Supercats Health

Litter and Litter Trays

One litter tray per cat and don't forget you will need a scoop to remove waste products. In order to keep litter dust from spreading, you should consider buying a litter tray with a hood. They should have waste products removed daily and at the same time be topped up with fresh litter. There are hundreds of types of litter product. My advice is simple here, buy the cheapest and if not good enough for whatever reason then buy the next cheapest. Your cat probably couldn't care less and some litter products are priced at stupid prices. Other things to consider are that some litter products put up large amounts of dust and cat litter that clumps easily is better than a brand that doesn't.

Bed

This can be difficult because you might invest in an expensive cat bed but the cat is determined to sleep on top of the wardrobe. If this is a new cat I suggest you get something that is easy and quick to clean. In fact most cats seem to prefer sleeping on clean laundry.
You might also consider a special cat shelter that the cat limbs into and can feel secure in.
On the other hand a simple large cardboard box with a couple of pieces of your old clothing will also probably suffice.

Grooming

You will need a flea comb and maybe a brush for grooming purposes. Get your cat used to being groomed as soon as possible. You might consider various cat shampoos, but I don't use such products. Longhair cats need extra grooming, at least a good combing daily. Another thing about grooming is it's not just about a good shiny coat for the cat, it gives you the opportunity to search for fleas and ticks and it allows you to feel the cat all over and to check for things that aren't quite right and that may need to be checked by a vet.

You can buy a scratch post from a supermarket or pet shop, or, if you are a little bit handy with a hammer and saw you can make your own from a few bits of wood and some old carpet. You can become very inventive here!! It's definitly worth having one though. If you can convince your cat(s) to use a scratch post you won't regret it. Some sophisticated scratch posts even come built into the form of a small cat house or climbing frame.

You will need a cat carrier. At the very least you will need it to convey your cat to the vets every once in a while. There are generally speaking two types of carrier that are readily available today. They are the two part plastic carrier and the more traditional cane carrier, both types should have a blanket or similar placed on the bottom and the carrier should be big enough to allow the cat to turn around when fully grown. If you need to move several cats at the same time you will need one carrier per cat.

Collars are needed for cat identification and are not necessary if your cat is microchipped. In my experience flea collars are a total waste of time. Any collar should have a safety measure that allows the cat to wriggle free if it becomes snagged and caught on an object. A reflective collar can be handy for locating your cat at night. A collar with a bell on it might save the lives of a few small birds with the added benefit of alerting you to the cat at night when you go out looking for it.

Cats are Carnivores, they are not vegetarian. If you are a vegetarian , you have chosen a lifestyle, this lifestyle should not be forced on your cat! Cats need animal proteins and fats in their food.

I suspect, but cannot prove, that the cheaper the food the lower the quality. Your cat deserves food of as good a quality as the food you yourself would eat.

Good quality branded foods are usually adequate. There are many cat food maufacturers who offer food for cats with various illnesses and conditions. You should work out what your cat will eat as soon as possible after you get him, and ideally you should have been told about his feeding habits when you received the cat. You should select cat food that is described as "100% a complete cat food" . Most cats love Tuna but this should be given as an occasional treat and not as his only food which can cause problems for the cat. Your cat may enjoy raw meat or fish but you should take note that your cat may suffer from worms etc by eating it. Unlike the Tom and Jerry cartoons it's a fact that your cat is far more likely to eat a nice piece of cheese than your household mouse is.
Dry cat food is also very palatable these days and many cats eat nothing else, WATER must be available.

Be aware, some cats are similar to dogs in the speed that they sometimes eat at. Often because of this they eat too much and inevitably it comes back up, unfortunatley the owner won't always know that this happened until they smell it or step in it.

My cats all love single cream, they gobble it up at an horrendous pace, so much so that I now restrict how much they can have in one 'sitting', simply so that they don't bring it back up. I've never met a cat that didn't like cream.
New owners are often horrified to see that cat food has ASH in it. Cat food is prepared at high temperatures and a remnant of ash is unavoidable, you should not worry about ash except that you should perhaps choose a food with a low amount rather than a high one.

Toys should stimulate the cat. Toy's shouldn't just lie on the floor gathering dust. They should also stimulate the owner by encouraging him/her to play with cat the cat. I have found that cheap remote control toys can really wake a cat up. Buy the ones that take rechargable batteries. Also excellent is a simple length of cane with a piece of string tied at one end and a few feathers tied to the other end. Just flicking this a for a few minutes can give a cat a good workout. Also simply shining a light on a wall can keep them happy for ages. Strangely, just like small children, your cat might not be as interested in the toy as the box that it came in!
Finally cats seem to find christmas trees fascinating, strictly speaking they aren't toys, but try telling the cat!