Ok, we’re planning on getting two kittens at some point in the next 6 months (when exactly, will depend on when we move into a new house/how much work the house needs etc.).
I’m planning on 2 males (who will be either Oscar and Felix or Felix and Leo) of about 10 weeks old, and will be getting them vaccinated, microchipped and fixed etc. like a responsible person. They will be indoor cats.
So, because the idea of spending one big whack of money on pet stuff is less appealing than a little at a time, I thought I’d start buying the bits and bobs piecemeal over the next few months.
I get that they’ll need litter trays, toys, food and water bowls and somewhere to sleep- but do I need to get two of everything to start with, or will little kitties share? My family only ever had one cat at a time, so I’m a little clueless.
They might share, they might not. Will they be siblings? That might increase the likelyhood of them sharing. Otherwise, you’ll have to double up on everything.
For litter boxes, there’s no reason to go crazy. You don’t need the expensive self cleaning one, unless you’ve got no way to scoop the thing every couple of days (but boy do kittens poop more than should be physically possible!) I like the high-walled ones, so they don’t toss litter all over the place. The special mat to go under the box to catch extra litter is also unneccesary - just get a piece of carpet.
I recommend getting them a kitty kuddler, which is a cheapo little bed that mostly keeps their fur in one place. My kitty loves hers, and I’ve given a couple to my mom’s cats, who also love 'em.
The only other thing they’ll really need is something to scratch on, but I know we’ve discussed the pros and cons of various posts and things on the board before. If it’s sturdy, they’ll scratch it. Then just grab a pack of mousies, and a dangly battable thing, and you’re set.
Cats are easy, and they don’t need a lot of stuff. I really can’t imagine you spending more than $100 on stuff for 2 cats. And if you want to go nuts and get a big cat tree or something, they’re easy to build or find from craigslist. Good luck!
Sorry to ruin the illusion folks, not only am I not a green-eyed, red haired colleen, I don’t live in a picturesque thatched cottage halfway up a mountain either.
The likelihood is that we will not have a garden (think red-brick Victorian terrace with a 6’x6’ yard which is mostly taken up by an oil-tank). Even if we did have outside space, we’ll be living in a city, and it’s not safe for the cats or the local bird life to let them outside. I want long-lived healthy pets, not roadkill.
Hopefully they’ll be siblings- after investigation it looks like the best place to get kittens is from somebody who “forgot” to spay their queen- i.e. we’ll be looking in local newspapers, and inquiring at local vets if they have any clients with kittens they want to sell.
I looked into the shelter option, but it seems for one reason or another the local shelters don’t have a lot of kittens to re-home. My husband’s cousin and his wife got two lovely cats from the classified ads in the paper, and my parents got all our cats from adverts posted in the window of our local vet- so we’ll probably do that. Thus it will be more than likely we’ll get a pair of litter mates.
We’re not looking for pedigree cats, just a couple of healthy short-haired housecats, so we’ll just see what happens.
Get two food dishes, and one big water dish. (Big enough two adult cats could drink from it.) You might need two litterboxes later on when they are adult sized, but one should probably do for now. (I doubt you will ever need more than one if they are siblings, but maybe.) You might pick up some toys, in doubles for them but I would wait to buy very many until I found out what each cat’s preferances were. Some cats are string kittys, others are ball kittys. (And let us not even go into if they want the string dragged to chase, or hanging to swat, or the ball rolled or to be left be to chase it on their own.) Flutterballs are usually a big hit with any cat though, and maybe some crinkle balls too. (Get several of both kinds, the feather balls lose their feathers and aren’t as enchanting in time, and the mylar balls go through holes in the fabric of space and time sometimes.) Probably you will only need one scratching post, but I might invest in something like more than one window shelf for them, so each can have a good perch to birdwatch.
Someone in another kitten thread mentioned making a maze sort of toy out of plain old cardboard boxes. Sounded like great kitten fun to me. Just cut some kitty size holes in boxes and tape them together. They can hide in there and wait for someone to come by and pounce out the holes.
I’d go ahead and get them two litter boxes right away. Put the boxes at opposite ends of the house. Cats can be pretty up tight about their powder room.
Well, I suppose she could ask the people she is getting the kittens from if they use the same litterbox or not. Often kittens from the same litter will, and continue to do so if they remain together as adults. The worry would be if there is a personality change in old age, or if they are from different litters. (Even then, they probably wouldn’t have a problem sharing a litter box with another kitten, if that is what they are used to doing. They might not if there is an older cat in the household because they are spooked by the bigger cat’s smell, which isn’t a worry in this case.)
