What You Need for a New Kitten
By Kathryn G. Yen
Below is listed all the essential things you need for a new kitten!
• Kitten food
Probably the best kitten food would be Iams or Science Diet. Make sure the package says "Kitten" on it. Many people will say that you should feed cats both wet and dry food, but we prefer to use just dry. There are several downsides of wet food. It isn't as healthy for the cat's teeth, and you will probably have to get teeth cleanings at the vet. Dry food scrapes the teeth when the cat chews, and so helps with tartar build up. We have a nine year old cat, Basha, who has never had wet food and has never had to have her teeth cleaned. If you feed your cat wet food it will probably mean you will need to have teeth cleanings for him/her. Wet food has also been thought to potentially cause kidney problems, so I would definitely recommend feeding your cat dry food exclusively.
• Food and water dishes
There are lots of cute dishes for food and water, but you can always just use any bowls you have on hand already. If you feel like going all out, you could get a pet fountain, but this is definitely not necessary. We have found that a self-dispensing food dish is very helpful, particularly if you are going on a trip. It is just a dish with a container on top that dispenses the food (you may have to pull the food down sometimes, as most are not automatic).
• Litter box
Any large sterlite type container will do. You could go with a self-scooping litter box, but we have found it to be easier and cheaper to just get an inexpensive container and clean it manually. With the self-scooping ones, you still have to empty out the little bag where it dumps the waste.
If you want you can get litter box liners, which are basically garbage bags that line the litter box. I personally don't care for them, but if you think they would help it won't hurt.
• Kitty litter
There are many different kinds of kitty litter, but we like the hard clumping kind. The least dusty we have found is Tidy Cats "Crystal Blend" and Tidy Cats "Small Spaces". You could also go with non-clumping litter, but that is much more of a hassle.
• Litter scoop
Larger is better. Need I say more?
• Cat wipes and stain remover
This is the not-so-cute part of having a cat! It may sound strange, but there are wipes for cats! This will be helpful if your kitty has trouble adjusting to the food you are feeding her/him, if the food she was being fed different food before. When we first got our kittens, they had this sort of problem, and we often had a smelly mess on our hands. These wipes make it a lot easier to clean your cat up if she/he has an accident!
There is a special odor and stain remover especially for pets. This in case your cat gets a hairball and deposits it on your living room floor or doesn't quite make it to the litter box in time. This isn't that important if you don't have carpet, but will be very helpful if you do!
•Nail clippers
Not the regular kind, obviously; the kind for cats. It is very helpful if you massage and rub your kitten's paws while he/she is still a kitten, as you will have much less trouble trimming his/her nails later on. We made the mistake of not doing this with Basha, and now it's a three-person job to trim her nails. Many cats are declawed; generally just in the front though, in case your cat gets out and has a need to climb a tree.
• Cat toys
Of course these are not necessary, but they are fun! You don't even have to go out and buy a lot of expensive toys either; usually the things cats like most are the things you already have in your house. Our cats' favorites are foil balls, string, and milk rings (those little rings that seal the milk cartons). When your kitten is older, you could also get her some catnip. It won't affect her till she's around 3 months old, but after that, if she has the usual reaction, she will act crazy and roll around on the ground. The cat equivalent of getting drunk! J
Kathryn G. Yen is the eldest daughter of David and Annette Yen. She resides with her younger sister Tara, as well as three very cute cats. Kathryn is the author of the children's book, A Tale of Tails.