I'm buying 2 kittens this week

[jackdaniels]

You guys have renewed my faith in OOT. Excellent advice re: cats.

To OP - this will be a decision that you will cherish for years to come. Having a cat (or cats) is a fantastic feeling comparable only to that of having children (only without the hassle).

I second almost every piece of (serious) advice given so far and I applaud you for adopting cats from a shelter instead of going to a pet shop.

Excellent!

[Cancer Merchant]

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Get a laser pointer. Your cats will LOVE this.

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The only thing better is two laser pointers, going in opposite directions. That and the feline hogh jump contest when you shine it on the wall.

[NJchick]

Great to hear you are adopting from a shelter!

Some advice when you go.

Don't rule out older cats. There are plenty of affectionate, playful cats that are in need of good homes. Some come from homes where the owner died or could no longer care for them. You know what you are getting with a cat vs. kitten.

I have 2 cats and I'm glad I have them in pairs. They keep each other busy when I am away at work for long hours, they sleep, play and groom with each other.

Indoors is a MUST.

Great advice from other posters about care and maintenance.

If I could add anything it would be to make sure both cats have plenty of fresh water. I usually change their water bowls 2x a day.

Best of luck.

Here are my 2 boys.

[Blarg]

Not to mention when you do it at the top of the stairs -- just kidding!

[HopeydaFish]

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Those are some freaky looking cats, dude... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[HopeydaFish]

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Get a laser pointer. Your cats will LOVE this.

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Mine used to go absolutely bonkers for it. Then they realized that they'd never be able to catch the light, no matter how hard they tried. I think they chase the light now more to humour *me* than anything.

[swede123]

If you live anywhere close to a rural community you should get cats from there. This way you can get healthy kittens for free. Obviously you're doing a good deed by adopting homeless cats, but most of the time you don't get kittens and may end up with monsters that were abused or otherwise mistreated by previous owners. Seriously, farm cats are the bomb-diggity.

Swede

[HopeydaFish]

As always, great advice from Blarg. There are only two points I'd like to make:

1) I've read a bit about clumping litter, and some vets are totally against the idea. The reason is that after the cat uses the litter box, he'll proceed to clean the dust off himself. The clumping litter that the cat injests can clump up in the cat's bowels and cause a blockage. That being said, I've used clumping litter for years and neither of my cats have had any issues.

2) I've never bathed my cats. If you keep your cat from getting obese, and it's a short-haired breed, and you keep him indoors, there's no reason that the cat can't bathe himself. Cats obsessively groom themselves all day.

3) I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but wet food is the way to go. Dry food can cause crystals in the cat's urine, especially in females. My female cat had crystals in her urine, but once I switched to wet food (as recommended by my vet), she was fine. The only problem with wet food is that it doesn't clean your cat's teeth. You can get crunchy treats that clean your cat's teeth, though. You can also brush your cat's teeth if he's really docile (I've never seriously thought about doing this, though).

4) Don't get the cheap cat foods. Spend a few bucks more to get the good stuff. Your cat will live longer, have less health problems, and won't get fat (unless you overfeed it).

[Los Feliz Slim]

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As always, great advice from Blarg.

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I agree.

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1) I've read a bit about clumping litter, and some vets are totally against the idea.

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I've heard this also and also use the clumping litter (Arm & Hammer). Our vet wants us to use the organic corn-based litter you can flush down the toilet, and we don't do it.

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2) I've never bathed my cats.

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My large formerly-stray beast nearly killed me once when I bathed her, so I don't bathe mine either. I use these wipes that they sell at pet stores if they get stinky (which they do, I think they have anal glands or something that can make them smelly). So I recommend the wipes as a bathing alternative. If they stay indoors they won't get too dirty anyway (although keep the chimney flue closed, my cat once jumped up there and got all sooty).


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3) I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but wet food is the way to go.

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My cats won't eat wet food, which is odd I think.

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4) Don't get the cheap cat foods.

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I use Wellness food, which our vet recommended.

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i'm sorry, but it was left wide open.

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This is possibly the most horrible thing I have ever seen. Yet, I am still laughing.