A Cat Bed: You can choose from a
- Sponge Basket with a washable covering, these are flexable, soft, and easily
washed, A Cat/Dog pillow bed, They now have a Catnip 'n Basket bed which is a machiene washable bradied bed.
- A cat tree with sleeping holes or a cat condo, there are also cute little cat houses that you can find at pet stores and pet magazines
Litter Box and Litter:
- You can now buy self cleaning boxes, there are also more fancy covered boxes, some you can find at your local pet store or in a cat magazine
- Simple cover boxes, trays, and sifting boxes are the most common
- There are many types of cat litter now, too many to actully list, but you can buy anything from natural, to dust free, to clumping, to newspaper litters
- It is best to have an extra box so if you have 2 cats have 3 litter boxes, if you have 3 cats have 4 litter boxes this prevents territory problems, also don't have the litter boxes all in one place or near your cats food dishes
Cat Food
- You should buy your first bunch of cat food before your cat arrives so you can set up the feeding time right away.
- Dry food is the best and the healthiest for a cat.
- Put the correct serving in the dish when you want the feeding time to be.
-Feed the cat or cats at the same time/times every day, this way you can pervent a 5 am wake up call from your pet.
-Science Diets the best for your cat, or brands like Iams, Eukanuba, Natures Recipe, Blue
- Moist food is bad for their teeth, you can learn to brush your cats teeth, feed dried food more often, and the occasional tarter control treat to help to prevent this if you choose to feed them moist food
- Semi-moist food is ok once in a while. But be warned this has certian chemicals
in it that have been linked to liver problems in cats (This is currently being researched). This is also an expensive food to buy.
Cat Dishes:
- The best kind of cat dishes are stainless steal and ceranmic or glass. Plastic dishes can irritate a cats tounge
- Don't use alot of soap when washing a cats dish, and rinse well, if a cat can taste the soap they may become finniky
- Replace plastic dishes (if this is what you choose to buy), when they start getting old and warn
Water:
- Filtered drinking fountains are probable the best thing for your cat as they can help to eliminate urinary disorders by constantly providing fresh water (In Canada they sell for around $60)
- If you choose to just have a water bowl a ceramic, glass or stanless steal bowl is your best choice
Cat Carriers:
- Plastic crates are the best and the easiest to clean but you can also buy metal and disposable cardboard crates
Other Things:
- You should also provide a cat tree for your cat to scratch on and some interesting toys
- An occasional treat is ok but don't feed treats every day or to often and do not feed cats human food and especially not chocolate as this is poision for cats, buy some treats from your vet or local pet store
- Collars, your cat should have a collar (break away to prevent strangulation), and some sort of ID, especially in the city and be keeped indoors, on a leash and harness (do not leave the harness on your cat unsupervised), or in a cat run for your cats saftey
- An idea that is becomming more and more common is to have a cat journal from the time your cat is born full of pictures, information such as special markings on your cat, notes on what your cat likes and a folder for things like vet records
