Getting a new moggy :)
Discussion
Awww... He looks lovely.
The rescue centre 'ought' to give you full instructions, but in case they haven't:
- Use the same litter and food as he had in the centre. Changes to either of these should be made gradually. Don't put the litter tray next to his food.
- Keep him inside for 10 days, starting off in one room, and then gradually letting him have the run of the house once his curiosity / confidence increases.
- When you let him out for the first time (a nerve-wracking moment!), do this before he's had breakfast, and sprinkle some used litter around the garden so he can 'smell' his way back if needs be.
- Grooming / care of teeth. Very important, both for the cat's wellbeing and bonding with you. Get a 'Zoom Groom' rubber brush and give him a quick once over with this every day to remove loose hair and reduce hairballs. Buy some 'Logic' oral hygiene gel and give a cm of this every day to lick off your finger.
- Water. Very important that they drink enough to avoid kidney problems later on. Have a few bowls dotted about the house so he can't pass one without thinking "Ooh! A drink!"
- Food. Buy the best you can afford. I believe the latest thinking on male cats is that they should not have exclusively dry food. Raw feeding is advocated by some (especially on here!) but I think a well-prepared wet cat food takes out the nutritional guesswork and adds convenience. My cat gets 'Lily's Kitchen' organic wet food and 'Applaws' dry. One tray of wet and 25g of dry per day. He's 11 years old but you'd never think it. Everyone remarks on how glossy his coat is.
Your new mog looks like a lovely boy. Enjoy him.
The rescue centre 'ought' to give you full instructions, but in case they haven't:
- Use the same litter and food as he had in the centre. Changes to either of these should be made gradually. Don't put the litter tray next to his food.
- Keep him inside for 10 days, starting off in one room, and then gradually letting him have the run of the house once his curiosity / confidence increases.
- When you let him out for the first time (a nerve-wracking moment!), do this before he's had breakfast, and sprinkle some used litter around the garden so he can 'smell' his way back if needs be.
- Grooming / care of teeth. Very important, both for the cat's wellbeing and bonding with you. Get a 'Zoom Groom' rubber brush and give him a quick once over with this every day to remove loose hair and reduce hairballs. Buy some 'Logic' oral hygiene gel and give a cm of this every day to lick off your finger.
- Water. Very important that they drink enough to avoid kidney problems later on. Have a few bowls dotted about the house so he can't pass one without thinking "Ooh! A drink!"
- Food. Buy the best you can afford. I believe the latest thinking on male cats is that they should not have exclusively dry food. Raw feeding is advocated by some (especially on here!) but I think a well-prepared wet cat food takes out the nutritional guesswork and adds convenience. My cat gets 'Lily's Kitchen' organic wet food and 'Applaws' dry. One tray of wet and 25g of dry per day. He's 11 years old but you'd never think it. Everyone remarks on how glossy his coat is.
Your new mog looks like a lovely boy. Enjoy him.
Edited by Mobile Chicane on Wednesday 27th November 17:23
Thanks MC. Some great advice there.
The rescue people suggested keeping him in for as long as 6 weeks! But I can't help but feel that might be excessive, particularly as he's an out door cat.
As far as food goes, they've been feeding him standard Sainsburys wet food along with go cat dry mix. I've just gone out and bought a bag of Go cat and some bits including an enclosed litter tray. We still need to find a good cat carrier; any brands/types to avoid or look out for?
The rescue people suggested keeping him in for as long as 6 weeks! But I can't help but feel that might be excessive, particularly as he's an out door cat.
As far as food goes, they've been feeding him standard Sainsburys wet food along with go cat dry mix. I've just gone out and bought a bag of Go cat and some bits including an enclosed litter tray. We still need to find a good cat carrier; any brands/types to avoid or look out for?
Can't add anything to what MC said but well done on getting an adult cat; rescue centres can struggle to find homes for them.
Lady Millicent III arrived here as a very timid 3-5 year old cat, 8 years ago. She's now a very firm fixture in the house and doted on daily.
(Yes, that is the neighbour's flower box she is lying in. She's not very bright.)
All the best with Leo. I hope he settles in well.
Oli.
Lady Millicent III arrived here as a very timid 3-5 year old cat, 8 years ago. She's now a very firm fixture in the house and doted on daily.
(Yes, that is the neighbour's flower box she is lying in. She's not very bright.)
All the best with Leo. I hope he settles in well.
Oli.
Yeah, Leo has been waiting for weeks and weeks for someone to take him. Apparently he doesn't get on with other cats which means he was always a bit grumbly when people came to see him. He was alright when we saw him because they'd moved him to a foster home where he could be viewed away from other the cats. I'm hoping he'll be quite a calm cool character. We'll see.
On the topic of food, it really is worth paying a bit more for decent cat food. Hills Scientific and Iams are more expensive than Go Cat but Millie is much happier when fed the posh stuff. If you buy it in 25Kg bags on t'internet it isn't that pricey and I reckon it's well worth it.
Oli.
Oli.
paps said:
Thanks MC. Some great advice there.
The rescue people suggested keeping him in for as long as 6 weeks! But I can't help but feel that might be excessive, particularly as he's an out door cat.
As far as food goes, they've been feeding him standard Sainsburys wet food along with go cat dry mix. I've just gone out and bought a bag of Go cat and some bits including an enclosed litter tray. We still need to find a good cat carrier; any brands/types to avoid or look out for?
Get a 'top-loader'. The rescue people suggested keeping him in for as long as 6 weeks! But I can't help but feel that might be excessive, particularly as he's an out door cat.
