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  • New cat from the RSPCA advice
  • unfitgeezer
    Free Member

    We picked a cat on Saturday from our local RSPCA home 10 month old black n white. (cat will be with us in next 10 days)

    Whats the scoop with the food business ? Is cheaper food really that bad ? asda own brand as opposed to whiskers etc ?

    what’s the difference in cat litter ? looking in asda massive bag for a few pounds or some really expensive stuff which is half the size ?

    thanks in advance

    Pigface
    Free Member

    If neighbours have nicer cat food than you then the new arrival will be eating out most of the time 😆

    pictonroad
    Full Member

    had too many cats over the years:

    catsan litter in a high sided box/tray, don’t bother with newspaper under it. Use a small amount of expensive litter (2cm deep) and change it more often. Scrub the tray with water and antibac cleaner between changes

    They’ll go off whatever food they ate yesterday on a constant basis, try middle ground such as felix and work from there.

    Yak
    Full Member

    One of our cats farted a lot. A change to a different and more expensive food fixed that. Start on a mid-priced complete then adjust to suit.

    Litter – non clumping is less faff and once your cat is outside he/she will rarely use the litter tray.

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    Buy two trays so that you always have one clean.

    gobuchul
    Free Member

    Not a cat owner but I only feed my dogs Burns.

    http://burnspet.co.uk/

    There is a lot of horrible crap in most pet food. Not good for the animal.

    bigtimebones
    Free Member

    Iams makes my cat do very very smelly poos but he loves it.

    He generally eats anything and everything. Mushy pees, beans, Garlic sauce, chicken tikka. Anything that is generally bad for him.

    But in all seriousness he eats Whiskers pouches (one pouch halved daily) and a small bowl of biscuits, usually Iams. I would try different things and see what he does and doesn like.

    I use cheap, clumping litter but your cat might not like it and can go on personal preference.

    rocketman
    Free Member

    There is a lot of horrible crap in most pet food

    ^^ this

    We feed ours on roast chicken scraps & it also enjoys tinned mackerel. Bought a bag of absorbent litter when we first got it but the cat prefers not to soil its own territory

    peteimpreza
    Full Member

    What are the RSPCA feeding him?

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    We feed our cats Whiskas pouches. They’ll eat anything though, to be honest. Not sure it’s the ‘best’ food for them, but they wolf it down. They also have crunchy biscuits to give them something to crunch on, but make sure they have plenty of water to go with the biscuits.

    As for litter trays, get one with a lid – it makes a massive difference to the stink and also how far they can fling the litter while trying to dig a hole for it.

    Type of litter; I prefer the non clumping stuff. Can’t remember what we used to buy, but something from Pets at Home worked well and was cheap for a large 10L bag.

    Get a scratching post or two.

    cranberry
    Free Member

    As a recent cat owner I have found Zooplus good for a lot of stuff – the little darlings get Hills/Royal Canin biscuits and the occasional pouch of Iams at the moment.

    Litter is what the breeder used – done to make the kittens move as easy as possible.

    Scratching post/little foam balls/balls with a bell in them are all good, Oh and tunnel toys have been most welcome here.

    grenosteve
    Free Member

    Our cats where brought up on boiled chicken (when I lived at home, my mom fed them).

    Now they live with me and we can only feed them Sheba prime cuts of chicken. Anything else and they try to bury it (I’m not suprised, most cat food smells like poo!)

    They have go-cat biscuits down all day (we just top the bowl up when it’s empty) then treat them to half a pot of sheba twice a day.

    We always used clumping cat litter, but have changed to the lightweight stuff recently. Seems to do the same job but the litter tray doesn;t weight a tonne! We have a tray with a lid and a door to stop them throwing the litter around.

    grenosteve
    Free Member

    Oh, as for toys, cats hate expensive toys and more often than not would rather play with a cardboard box and carrier bag. Lazer pens are good though.

    Try not to be temped to buy expensive/fancy/cute/awesome cat beds, because they don’t use them…

    globalti
    Free Member

    Sachets are expensive but my brother didn’t notice when I made him a sandwich from one so they must be good. Don’t give her dried food; it gives cats cystitis and makes them fat.

    Tins are cheaper, buy the snap-on plastic cover to keep them fresh. Two litter trays to rotate. Keep pussy indoors at night until she’s big enough to begin carving out her own mousing territory. Make friends with the vet. Remember that there are reckoned to be 7 million domestic cats in the UK and 10 million families who think they own a cat.

