out of crystal it's a really sweet funny idea.

I have a question actually, what do you mean by an "indoors-only" cat, is that the way you raise it or are there specific breeds that don't like the outdoors? That could be a silly question

The Sweeper

No such thing as a silly question.

Indoors-only is just a lifestyle, not a breed. Many, many cats live happy lives as indoor-only cats, but you need to do some environment enrichment to facilitate them being indoors - like big, tall scratching posts, toys, hiding places, so on. Other cats live indoors and have restricted outdoor access - so some folks build a wire run outside the house that the cats can access through a window. Some people use a pre-made bird aviary and link it to a window with a tunnel so the cat can go out and sit in the sun and so on. If you have a fully-fenced garden you can take measures to block off the underneath of your fence line and put wire on the top to stop the cat getting out of your garden - there are a LOT of sites on the internet with suggestions on DIY cat-proof fencing.

Ollie be aware that when you bring your kitty home from rescue first, they can be very timid in your home. It's good to not crowd them for the first few days because even cats that appeared to be smoochers in the shelter can hide away when you get them home and refuse to come out from under the bed for the first week.

You wouldn't be the first owner who ended up frantically searching the house in tears for a cat that's been home 24 hours and you're convinced someone's let it out and it's run off, when in fact it's hiding under the shoe shelf in the bottom of your warderobe and doesn't know you well enough to come when it's called.

A way to counter that is set up a single room in the house for your kitty when you bring them home - the room where there litter tray will always be is a good place. Have their food and water, a bed, a place to hide (cardboard box) and so on set up in that room. That limits the amount of overwhelming newness that they have to get used to. Some cats will be happy to stay hiding in that room for a couple of weeks before venturing out to explore, others will be miaowing to be allowed into the rest of the house within the hour. Thing is you can't tell what the cat will be like until you bring them home.

Last thing - you'll need a cat carrier. Bring one to the DSCPA to take your cat home in, and they're extremely useful to have for vet visits etc. Some of the airline approved carriers have a 'comfort tray' in them - this is a strong wire grid that sits in the bottom of the tray with an inch clearance. You can put a blanked in with the cat so the wire grid isn't uncomfortable on their paws, but the vast majority of cats will be terrified by a car ride in a pet carrier. Terrified cats can end up urinating in the carrier and the poor things end up sitting wet with their own urine as they travel. The wire grid allows urine to fall through and keeps the cat and his bedding dry. You can even put a sheet of folded newspaper in the bottom of the tray under the wire grid to soak up the urine and make sure it won't slosh about. All these things improve the cat's comfort and make the trip less scary.

Ollie182

The Sweeper wrote: »

A way to counter that is set up a single room in the house for your kitty when you bring them home - the room where there litter tray will always be is a good place. Have their food and water, a bed, a place to hide (cardboard box) and so on set up in that room. That limits the amount of overwhelming newness that they have to get used to. Some cats will be happy to stay hiding in that room for a couple of weeks before venturing out to explore, others will be miaowing to be allowed into the rest of the house within the hour. Thing is you can't tell what the cat will be like until you bring them home.

Im glad you mentioned this because I wasn't sure whether to do something like that, like let it get comfortable with the littertray room before venturing around the rest of the house. The most suitable room I think would be my bathroom, I only share it with my brother who uses the downstairs bathroom mostly because its near the front door when he comes in from a match and needs the shower. Its spacious and quiet, away from noise.

The Sweeper wrote: »

Last thing - you'll need a cat carrier.

Do you know where I could get one of these and how much it would cost?
Also, how far would a bag of litter stretch, and is it expensive? I don't really want to use a cheap dusty one because I've heard that when a cat licks all that dust off themselves it clumps in the stomach, or something along those lines.

Sorry about all the questions! I just want to give it my best shot and give the kitty a great life with as many comforts and positivity as possible.;)

The Sweeper

Ollie182 wrote: »

Im glad you mentioned this because I wasn't sure whether to do something like that, like let it get comfortable with the littertray room before venturing around the rest of the house. The most suitable room I think would be my bathroom, I only share it with my brother who uses the downstairs bathroom mostly because its near the front door when he comes in from a match and needs the shower. Its spacious and quiet, away from noise.

That sounds perfect. As long as your cat will always have access to the litter tray in that room it's ideal.

Ollie182 wrote: »

Do you know where I could get one of these and how much it would cost?

Cat carriers - available online. Try some of the online pet stores. Look, I buy the international airline approved crates, because of the features I described, and they're not cheap but I ferry a lot of animals around and the stronger the crate the better. With one cat you may have no use for it except once a year. (I often use my crates as a bed storage stack, taking the doors off and putting bedding in them like kitty bed pigeon holes - helps ensure the cats aren't scared of the crates too). If you're only using it once a year you may be happy buying a simple crate from a pet store - but I would buy a plastic one for ease of cleaning, not a fabric one.

http://www.petshoponline.ie/cat?cat=29

Ollie182 wrote: »

Also, how far would a bag of litter stretch, and is it expensive? I don't really want to use a cheap dusty one because I've heard that when a cat licks all that dust off themselves it clumps in the stomach, or something along those lines.

