Ladies in Waiting

Shopping List before Bringing Your Kitten/Cat Home (Print me and take me to the store)

FOOD (Feed 3 times a day until 12 months of age and after that twice a day)

(Note:  Your kitten/cat eats a variety of cat-appropriate food that changes with the season and their needs.  I sometimes feed freeze-dried meat as toppers and treats.  Cats are healthier when they eat a variety of raw meat or canned cat food.  The result is better health, less poop, and less odour.  Feeding raw is also the way to avoid urinary tract and kidney disease.  Cats are desert animals who don’t drink enough water to process dry food through intestines designed for high moisture content.)

RAW FOOD (Always First Choice)

1.  Carnivora Raw -  Pork, Beef, Goat, Lamb (our cats don’t like any of their poultry)

2.  Raw stir-fry beef (the kittens all love chewing the meat)

3.  Raw Stewing Beef from Costco, cut small (for chewing)

CANNED WET (Second Choice)

1.  Weruva Cats in the Kitchen has been a huge hit this summer (2024).  Try to choose high end brands that don’t have grain, corn, soy, potato, pea protein, or ‘natural flavour’ (MSG).  Fancy Feast is an option (except for beef).

2.  Once a week – a can of sardines in sunflower oil (in tinned food section for humans, at Costco.  Rinse the tin with boiling water and pour it on top of the fish.  If your kitten/cat drinks the liquid and leaves the fish, that happens here to.

KIBBLE (Third Choice)

1.  Feline Natural New Zealand Grass-Fed Freeze Dried (This is really popular!)

TREATS (Absolutely NO Temptations by Whiskas – it is toxic junk)

1.  Costco freeze-dried liver for dogs (no more than 4-5 pieces a week)

2.  An occasional piece of plain roast beef or ham

3.  Cooked chicken from your roasted chicken or cooked chicken hearts/lvers from your grocery store

4.  Instinct Raw Longevity for Adult Cats (Grass-Fed Beef & Wild-Caught Cod)

5.  Stella and Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose

SUPPLEMENTS

1.  Best Paw Salmon Oil (an occasional squirt over food)

2.  Fortiflora Probiotic Supplement (sprinkled over 4-5 meals)

3.  Organica Colostrom (I open the gel capsule and sprinkle it over several meals).  Colostrum is an immune-booster, and really helpful during stressful times.  (When I researched it, I started taking it too.)

LITTER BOX - your kitten has used open and closed litterboxes.   You should have a litter box on every floor of your house. Walmart has the cheapest extra-large litter boxes, and you can order them online.  The large cement mixing trays at Home Depo are a favourite here, especially for our very large cats.

LITTER

1.  (Favourite litter of all my cats, but heavy) Easy Clean Unscented

2.  (Easiest for you) Purina Tidy Cats lightweight

TOYS & ACCESSORIES

1.  Scratching Post (Order online from Walmart)

2.  Da Bird or Da Worm (fishing toy)

3.  Tunnel

4.  Balls (pingpong balls are our current favourite)

5.  Feathers

6.  Boxes

7.  Cat Tree (Norwegian Forest Cats love REALLY high places)

8.  Extra Small Cat harness (no collars, as they ruin your kitten’s beautiful ruff)

9.  Retractable leash

Advice from International Cat Care:  Helping your new Cat or Kitten Settle In

Jackson Galaxy, Cat Behaviourist, explains.

Advice from International Cat Care  What your cat and your vet would want you to know:

https://pawswhiskersandclaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Adoption-Considerations.pdf