Vet checkup early.
A scratching post is a good idea.
If you're worried about the cat clawing your furniture, you can put double-sided tape on the corners of your couches and stuff. Cats almost always start with the corners, and hate getting their paws sticky, so they'll cut it out after a while.
tin foil or saran wrap can be helpful for covering no go zones like your kitchen bench or the base of doors. But definitely get them something they can scratch, else they'll just find theirown
If you don't get a scratching post, don't be surprised if they start scratching your furniture. I don't know why they're expensive, it's seems like just carpet and wood. Honestly, they'll probably still scratch your stuff anyway. My cat scratches the drapes when I'm not around. No idea why it's appealing for him.
Consider pet insurance, you might be able to get it cheap, it could save you on some bills later. I've had pet insurance for my boy but on the whole I've lost money on it. It is nice to know if he had cat cancer the insurers would cover it until his lifetime limit - so I would feel better about dealing with his quality of life vs quantity of life instead of "can I actually afford this?" I dunno if it's a good deal or not, just think about it.
The initial vaccinations are not cheap, but do it. I had mine checked for feline aids, which isn't cheap, but do it if you can if you aren't sure of the cats origins. Make sure you spay/neuter, I know that isn't cheap but just do it. If it's a male cat, they can get crystals in their urethra (it's narrower) more easily and they can die from it. Cats don't have a strong thrist drive so try to supplement with wet food and make sure water is available in a few places - they tend to like running water best but those fountains can be loud for the human who also have to live there.
I got my cat a leash. They can be leash trained, you can walk them. It is a little weird though, lol, I still do it whatever he likes it.
Make sure you change your litter box like, daily if you can. The smell gets bad even though it is tempting to just do it every other day or less. My cat is fastidious and fucking yells if his litterbox isn't clean enough lol. I had a kitten who we didn't have to train to use it, she peed in the bed once and then we just calmly took her to the litterbox and she figured it out after that. No negative reinforcement needed.
Also, I just love my handsome little man 🐈! Have a good time with a kitty, they're great!
Also, always check if stuff is toxic for cats when you bring it home. Some of it is surprising, like lillies (the flower) for exampke.
so so much shit is toxic to cats. "is x poison to cats" is my most frequent google search by far
Do I need a scratching post?
yes, so that you can encourage it to scratch it instead of your furniture and walls
GET IT FIXED AS SOON AS IT IS OLD ENOUGH BECAUSE IT WILL START PISSING ON FUCKING EVERYTHING
what you'll need to do is show us some pics of the lil scamp!!
You might need a scratching post but not guaranteed.
Enjoy! Kittens are great, they're a pain in the ass but also make your heart melt.
You haven't mentioned but there's also potentially vaccination. You may want chipping. Also spay/neuter. Some of this could be left for later but vaccinate sooner rather than later. Insurance is worth getting, our animal friends inevitably need it.
oh if cat is female make sure they do a laparoscopic spay!!! It's a huge surgery if they do it open, I felt so bad for my poor cat. Definitely wasn't expecting that
Be chill, let the kitty have space and come to you. Say hi and whatever, but don't chat them up or be physical until they get there. Give them a pick a of cool perches if possible, cats like to be high up and be able to survey from on high, if there are spots like that or where your nee pal seems to be going to as a retreat, this may sound weird, toss a workout shirt near there, they'll get chill with your smell and be cozier with you sooner. All cats have their own personalites and some are just giant cuddle balls from the start where others are more specific, just let the kitty take the lead in the relationship
Saw in other posts you have a kid, if you want them and the cat to have a good relationship, especially for younger kids, they gotta know a chill level that is hard. Once again, some cats are down with whatever, but if they're toonin the kitties face the cat will only hang out with adults pretty much forever and that can be a thing. They require respect.
sometimes kittens can be ultra hellions, i've found this mostly mellows out once they hit like 2
make sure to give it lots of love and physical affection (this makes it easier to check for problems later too). you wanna make sure it'll at least tolerate having its paws touched, face manipulated etc
you don't need to do it every day but you should brush its teeth. this is one of the hardest things so definitely work up to it, but it is important despite the non-emphasis we put on it for cats
The vet also recommended hard treats for them instead of brushing, greenies specifically
from my understanding they used to be really good but the formula changed or something? idk i know people complain of a lack of viable non-brushing alternatives.
honestly i would still just recommend brushing at least once a week, treats or no treats :vivian-shrug:
Litterbox, pine litter, food, treats, water and food bowl, carrier, bed, toys… anything else?
Love. So much love.
But that's gonna sort itself out. I mean, how could it not.
Vet check-up and desexing. You can get cheap scratching stuff made out of cardboard.
:meow-bounce: Oh hell yeah kitty time! Sounds like you have everything. I imagine you'll have to get it a vet check up and see if it needs flea stuff too
my cat has like 3 scratch posts but he prefers destroying the curtains and walls (and my backpack, but the dogs keep him in check)
get a laser pointer for when you're too tired to play with cat, it's low effort and high dopamine but they easily get addicted so don't make it a habit
my cat hates cat beds but likes sleeping on my bed and human cushions
i have a large clay pot i keep fish in (basically a simpler version of this without the light), the cat and dogs seem to prefer drinking from it instead of their water bowls
I’m lieu of a laser pointer, I recommend a rope-on-a-stick. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and the stick gives the rope enough leverage to really whip it around
When you get your food and water bowls, make sure to get kind of wide/shallow ones. In a narrow bowl a cat's whiskers have to touch the sides and they get tired / overstimulated. I second the recommendations for nail trimmers (work up to it slowly, cats don't like their paws held) and a cat fountain (buy online) so they drink enough.
For the litter box you need a scooper. I really like the metal one I bought at Target, it's worth the extra $4 or whatever to have one that doesn't flex. Recommend a mat to put the box on to cut down on litter tracked around the home. The wirey ones are great at trapping litter but impossible to clean, get a textured rubber one.
Get a brush. My cat is very efficient at turning cat food into cat hair. If you don't have one you may want a robot vacuum to cut down on sweeping.
You may want both a vertical (scratching post) and horizontal (cardboard scratcher) scratching thing. Mine scratched the fuck out of my bedposts til I figured out he likes vertical better.
You should buy a collar even if it'll be indoor only, cats get out sometimes. Online they sell ones with non-dangly nameplates you can put contact info on. Make sure it's got a clasp you can remove just by pulling hard, otherwise they can catch it on something and choke.
And finally, you can get a clicker for training. My cat is too stupid.
I've owned a lot of cats over the years and the advice here is good.
One thing I will say is this: No two cats are remotely alike in their personality. Treat them like you would meeting a new person in that similar way that you know cats, you just don't know THIS cat yet. ❤️
