Advice on cat equipment

Very exciting, Chickenlegs.

We "accidentally" fostered a stray cat recently for about 6 weeks before it went off to a good home. My daughter is a cat person too.

So ... I've learnt that cats have personalities. The little male that came to us for 6 weeks had the sweetest nature. He liked to be high up (we kept him indoors) - as long as he could see out, he was happy.

Definitely get a mat for the litter tray otherwise you have grit all over the house.

Don't bother to buy litter tray liners, most cats don't like them.

We had an open litter tray with a "lip", my daughter has a closed one.

There are some lovely cat treat food you can buy, all cats go moggy for "Dreamies". Our little foster cat loved Gourmet Chicken Soup.

My daughter's cat loves his enclosed warm pod and will spend hours in there, it's like a giant padded birdhouse.

He also loves the sheepskin "hammock" that hangs on the radiator.

Enjoy your new cat, I'm sure he will be spoiled.

I would try and get the same bowls etc as he is using in the RSPCA place, he will be used to them. Same with a bed etc, although if he is like my cat was he will sleep anywhere and everywhere. She only used her open bed when it was put in front of the fire in the winter lol.
She was a rescue cat, although not as old as yours, and we kept her in for about a month - we live by a busy road which luckily she rarely went near, prefered back garden. She had free range of the house.
Hope he settles well.

Everything with cats is trial & error, Chickenlegs and even that changes from one day to the next.

All cats seem to like cardboard boxes with an old blanket or jumper in it for sleeping. Some cats like a closed-in box to hide away in (though my cats don't).

Scratching posts may or may not be used, I'd only buy a cheap one for now. My cats don't use one but they do very much like to scratch their claws on an old-school coir front door mat.

We have a closed-in litter tray, because the cats are enthusiastic diggers in litter and it saves some of the mess. We use silica litter, which is a hundred times better than any other litter because you get no smell. www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/silicate_litter

Any type of bowl can be used for feeding although some cats prefer a flatter plate so their whiskers don't touch the sides.

I would start off with having him in one room then gradually let him explore the house. Our cats are indoor cats so we don't have that issue.

I have had a lot of cats over the years from various rescues and whatever they have told me the cat loves does not appear to be true once they are installed. They will eat anything, nope, we will eat whiskers for weeks then suddenlh rather starve that eat that shite, they sleep anywhere than designated space, one of mine still pisses on any clothing left on floor despite clean litter box, and so on. Dogs have owners, cats have staff, but I wouldn’t be without them, ever. Good luck.

Oh how exciting for you! I suggest you google Cats Protection League. They have just the leaflet you need online. www.cats.org.uk/cat-care-leaflets/essential-guides

When I have had new cats I kept them in for 4 weeks and when they did go out it was ALWAYS on an empty tummy the first time. Find out what he is being fed on and use the same food for the first few days and then either keep to the same or gradually change over. Only give water (not milk) and when first home give space and peace and quiet for a settling in period.

No need to keep in one room providing you can open front and back doors safely without an escape. In my own experience (and bearing in mind all cats are different) I have always find they have come to my knee in their own time. Kind words and a quiet voice are probably all that you need for the first few days to help this process along.

Good luck and enjoy each other.

Oh and if you are a gardener, use wood pellet litter as this can go straight onto the compost heap.

I've had cats for 28 years, and have bought every type of cat bed - not one of my cats ever used one. A soft blanket/cushion would suffice. Not necessarily brand-new, but one you've got hanging about.

Scratching post - any. My cats all had them AND used them, but stairs/landing/settee have all been scratched as well!

Either type of litter tray. I found that the wood pellet type of litter is best, as it doesn't clump like the gravel-type.

A tea tray would be OK

Bowls - I've always used a wide bowl or plate (big enough for their face to go in) for food, and a large pasta bowl for water. Never milk of course.

Toys that contain catnip are good. I've always let my cats have the run of the house, so all internal doors are open.

A calm environment, a gentle voice, and a cosy blanket will ensure that the cat goes to you...in its own time. Not all cats like to sit on a lap, though. My Mr Cooper has never sat on me but will sit on my husband's lap.

