Owning a cat (beginners?)

[Cheap Cat]

Someone beat me too it but I want to reiterate that you don't own a cat, a cat owns you.

No need to buy a cat. Just ask around someone is always getting rid of kittens. I have lived with cats all my life and none of them have been bought including the 3 I've had since being on my own. It just doesn't seem right to buy a family member.

Please start your cat out right with nutrition. Most cat food, dry food in particular, is not suitable for cats. In fact, you should not feed dry food at all. For more info on why, read the info on this site: http://www.catinfo.org/ Had I read this earlier, it would have saved me about $3000 in vet bills plus diabetic testing supplies and whole lot of heartache and of course it would have saved my baby from suffering.

As others said, no need to buy fancy things for most cats. Mine love empty boxes. Everytime I get something delivered, I give them the box. Right now, I have 4 boxes lying on the floor in my house.

[Snickles]

Every cat I've ever owned loves cardboard boxes and large plastic drinking straws.

[RemedialChaosTheory]

Here's a good read about at what age you should get a kitten, especially since a lot of people giving away/selling/getting kittens seem to incorrectly think that 6-8 weeks is fine as long as it's eating on its own (a reason why so many end up abandoned or given up to shelters because of behavioral problems that owners don't want to deal with).

[shadow_cruiser]

Here's a good read about at what age you should get a kitten, especially since a lot of people giving away/selling/getting kittens seem to incorrectly think that 6-8 weeks is fine as long as it's eating on its own (a reason why so many end up abandoned or given up to shelters because of behavioral problems that owners don't want to deal with).

+1. I got both my of cats at 8 weeks and both have behavioral problems. The female is extremely jumpy, shy around everybody, always hides. The male is very aggressive, biting everything he can, attacks the other cat. Both of them are a year old, their behavior is getting better though. If I were to do it again, the minimum age is 12 weeks to be weaned from their mother. The kittens are really cute when their young but as others said, it's a 20 year commitment and they are only young for a year and some.

[divx]

can you tell me about cat litters? which one is the best? heard about some clumps/non-clumps, flushables, automatic tubes, etc, what's those about? which one should I get?

[indigocat]

can you tell me about cat litters? which one is the best? heard about some clumps/non-clumps, flushables, automatic tubes, etc, what's those about? which one should I get?

I'd stick with a flushable clumping litter. Some of the brands that have worked well for my cat are: feline fresh pine litter, nature's miracle, world's best, and feline pine.

[q1w2e3]

can you tell me about cat litters? which one is the best? heard about some clumps/non-clumps, flushables, automatic tubes, etc, what's those about? which one should I get?

It's your preference really.. What you like to use, your cat won't be able to tell you haha. Although clumping litter is the easiest for me, but it used to stick to my cats bum. Clumping is easiest to scoop/clean IMO; it clumps into a ball so you can easily scoop it out! It's not expensive as I get it at wholesale price

[Airbus]

I'd stick with a flushable clumping litter. Some of the brands that have worked well for my cat are: feline fresh pine litter, nature's miracle, world's best, and feline pine.

which brand is flushable clumping litter?
Thanks

[Airbus]

Don't buy the cat scratching board, I use ikea 99 cents carpet. works great!
For litter mat, I just use plastic car mats, works great too (and cheap)

[edkate]

Don't buy the cat scratching board, I use ikea 99 cents carpet. works great!
For litter mat, I just use plastic car mats, works great too (and cheap)

We spend this amount on our 2 male cats:
insurance $63/month for both
wet cat food $50-75/month
dry cat food (as snack) $28 - every 2 months approx.

About toys: we have plenty of toys...Dollarama, Petsmart...I have to agree: the best one to buy is a Laser pointer
Our oldest one 5 year old - loves rubber bands....He eats them if we dont hide them
We also have a huge cat-tree from Walmart (around $30) that extends from floor to the ceiling with 3 platforms on it...Try to place it next to a window....

Re-usable shopping bags, empty boxes, a plastic top from a bottle, a wine cork - are their toys Oh...and window ledges around the house

We love our cats very much even though they are a pain in the butt sometimes

[indigocat]

which brand is flushable clumping litter?
Thanks

Some of the flushable clumping litters that I know of are:

feline pine
feline fresh
nature's miracle
swheat scoop
world's best
p-pod

[emmicoci]

People mentioned saving up for possible vet fees. There's an alternative of insurance, as vet fees can be VERY expensive. (Example, my cat recently had an ear infection, $630. Two years ago, an abcess, $800.) I had insurance, and my deductable was $100. Not bad. I pay $16 a month.

Make sure you research insurance options, and follow coverage terms. That recent vet visit I'm in the process of making my claim. My insurance company is asking for my cat's vet history forms. I haven't gone for my cat's yearly vaccination in, probably about 5 years. So I have a terrible feeling I won't be covered. So don't make the same mistake as me!

Companies you can look into are PetCare (what I use), Pet Secure. Do a google comparison. I don't necessarily recommend my company, as I haven't done research into the different options. (I recently took over the insurance from someone who bought it with very little research.)

It's like insuring a car for a potential accidents. Vet visits are expensive, keep that in mind.

[emmicoci]

Look into pet insurance coverage, vet visits are extremely expensive. I pay $16 a month for my cat, which isn't bad.

[Catherine111]

BTW, you can't really own a cat. But cats can own you. Trust me, after a while of living with a cat, you'll understand who really is in charge.

Totally agree with you. I must say now cat has owned me. She has just become of my part of life and now she is the most obedient companion of mine. The all is need is living and giving time for the pet.

[mrdc]

Just adopted a kitty yesterday Am now looking for a vet in Markham to take him to for a health check.