    Set up a scratching post close to the main entry/exit door. You can make your own out of a length of soil pipe, two boards and some sisal rope for a fraction of the cost of a shop one.

    dave_rudabar
    Free Member

    FWIW, ours seems to get a better looking coat on her when we feed it the premium stuff. When she’s not rolling around in the dirt, that is…

    unfitgeezer
    Free Member

    Update

    Rspca lady came today apparently the children were little terrors !

    Anyway we are getting her on the 31st as she is having the snip !

    Wife says the lady says wet food in the morn (400g can last a few days) then in the eve bowl of dry food and treats during the day etc.

    I have been reading some say only dry food others say wet food only or leave dry food out all day so it can snack as and when….

    is there no right/ wrong to this we dont want a fat or ill cat !

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    By far the cheapest and most absorbent litter imo is Megazorb. It’s designed for use in stables but works well as cat litter. Its one big drawback is that it’s extremely light when dry and therefore gets easily trodden everywhere.

    http://www.northerncropdriers.co.uk/product/megazorb

    superfurryhead
    Free Member

    Ours has a bowl of dried food constantly topped up to graze on and constant supply of fresh water. One whole pouch of wet food at 6pm ish. Sainsburys own label. Too much wet food and they can get a bit runny. Bear in mind most cats have as many as three houses they will visit for food in addition to birds, rats, frogs etc so they’ll never starve and will always have a varied diet 😉

    simmy
    Free Member

    What are the RSPCA feeding him?

    In my experience whatever they can pick up cheap or what they get donated.

    JoeG
    Free Member

    Some cats are picky about food and/or litter; others don’t care at all. Mine are fed dry food. Mostly, cheap dry food from Aldi.

    Why? Female cat has irritable bowel syndrome, treated with meds by the vet. The Aldi food seems to cause her the fewest problems of anything we’ve tried. She loves canned food, but it goes right through her. The big male cat eats anything, and he’s more than happy with Aldi food topped with a little bit of the high end food that wouldn’t work for the other cat.

    Just tried some super high end all natural raw meat and no grain stuff and it came out as a liquid… 😡

    olddog
    Full Member

    We feed about 50/50 wet and dry twice a day. The cat prefers the wet and wolfs it down, and then eats the dry over the next few hours. Our vet recommended dry only, something about the teeth I think (mrs OD does most vet related stuff)- but I think the balance works for our cat and he is happier wit that

    We rotate the brands of cat food as he seems to get bored after a while.

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    I just buy whatever dry stuff is on offer at the time. The cat mostly self supplements it with mice, voles and rabbits.

    bikemike1968
    Free Member

    Aldi dry food here, just make sure your cat has plenty of fresh water.
    Oh, and don’t forget to get a scratching post – it’ll give your cat something to walk past on it’s way to trashing your sofa…

    iolo
    Free Member

    Whiskas dry plus a bit water mixed in. Floyd was 18 when he died and Thorn is 15 and in full health.
    The sachets/cans make their coats dull.

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    Wet food – not dry for ours as he had crystal formation and then surgery to prevent it. Only dry food he eats are the occasional bit of plain poppadom and stolen crisps.

    Hope you have the same wonderful times and pleasure as we have had with ours. Fifteen years and counting and here’s to a few more with the little sod!

    TheFopster
    Free Member

    Ours has own brand tins with dried food for snacks between meals. One tip – don’t put water bowl next to food. Apparently they won’t drink it – worked for us as ours ignored the clean water until we moved it away from the food.

    vonplatz
    Free Member

    Sachets are expensive but my brother didn’t notice when I made him a sandwich from one so they must be good. Don’t give her dried food; it gives cats cystitis and makes them fat.

    Haven’t laughed so much at something I read for a long time.

    I had an indoor cat who ate dry food for fatties and she was still pretty rotund. It was cheaper for me to go and buy chicken livers from the market than feed her bought wet food and she wolfed them down.

    Some people advocate a raw meat diet as that is what they are biologically designed to eat.

    Apart from diet, I would also look into how to care for your cat in other aspects. Search for Jackson Galaxy on youtube and you will get loads of vids with advice. He’s a bit of a **** but he knows his cats.

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