As far as food goes, they've been feeding him standard Sainsburys wet food along with go cat dry mix. I've just gone out and bought a bag of Go cat and some bits including an enclosed litter tray. We still need to find a good cat carrier; any brands/types to avoid or look out for?
Puss can be scooped up and popped in the top before he's realised what's going on.
I have this: http://www.viovet.co.uk/Imac_Srl_Pet_Product_Linus...
Edited by Mobile Chicane on Wednesday 27th November 19:07
paps said:
Thanks MC. Some great advice there.
The rescue people suggested keeping him in for as long as 6 weeks! But I can't help but feel that might be excessive, particularly as he's an out door cat.
As far as food goes, they've been feeding him standard Sainsburys wet food along with go cat dry mix. I've just gone out and bought a bag of Go cat and some bits including an enclosed litter tray. We still need to find a good cat carrier; any brands/types to avoid or look out for?
If they've suggested keeping him in for six weeks, it will be with good reason. He might do a runner.The rescue people suggested keeping him in for as long as 6 weeks! But I can't help but feel that might be excessive, particularly as he's an out door cat.
As far as food goes, they've been feeding him standard Sainsburys wet food along with go cat dry mix. I've just gone out and bought a bag of Go cat and some bits including an enclosed litter tray. We still need to find a good cat carrier; any brands/types to avoid or look out for?
He'll be bored out of his brains in that time, however you can mitigate this with lots of scratching posts (the taller the better as cats like to scratch at full stretch) and lots of toys. Play is also important to establish bonding.
Watch he doesn't become overweight! I think cats which have ever been strays will snarf up food whenever they see it, since they have it in their brain that they don't know with any certainty where their next meal is coming from. Weigh his dry food and err on the stingy side rather than leave out an unlimited quantity for him to help himself.
Get him off Go Cat as soon as you can. It is the worst food as it is full of cheap carbohydrates which cats would not eat in the wild. I personally think the increasing incidence of diabetes in cats is entirely due to carbohydrates in their food. Even the so-called 'Science' diets sold at vets and 'premium' foods sold at pet shops are full of carbohydrates, since these are cheap fillers. However cats are obligate carnivores and their food should be all meat with no cereals. A little bit of veg is ok, but definitely no carbs.
We arrange our cat boxes, each stood on end with the door open at the top. We do this in silence, in another room from the cats. The slightest sound of catbox will cause the mysterious disappearance of cats. Then we sneak into where the cats are, scoop them up, take them to the catboxes and insert them arse-first into the boxes. This must be done in one motion. Once the element of surprise is lost, catboxing becomes a battle of wills and claws, from which nobody emerges well.
Try to get him on raw food if possible.
Keep him in for at least 2 weeks.
Feed him of an evening, then the first time you let him out, make it around 3pm i.e. 1-2 hours before his dinner......
Only let him out when you are sure he knows his name and will come when called - we did this at random around the house with tiny bits of ham - they soon learnt to come running when they heard their names.....
Get him used to a collar, which has your name and address on.
Get a scratching post and litter tray
Lacto free milk too, not cow milk
Keep him in for at least 2 weeks.
Feed him of an evening, then the first time you let him out, make it around 3pm i.e. 1-2 hours before his dinner......
Only let him out when you are sure he knows his name and will come when called - we did this at random around the house with tiny bits of ham - they soon learnt to come running when they heard their names.....
Get him used to a collar, which has your name and address on.
Get a scratching post and litter tray
Lacto free milk too, not cow milk
Mobile Chicane said:
Get him off Go Cat as soon as you can. It is the worst food as it is full of cheap carbohydrates which cats would not eat in the wild. I personally think the increasing incidence of diabetes in cats is entirely due to carbohydrates in their food. Even the so-called 'Science' diets sold at vets and 'premium' foods sold at pet shops are full of carbohydrates, since these are cheap fillers. However cats are obligate carnivores and their food should be all meat with no cereals. A little bit of veg is ok, but definitely no carbs.
Yep. I agree. Along with kidney problems.Hence raw food - just raw meat, and offal. Elder cats are harder to switch but younger ones (and kittens) are all over it as a rule.
We gave out cats Go-Kat once after we ran out of food and the village shop had nothing better. The expression of the cats is best summed up as "why do our bowls contain the food of the poor?".
The dog ate it as training treats in the end. He's not fussy, and I think he knew it was cat food, which makes it AWESOME AND WORTH STEALING IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
The dog ate it as training treats in the end. He's not fussy, and I think he knew it was cat food, which makes it AWESOME AND WORTH STEALING IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
Jasandjules said:
Mobile Chicane said:
Get him off Go Cat as soon as you can. It is the worst food as it is full of cheap carbohydrates which cats would not eat in the wild. I personally think the increasing incidence of diabetes in cats is entirely due to carbohydrates in their food. Even the so-called 'Science' diets sold at vets and 'premium' foods sold at pet shops are full of carbohydrates, since these are cheap fillers. However cats are obligate carnivores and their food should be all meat with no cereals. A little bit of veg is ok, but definitely no carbs.
Yep. I agree. Along with kidney problems.Hence raw food - just raw meat, and offal. Elder cats are harder to switch but younger ones (and kittens) are all over it as a rule.
I'd go for the organic prepped food - Lily's Kitchen - for convenience.
I have2 rescue kitties, the advice from cats protection was to keep them in for around 6 weeks. They are a realy lively pair, plenty of toys and fussing and a huge 3 storey cat tree that they adore. They take a little time to come out of their shells but when they do its brilliant. Mine are now wanting to know what is upstairs and now wait by the living room door to scoot up the stairs as soon as its opened.
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