When letting the cat outside for the first time (after a few days, I'd say), stand outside too, and always keep the door ajar, so that the cat can dart back inside, should it feel scared. Feed the cat at the same kind of time every day, so that it will get to know when it's time to go indoors. Mine were (Mr C still is) fed at 8am, then 1ish, 6ish, and 10pmish.

Good luck and best wishes x

I've had cats all my life, and now home foster for a Cat charity (not RSPCA), with some indoors and outdoors in a run. No need to spend a lot, cats change their minds quite often on where they will sleep etc.

The first thing they need when they arrive is a "safe room". A quiet room just for them, if there is a bed they can hide under, great. Windows shut of course, but if possible, a window sill where they can sit and look out, or somewhere else high. If not, create some hidey holes, behind curtains, furniture etc, so they can hide up and gradual venture forth when they feel safe.

A cardboard box with a fleece or old cosy jumper to sleep, tucked away so they feel safe at first. Have a cosy cover on the bed or a chair.

We now use an quite large under the bed clear storage box for the litter tray. It has higher sides, and is roomy, so they don't spread litter everywhere. Ask for whatever litter they used before, and add it to what you want to use, so they get used to it.

We supply a cardboard scratcher, £1.29 in home bargains. We put their food on a tray then on spare piece of vinyl lino, so we can easily pick the whole thing up and wash it. I'd feed what he is used to at first, to avoid tummy upsets. (probably Felix sachets or similar)

I wouldn't let him outdoors for at least 3 weeks, and maybe more, depends on the cat. I would sit in the room with him, just reading, having a coffee, talking to him a bit, so he get used to you. After a day, start leaving his room door open so he can explore the house, but run back to his safe place.

Don't worry if he hides up for the first few days. Don't try and grab him for a fuss. Let him come to you in his own time. Just talk softly and maybe offer some Dreamies or a game - feather or stick under newspaper works well.

Good luck, he is a lucky cat.

None of my succession of cats has ever slept in a cat bed. The current one much prefers a favourite cushion on the sofa.
When I worked at the vets we recommended keeping them in for 3-4 wks at first. I've always had rescue cats and have never had trouble with them going missing.
I usually leave them alone for the first day or so. Bertie who we have now spent the first 12 hrs or so behind the sofa only emerging to eat when we had gone to bed. He then would come out more and more but I ignored him and left him to come to me. He will now happily sit on anyones lap.
Cats prefer to have distance between their water and food. Bert prefers his from the watering cans or bird bath ?

Oh thank you all so much for the advice. I am printing it out to refer to but the first thing I will do is go to the supermarket and get a cardboard box. The shelter will give us his blanket so that's his first bed sorted.

Thank you again.

lol Nina, mine was the same. Never drank from a dish in the house, though she would from a dripping tap. She much preferred the watering can or pond!

It's true, ours do like their water dish well away from their food. And also drink from the pond, or any old pool of water outside. I assume rain water tastes better than tap, ours is quite chloriney.

The best advice on cat equipment is that the cat probably won't touch half of it.

Is he large or small?

A large cat needs a long scratching post, as they like to be able to stretch fully while sharpening their claws.

If he has never used a covered litter tray, he is unlikely to want to start at his age. There again if he is a large cat it will be difficult for him to get into it, and there may not be head-room enough when he is using it. A lot of cats tend to stretch slightly upwards whilst passing a motion.

The problem of cat litter on the floor can be prevented by using a plastic storage box with sides that are approx. 6 inches high instead of the shallow litter boxes sold for cats. And please do place his box in a secluded spot, cats dislike being watched while weeing etc. although he will happily wash his bottom and his willie in the most public place he can find!

P.S. Trold's absolute favourite cat toy is a small strip of fur fabric tied to a long piece of string. It cost next-to-nothing to make and it has survived the better part of his eleven year life and still looks like new.

My rule of thumb is that the more expensive a cat toy is the less likely the cat will be to play with it.

Apart from that the same rules apply as do to toys for dogs and young children:

Make sure it cannot be swallowed, or break into bits that can be swallowed.

