Thinking of adopting a cat

[Vassim74]

One of my friend's sibling is giving away kittens, so I thought I'd pick one up because I've been wanting one for a long time. Thing is, I'm not quite sure what I need to prepare first as I've never had a pet before. Aside from preparing a little space, a litter box and a feeding area, what are some things that I should take care of immediately once the pet gets to its new home? How much should I expect to pay for a visit to the vet? What kinds of shots does it need? What about things I should do and avoid?

 

[Skunk]

You can't not get a kitty after all that

 

[taarna23]

Get something for it to scratch. Do not get it declawed - research is showing that it leads to chronic pain in later years for the cat. Get it fixed while it's a kitten so it doesn't pee on everything you own. And contrary to popular belief, female kittens will do this, too. Males are cheaper to fix and end up being huge snuggle-bugs. Feed them good-quality food. Health problems like irritable bowel and urinary tract issues are generally caused by crappy food.

Uh... any questions, ask away. I constantly learn new things from a lady that runs a local no-kill shelter.

 

[Vassim74]

Okay, and yeah I don't plan on having mine declawed (hear too many horror stories). But yeah, how much does it usually cost to get them fixed? I'd also like to know what would be a good source of nutrients for them as well. Like, do pet food come with labels on them that I should be looking for?

 

[Skunk]

I live on a conservation where we take care of injured and orphaned wild animals so we don't get too many cats.. but we get lots of baby bears and cougars and they are cute.
It sucks letting them go.
On that note, I agree. dont get your cat declawed, and make sure you give it decent quality food.

 

[taarna23]

Well, it can vary a lot on cost... talk to your local vet. You can also ask for their recommendation on foods. Don't go for cheap stuff like the store brand stuff, or things like Whiskas or Friskies (these tend to be high-calorie and will make your cat fat, too). You don't necessarily have to get a vet brand, either. I can't really recommend a food brand unless you're in Canada, as what I get is made up here.

 

[Skunk]

I'm in BC and the pet food here is surprisingly cheap, when we were breeding our lamas it was a fraction of the cost it was when my uncle did the same thing in the states.

 

[cabfe]

How old will your kitten be?
They need to be at least 3 months old before you separate them from their mother, so that she can teach them basic cat stuff, like being clean.
Be careful if you have plants, as a cat may nimble on them and some plants are poisonous to cats.
You'll see that a kitten is almost like a human baby in that it plays with everything, then suddenly falls asleep even in the middle of playing

 

[Vassim74]

The kitten is about 4 months old according to the sibling. I also plan to keep it mostly indoors, as I was told it's the easiest way to keep them healthy. Wondering if there's any benefits or issues of taking them out for a walk.

 

[taarna23]

Not really. Cats tend to be active enough even indoors. Just make sure they have toys, stuff to scratch, a high spot to sit on and pretend they run your house from... If a cat is getting fat it's usually a food issue and not an activity issue. Outdoors brings risk of exposure to disease (although this largely should not be an issue of you keep their shots up to date), ear mites, fleas and ticks, and worms. If they run loose, there's also the issue of cars.

 

[Lestroth]

I would advice getting two kitten (is it kittenS in english?), so that they can play with and cuddle each other. Contrary to popular believe, cats are not loners. With company (especially in their very young age), their development will end in a balanced character and a cat that knows that she's a cat, not a human. Then they won't treat your arms like a playmate and leave the furniture intact. Furthermore you won't feel guilty when you have to leave them alone, because you need to go to work/school/university/whatever

Here in Germany it already is common by animal welfare associations and reputable breeders to not give away single kitten(s?). Most of the time you have to take two, except there already is a kitten at home, waiting for company.

In Germany these vaccinations are recommended: Cat flu, feline panleukopenia and rabies.
Depending on where you live, FeLV vaccination might also be advised. But I would strongly advice against vaccing your indoor cat against FeLV, because especially the punctures of these vaccines have a tendency to get inflamed, which can later lead to a fibrosarcoma. FIP on the other hand is controversal. Personally, I wouldn't vaccine against FIP anymore.

Oh, and I wouldn't let the cat out just from time to time, if you want to keep it indoors. Chances are, they take a shine to the great outdoors and from now on will start a riot everytime they want to go outside.

Cat diet is another kettle of fish. I also wouldn't take the advice of the vets for face value (at least not in Germany), because they of course want to sell you the food their sponsors provide Maybe you also know Royal Canin, Hills and the like - these are the common vets pet food range over here and for regular diet they are little better than the stuff in the super market. For starters, you can't go wrong taking a look at the declaration on the cans and look for food without sugar and grain, and preverably with a high share on meat.

Other than that, you already got some good advice

 

[Philosophus Vagus]

I'm going to sound like the hillbilly that I am probably but my first piece of advice would be to adamantly recommend you work towards having your cat be comfortable with the outdoors as a kitten so that it can have an independent streak as an adult, unless you live in a metropolis where all it can do is fight with diseased ferals over trash til it becomes one. The reasons for this are quite simple, first of all as the cat grows you can phase out the litterbox in favor of letting the cat go freerange at times. Cats are also a lot more instinct driven than dogs are, and honestly from what I've seen complete reliance on humans for food, shelter and function really ******s cat minds. My brother has two American shorthairs that his gf raised as house kittens and the damn things were *******s that knock everything off of every surface they can find, will let mice scurry right in front of them without batting an eye, much less a claw (though they are more than happy enough to turn their claws on furniture if scratching posts aren't supplied) and the first time the kids let them out accidentally and didn't tell anybody they disappeared and were never found again as Lestroth warns; probably died of starvation or got eaten by something else because they were raised so as not to develop their natural instincts properly.

