FWIW, my cat doesn’t like other cat company. I got her in part because she wasn’t happy in her former multi-cat household. Now she gets all my attention and seems quite content with her fiefdom.
As for toys and other gadgets, don’t worry about this and going overboard with fancy things. At least with my cat, she couldn’t care less about mice with bells or dangly things on poles. She’s happy chasing and fetching a wadded up paperball or one of my big fat hair bands. Cheap cat. Good cat.
i’ll second the ideas of a collar and name tag. if kitty should scoot out the door, it would be totally lost. you need to let the kindly person know where kitty’s home is.
and keeping kitty confined to a single room until potty habits are well-established also gets my vote. i’ll always regret having to take a cat i bought from a shop to a animal shelter because she refused to use her litter box.
i’m surprised no one mentioned a kitty brush yet. teaching your kitty to get brushed will help cut down (minimally) on the shedding (and the hair balls). also, if you’re going for max care in dealing with kitty’s health and well-being, start NOW on training for tooth brushing and/or nail trimming. i think something like a washcloth would be okay to start out on cleaning teeth, if you decide to go that route. (i missed the boat on that one.) but at the very least, start gently handling kitty’s paws so that it doesn’t become a point of struggle when the time comes to start trimming the points off those little daggers.
speaking of daggers… it’s sooooo cute right now when lil’ kitten climbs up the leg of your jeans to get your attention. it will NOT be nearly as cute the first time they try it on your bare legs or when you’re wearing a really good pair of pants. or when they’ve grown to be 6 times as big and 10 times as heavy. the golden rule of pet training: IF IT’S NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE ALLOWED, DON’T LET THEM DO IT NOW! animals don’t understand conditional behavior. they can’t tell the difference between “work” clothes and “play” clothes". so if it’s not going to be okay for them to hang by their claws off your arm when they’re full-grown, don’t let them do it when they’re little!
Except for the things mentioned in the OP, nothing else is NEEDED to bring a cat home.
Cats do need toys. Give a cat a cardboard box and lie it on its side. Crumple up some paper balls. Give him an old makeup brush. Take out a laser pointer and let him chase the little dot around. Instant toys.
Large items like scratching posts and cat spas and such are a hit and miss affair. Cats sometimes take to them, but sometimes ignore them completely. You don’t really need those things.
Things I would SUGGEST you get:
Baking soda. Sprinkle a little in the cat box every day. Kills odor.
Collars and tags. Just in case.
A purpose-made cat nail trimmer. Trim regularly.
A pet hair brush. Helps cut down on shedding and cats like it once they get used to it.
I’ll second that, with backflips, that is a GREAT toy!!! Whoever designed that knew what they were doing.
One of our sadly now-departed tortoiseshells - damn but I miss her - even figured out how to play with it solo, she used to grab one end in her mouth & then whirl around in a mad futile attempt to grab the bobbing end with her paws. A variant on the tail-chasing impulse I guess. It was a hoot.
And yeah, apart from that, they love cardboard boxes & paper bags more than anything else. That’s what cats do - buy them an expensive toy & 9 times out of 10 they head straight for the bag it came in.
Not quite. 1st of all, it might be already neutered- some shelters insist. But if it is a young kitten, and isn’t 'fixed" yet- wait for a bit. Take kitty for a few rides NOT to the vet- maybe the park (on a leash)- or to a pet store- let it pick out it’s own toy. Then, after it does not associate “cat carrier & car with horrible nasty VET”… then the vet, after it gets totally bonded with you, and you have a couple days to stick around and keep an eye on her. Don’t rush this.
Oh- and don’t let the cat out, without it being on a leash. “Indoor/Outdoor cats” don’t live as long, and there are many dangers- not to mention fleas & such. They won’t know what they are missing if you never start letting them out.
Don’t declaw. Absolute last resort.
Buy a small book on taking care of kitty. Read it.
Last- “kitten-proof” the house. Check for places it can get into with poisons & such- under the sink. Make sure any real smal place it migh crawl & be hurt is blocked off (under/behind the fridge is often one). Some kittens chew extension cords- watch for this. Windows need secure screens. And, when you do bring your furry freind home, make sure you have a couple days to stay with her- thus a Friday is good.
You have made a good decision, and just asking this shows you’ll be a good “parent”. Good luck and my best wishes.
I hadn’t thought about that. Because whoever decides I’m adopting them will come from the shelter, it will already be spayed or neutered. But because it is from the shelter, I have to take it to the vet within 5 days, at least if I go by the contract that I sign when I adopt, so I was actually thinking of going to see a vet the same day…perhaps I should wait a day or two.
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Actually, Fridays are the worst day of the week for me - the one full day I work is Saturdays (the life of a grad student is torture ) But I see what you mean - I was planning for a Monday morning, as I then don’t have class until Tuesday night, and I can take that from home if I decide I don’t want to leave kitty home alone just yet.
I third the cat dancer. I paid $2.99 (USD) and my cats go nuts for it.
I don’t keep collars on my indoor cats. I have a friend whose cat choked to death on a collar, and I have seen how it could happen myself. My dear departed cat Boo had his collar on for the first time, and I hadn’t adjusted it correctly and left it too loose. He got his jaw around it and was stuck. Luckily I was there to get it off him pronto, but if you do put a collar on make sure it is adjusted correctly. Microchipping is safe and fairly cheap.
Do NOT use clumping litter for a kitten. Kittens tend to eat litter, either intentionally or just because they often play in the litter box, and clumping litter will clump up in their stomachs and cause a blockage. Blockage discovered too late = dead kitten. Blockage discovered on time = very, very expensive vet bill. Regular non-clumping litter is fine, or use something like Yesterday’s News or my absolute favorite, Feline Pine. (Clumping litter is fine for adults because they don’t usually eat it.)