I never had a problem with cats sharing stuff, especially if two kittens are introduced to the house at the same time. Even if they weren’t litter mates to begin with, they’ll more than likely act like it after a few days together.
When I had just two cats I had one litterbox, (scooped daily or every other day), one decent sized water bowl, a decent sized bowl of dry food that they could pick at 24/7 and then they each had their own bowl for their morning feeding of wet food. Buy a small assortment of toys, get a little catnip to treat them with here and there and you should be set.
You will find that they will turn many household objects into their very own play things.
My baby, Geoffy, just adores the G.I. Joe action figures my friend’s son left at our house. (My friend won’t let me give them back) I also just gave my cats an old sock that seems to bring about much joy as they drag it about the house like a fresh kill.
The box my George Foreman grill came in is a nice little kitty fort for much feline antics and they do have little beds scattered about the house to sleep in although they usually prefer sleeping on the bed with my partner and I and the two dogs.
Yaaaay! You’re getting kitties!!! You do realize, pics are a must when you get them, right?
Regarding litter boxes and boy cats, I have one guy who raises his leg really high and I found that a covered litter box is the only solution. Now, some cat owners claim their cats won’t use a covered box but I have 2 big boys and they both use covered boxes, no problem. (But, I do have to have two. They use either one interchangeably, but if I only have one box, they use the floor. Why? No one knows. I don’t try to argue with a cat…life’s too short.
Everyone’s giving real good suggestions. Having two litterboxes is a great one as well since the general rule of thumb is to have one litterbox per cat. Just makes it easier if they should ever decide they want their own.
As for the person who wondered why you won’t be letting your cats outside. Urban or not, it is not safe or condusive to a long life to let cats outside. Even in the country there’s wild animals that can kill them, streets to get hit on, fights they’ll get into with other cats, not to mention the whole slew of diseases and maladies they’ll be exposed to. It’s just safer for all kitties to stay inside.
And actually you should be able to get a kitten from the local pound or humane society in about 6 months. That pretty much falls right into ‘kitten season’. They’ll have their hands full. It’s much more preferable to get kittens from the pound/humane society. They’ve been health screened, giving their first series of shots and most of the time, already fixed. Getting a kitten from a backyard breeder or any accidental litter is playing with fire. You won’t know what you’ll get.
Two food dishes are really needed, that way they can each eat their meal until they are satisfied. One dish of kibble for both might lead to the cats getting competitive and one of them not getting enough food, while the other gets fat. Water is more able to be shared, but get them seperate food dishes. Seperate litter boxes is a different matter, it really depends on the cats involved. On the issue of going to the shelter or looking at “free kitten to good homes” ads, I’d look into shelters in my area first. If you do go to the shelter to get kittens, you very probably could get littermates.
On the subject of two food dishes, it may be more or less dependent on your cats.
I have never had a problem using one big dish of dry kibble for as much as 7 cats. I currently have 3 cats and they share a kibble dish. There is no fighting and if one is eating from it, the other two will wait their turn. During morning wet food feeding, they get their own dish.
Some cats do get posessive but I’m going to wager since Irishgirl is getting two kittens at once, they more than likely will be very agreeable to the other cat’s presence.
I think the reason my cat’s don’t get uptight about the kibble is that the cat food fairy always makes sure the bowl is full.
Big paper bags - Our cats love to play hide/seek and big paper bags fit the bill. Besides, they make noise and cats love to make noise. Whatever you do, don’t use plastic shopping bags. They can suffocate.
The plastic strip-off strips from the plastic lids of gallon jugs of milk. Even the clean lids.
Shoe laces, without the shoes.
Old clean socks with a hearty handful of catnip inside (the open end knotted).
Pet lasers - What a hoot.
Weird fun:
One cat just loves those trendy thick rubberband-type bracelets. We buy them in bulk, about five dollars for two dozen.
Another cat just loves the Nerf disks, about an inch and a half in diameter with the big hole in it. No need for the Nerf gun to shoot them. We toss them as minature frisbees and play Fetch. We buy in bulk, about 50 of then for five dollars.
Why bulk for the two above? Both cats treat their toys as trophies ane eventually rip them apart.
Yup, our house looks like as disaster area hit by two-year olds. No matter. Our cats play fetch, come when you call them, play tag with us, sit on the edge of the tub while taking a shower, bite us on the ankles when they want attention, jump on the bed at 3am and SCREAM for a cuddle. No matter. Top everything off with love and we have three Happy Cats that play, sleep, eat, sleep, yadda, yadda.
(And let us not even go into if they want the string dragged to chase, or hanging to swat, or the ball rolled or to be left be to chase it on their own.) 