Compare that with their triplet that I adopted, took on regular outdoor walks as a kitten and began allowing to wander on her own as soon as she finished growing and not only has she not run away first chance she gets (or any other chance in her four years so far) like indoor kittens are notorious for but I rarely have to worry about her knocking things off of counters, don't have to deal with the litterbox or scratching post and she is a vicious mouser keeping rodents out of the house (which cuts down on the amount of food they need you to give them substantially, I buy food for Wraith only one out of five times I go to buy the dogs their food) but I've even seen her kill a few snakes and row with big dogs and come away mostly unscathed each time. On top of all that she's still the cuddle monster she was as a kitten...with me at least, and her two dog cousins. But she can be pretty mean to strange humans or animals that try to play with her, and maybe that's also caused by letting her grow up semi-self reliant but I still feel independent wandering cats that know they can come in when they want are a lot more fun than those conditioned to view their human's home as their absolute environment, and that that's what should be strove for if the environment outside the home is at all conducive to a cat's natural lifestyle.

Other than that...keep up with shots and anti-critter meds and definitely get it fixed unless you want it to either disappear forever one day or for you to end up with a lot more kittens depending on gender. As for food, honestly I keep the unhealthy meow-mix around, but Wraith rarely eats it because she hunts her food a lot of the time, and when she is inside I tend to feed her off of my own plate instead, as a lot of the premium healthy catfoods are more expensive pound for penny than my own meals are, so it's actually cheaper to just feed her from the same pantry I eat from. Most fruits and vegetables are okay for them (Wraith loses her **** for blueberries and bananas especially) eggs (sometimes have to knock her off of the counter so she doesn't stick her nose in the hot skillet), chicken, lots of fish (fish oil is supposed to be as healthy for cats as it is to humans), breads and cheeses as well seem to go well with cats; a small wedge of gouda cheese seems to be her preferred snack so far.

 

[taarna23]

@Lestroth Cats individual or in groups will annihilate furniture; they need to scratch, and they naturally like things that their claws catch on. However, I agree, kittens that grow up with a friend/sibling become better balanced for humans and other cats. As for feline leukemia, yes, how common it is depends on where you live, but it only takes one exposure, just like any virus in humans. After that, the cat only has a 40-50% chance of fighting it off. If they don't fight it off, they will develop feline leukemia at some point in their lifetime, often by 2-3 years old.

@Philosophus Vagus You probably should not feed your cat cheese or any other kind of dairy - dogs and cats can't tolerate lactose and it gives them gas and can give severe abdominal cramping due to it. They like it, yes, but it sure does not like them!

As far as food goes, check a pet store. See if there are any brands made semi-locally, and made with whole meat rather than by-products and the like. Avoid anything that says chicken meal, as that is a by-product of the egg industry - it's what happens to the male chicks.

 

[Philosophus Vagus]

@taarna23 never had any of those problems with her, if I do then I'll stop. Not that she gets cheese all that often, and even then it's always a hard cheese like gouda but it doesn't seem to give her any discomfort that I've seen. Not all animals are lactose intolerant, that's just a catch-all that works with animals because unlike humans they can't just get those foods on their own, and because humans can be irresponsible at times most vets will just tell you "cats can't tolerate it" to prevent an accident caused by humans overfeeding them things that 'could' be bad for them. At least that's what my vet admitted to me when I pressed him on the issue, and my own experimentation proves it enough for me to accept thusfar. Though perhaps I shouldn't be suggesting it to others outside of such context now that you bring it up, as you are right in that many cats and dogs are lactose intolerant, including one of my dogs.

 

[Lestroth]

@taarna23 True, true.

Though, regarding the annihilation of furniture: In my experience, kitten are much more likely to play with the furniture if they have no playmate (of the same age). When you observe two kitten, you see they are constantly just playing, eating, then playing and sleeping. They can be quite demanding, sometimes even if you have two, let alone a single one. So a lonely kitten might find it fun to scratch on everything or paw at everything that's moveable - just to get attention or to see how her owner reacts. That's what I wanted to say.

Cat's need to scratch and will use soft objects, even if they have a partner. No illusions here.

@Philosophus Vagus I'm not sure if you know, but there are some foods that are toxic for cats, like onions, garlic, chocolate, grapes and a few more. One time consumption may not be an issue, but repeatedly fed, the cat may develop diseases which at the beginning can only be discovered with a blood test.

...Just in case you didn't know But as you have two dogs, you're probably already aware.

 

[CleanWater]

Give your kitty love and tender care, that's all they need in the end. I don't play with my cat oftenly, and he gets depressed because of it. When I take some time to play with him, give him a nice cup of milk and some boiled chicken, he gets really happy.

If you played Fantasya Final Definitiva REMAKE, here's a word of advice...

Spoiler

Do not give sake to your kittens or puppies, remember that it's just a game.

 

[robhr]

Speaking from experience, get pet insurance.