Sorry about all the questions! I just want to give it my best shot and give the kitty a great life with as many comforts and positivity as possible.;)

Am not sure what litter is available in Ireland. I use wood pellet cat litter in sieve trays - they're becoming more and more popular. Simliar in notion to the grid in the cat crate, the sieve trays allow pee to trickle through and poo stays on stop for easy removal. Litter stays cleaner, cleaning is lower maintenance, cat is happier with clean litter, no strong urine odours and you use less litter. I'm afraid you'll have to go trawling through a petstore to see what's available.

Hints:

Crumb litters track badly (that means stick to the cats feet and get walked through the house).

Paper and wood pellet litters are biodegradable and once the poo is picked out the litter can be used in compost heaps (for ornamental plants, not vegetable gardens!)

Shake a litter tray back and forth and the lumps will rise to the top for easy scooping.

Litter liner bags are pointless and the cat usually just scratches through them.

Clumping and super-absorbent litters work better if they're laid deeper, but you HAVE to keep them clean or you'll spend a fortune tossing the whole lot out and replacing - you get more days out of cat litter if you pick the clumps and lumps out every day. I do it as a matter of course when feeding my cats - put food out and then scoop litter trays, twice a day. Takes three minutes.

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/cat_litter

Ollie182

The Sweeper wrote: »

That sounds perfect. As long as your cat will always have access to the litter tray in that room it's ideal.

Its at the top of the stairs too so I think maybe it's somewhat central.


I think you're right in that I'd only use the carrier once if not twice a year so something cheaper might be ideal. The very first one on that link you posted looks good, nice and simple, though I do like the idea of the wire grid, if I was a kitty I wouldn't like to sit in my waste whilst jigging around in a box. :rolleyes:

I'm sure the rescue shelter would be able to advise me on litter that they've been using with the kitty.

When you mentioned about the wood or paper litter being biodegradable and can be used in composting, I was like SCORE ill give it to my dad for the garden, then realised the entire thing is vegetables. *sigh* :rolleyes:

Thanks for all of those hints and advice, they're gems and you're an absolute star!!

The Sweeper

No worries. By the way, it's like, against ALL of the rules of the forum and stuff to get a kitty and not post pictures...

Ollie182

The Sweeper wrote: »

No worries. By the way, it's like, against ALL of the rules of the forum and stuff to get a kitty and not post pictures...

Haw haw, I will definitely show you the little bugger, the excitement is just.. I don't know. I'm looking forward to something, I'm not used to this haha.


....I should probably inform my Mother...

The Sweeper

Yep, definitely.

To be serious though, you're 17. A cat can live past 20 years. If you don't know where you're going to be in 20 years time, then you need to make sure a family member is bought into this, because if you go to college, if you change towns for work, if you emigrate - if you can't bring your cat with you, someone will have to look after your cat.

If you're taking full financial responsibility for the cat then it's your cat, in your name, with your contact details on the microchip (and your mum as second, for instance) - but given that it's her house it's essential that she supports this and doesn't mind your cat in her home. Especially since if you were to move out for work or college, it would be very bad for the cat if its living arrangements were to change because you weren't home any more - for instance, your mother never wanted an indoor cat and doesn't "do" litter trays: you go to uni and the cat's turfed out the door to be a mostly outdoor cat.

That would be a disaster. Your mum needs to be up for this.

Sundew

Ollie: I would recommend you try and get your hand on this book.
It's called 300 questions about cats by gerd Ludwig. It's a compass guide. I happened to buy it in Waterstones in town last year but sadly they are gone. Great little book with some excellent tips and advise in it for the first time cat owner
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/300-Questions-about-Cats/Gerd-Ludwig/e/9781616793531

morgana

Actually Argos have a lot of pet stuff including carriers and beds. The carrier isn't great but usually you are only going to use it when you bring her home and for the annual vet visits. We secure it additionally with some bungee cords as one of ours must have been Houdini in an earlier life . SO far she hasn't escaped yet but it came close :P

Re pet supplies, I've heard good stuff about zooplus, often cheaper than a brick and mortar shop and they deliver (handy for the heavy stuff)
http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/?gclid=CJav_KmOwqgCFUEb4QodIBsEqg

Looking forward to kitty pics :P

Ollie182

The Sweeper wrote: »

Yep, definitely.

To be serious though, you're 17. A cat can live past 20 years. If you don't know where you're going to be in 20 years time, then you need to make sure a family member is bought into this, because if you go to college, if you change towns for work, if you emigrate - if you can't bring your cat with you, someone will have to look after your cat.

If you're taking full financial responsibility for the cat then it's your cat, in your name, with your contact details on the microchip (and your mum as second, for instance) - but given that it's her house it's essential that she supports this and doesn't mind your cat in her home. Especially since if you were to move out for work or college, it would be very bad for the cat if its living arrangements were to change because you weren't home any more - for instance, your mother never wanted an indoor cat and doesn't "do" litter trays: you go to uni and the cat's turfed out the door to be a mostly outdoor cat.

That would be a disaster. Your mum needs to be up for this.

The only way I'd ever get a cat under her roof is if she allowed it. I have thought about those things you said and there's no way I'd take on the responsibility if I didn't think I could see it through. It's like a having a baby ya can't just ditch it.


I had a chat with her about adopting a kitty just there, and we've agreed to talk about it when I'm back in school which shouldn't be too far away