NO Paint or glue unless it is stated to be safe for cats.

No toys on elastic hung up for the cat to catch - probably not dangerous to a full grown cat, but Trold nearly hanged himself when a kitten. He forgot all about it, and played happily with a toy on an elastic string as an adult, but his brother was so terrified at the sight of it, that I had to throw it away! Before that I would have sworn that no cat remembered things for nine years, so if your cat seems scared of something, take it away - you don't know what he has experienced before coming to you.

We had rescue cats who were scared silly of broomsticks and rolled up newspapers - I can only suppose they had been spanked, horrible thought!

My cat studiously walked around the scratching post, much preferring the furniture but now she is around 13 that no longer interests her.

She decided to take over an entire bedroom and slept on the bed there for years, coming to my bed at night for cuddles but usually retiring to her own room.

I decided to move that bed into the 3rd bedroom and for a week she would not go near that bedroom or "speak" to me but now it is "hers".

She no longer brings home mice and birds, alive or dead, for which I am grateful.

She is on a prescription diet as she has tummy problems and the food is dry so she fancies it during the night mostly.

She does not sit on my lap but prefers the arm of the chair or the back so I have that chair covered so that her cat hairs can be washed easily.

She loves her cat flap- when it was first fitted I helped her through it once and she is a quick learner there were never any problems.

She is micro chipped, She had a collar on years ago but got herself in a pickle up a tree and half the collar was cutting one of her front legs so luckily I noticed it and threw the collar out.

Enjoy your cat, she will soon take over and dictate what she wants!

How exciting! Some great advice has already been posted, but I would just add that, if you decide to go for a closed in litter tray and the cat doesn't take to it, you could try removing the door/flap. It worked for our cat, so may be worth considering.

Cats do seem to like using the litter tray just as everyone is about to eat dinner..

Mine goes outside from 7am until 7pm and it is her tum and bladder that bring her home 12 hours later- she prefers to use her litter tray. It has a cover and she likes the privacy. Do not put the litter tray in the same room as her food and water.

How lovely for you, having a new cat! I agree with most of the advice above in that each cat is different so any might apply. One of my cats sometimes uses her igloo, on top bunk bed and facing the wall but usually prefers my bed or the top of the wardrobe. She has a covered litter tray and an open, rimmed one (prefers the open one), with Golden Grey clumping litter. It never needs a complete change, you just scoop out the clumps, and it smells of baby powder. My other cat likes chairs or the floor in front of a radiator and never uses a litter tray, although of course he needed one for the first few confined weeks.
www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/clumping_litter/golden_grey/29959
Enjoy your new companion! he has plenty more years to give you.

A cat should have two litter trays, two cats three between them, always one more than no of cats. They need a choice, or will make their own! Cat litter is horribly expensive, find a clumping one from the supermarket that he/she will happily use, or have it delivered regularly, it is heavy too.

One of ours sleeps in the cat carrying crate, padded out with a cushion, the other in a bed on top of it. They love the cat tree in the living room where they can get up to 5' perches, and fight over who has which.

We have them on raw food, much more natural for them, you can buy it in frozen 'sausages', google Kiezebrink. Apart from being much better and more natural for them, it means their poos don't smell at all. Dreamies for the odd treat, rattling the box will bring them running.

Their best toy is a bundle of feathers tied to an elastic string fixed to a shortened bamboo cane. Stops your hands getting shredded, and give good exercise getting them to jump and run. Replacement feathers freely available from walks! Don't leave it lying around, produce it when they are bored and ready to play.

I'm afraid I have no idea about equipment you might need for a cat. We decided not to get another pet after our dog was euthanized last year after 18 faithful years.
Here's the thing, look at this! He lives across the street, but seems to spend most of his days in other people's houses. I know of two other homes in which he spends his time. He's a lovely cat, but he isn't ours!!!

B9exchange A cat should have two litter trays, two cats three between them, always one more than no of cats. They need a choice, or will make their own!

I've never come across that before and have never needed to do so! Have I been failing in my duties?

Squiffy it is a first for me also.