Getting a Cat?

[Scott&Nikki]

Hey everyone! Long time no see... or type...Anyway, Nikki's mom called us a few days ago telling us that there was a cat hiding under her car and would not come out. Two days later she finally got some people to help her, and they got the cat out from under the car. Her mom hates cats, but fell in love with this one. She said it was the nicest, cutest cat that loved to be pet and play with, but she is very allergic and cannot keep it. So, as of now, the cat is in a no-kill shelter. We were still not satisfied with it being in a shelter, so Nikki and I are strongly considering adopting it. (They are currently doing tests on it to make sure there are no problems.) Before we make the final decision, there are some things we need to find out about the care of cats. Neither of us has ever owned cats, and our apartment does not allow pets. Thats is our main concern, obviously. If anyone could help me, I would greatly appreciate it.

1) I am going to need a very low-smell litter box, because we are hiding the cat and we have a fairly small apartment. Can anyone give me some info on what would be best?

2) What foods are best? They think the cat is female between 4 and 7 years old. Wet food? Dry food? Both?

3) The cat is declawed, but I am obviously worried about her getting to my leo. Would a clip on the leo tanks screen by enough?

4) Anything else you think I should know. Thank you very much.

Oh, and if anyone was wondering, its an all gray long-haired cat.

 

[Grinning Geckos]

1. I use Feline Pine for cat litter. It really keeps the smell low. I think they came out with a scoopable version, but I haven't seen it yet. The pellets look like alfalfa pellets (but they're pine), and because they're large most cats need an adjustment period to learn to use it. You can mix a scoopable brand with the Feline Pine and gradually reduce the amount of scoopable litter.

2. I feed mostly dry food, and give wet food every now and then (they LOVE wet food). I'd go with something natural. I use NutroMax. They shed less and poop less - with less smell - then they would on another diet.

3. The clips on the tank should hold up just fine.

4. If it's male, adult, and not neutered, you may want to reconsider. A male cat will mark, and could continue to do so after he's neutered. Not what you're looking for when hiding a cat.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Thanks very much Shanti. They were fairly sure it was female, but we never got a for sure answer.

Anyone else have some other suggestions?

 

[brandy101010]

Shanti had some great sugestions.
I would get a litter box with a top to keep the smell in side the box. If you scoop the box every day and disinfect it at least once a week. (every three days is better though if you have he time) you should not have a problem with the smell. You don't have to wory about scratching up your wall because she is declawed so thats a pluss. Haveing a female is also a pluss because of what shanti has already mentioned. I would get her spayed if she is not already because some females will cry out for a male when in heat. and beleave it or not, they can be pretty loud. lol

in door Cats need a lot play time or they will get bored and start getting into trouble. so Make sure she has plenty of toys and play with her when you can. My cats love the toy with a ball in a track. They can chase the ball for hours and you don't have to do a thing.

Like shanti said, wet food should only be given as a treet. if your cat eats it every day you will have one stinky litter box!

Good luck with your kitty!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

I liek the boxes with the top too, my parents had these for their cats (my mom hates any and all smells) and it worked great:
http://www.4littlepets.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=11369

It Has replaceable filters that keep the smell way out.

I can't rememebr what litter they use but it was scoopable

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Do you guys think its a bad idea to even attempt this? I have seen 3 other tenants in these apartments with cats, including my neighbor. They have very strict rules about pets, though. The fine would be $150 plus $25 per day, plus new carpet when we move out. I just dont really see how we would get caught...

 

[GoGo]

1) There are a LOT of expensive litter boxes that scoop out the poo into a container to keep it fresh. If your willing to pay the cash, use one of these, and install a plug in air freshener near the litter box, that should keep smells down.

2) Dry food is good, but cats love wet food, though sometimes it can upset their stomach and it WILL give their crap more stink.

3) The clips should do perfectly, better than even a weight.

4) Get. The. Cat Spayed. If its a female, it will yowl when in heat, before our cat(R.I.P) got spayed she went through heat and yowled so loudly and so much that she lost nearly all her meow. Get your cat some catnip, or better, a catnip plant. Your cat will go crazy, but this will cause it to be occupied. Lots of toys, especially ones that distract the cat like those that are traps or do-and-get-a-treat or lazer pointer shooters. Get a bed, or better yet, a perch for the cat, Scratching posts are must. You may find even if you dont get a bed/mat or a perch for your cat, that it will sleep on any clothing or jackets you recently wore, for the warmth and comfort.


Toy/Beds:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1883+8982&pcatid=8982 This is a cheap bed/mat for your cat, that goes on sale often, and conducts your cats body heat.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+10345+2901&pcatid=2901
When we had our cat, we got her one of these. She loved it, and later we donated it to our friend down the block who has around 20 cats. They love it so much they fight over it.


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1926+17752&pcatid=17752
This is a semi-expensive, basically self cleaning litter box.


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_supplies.cfm?c=3261+1926
Theres lots of litter boxes you can use besides expensive self cleaning ones. Petco sells a lot of different ones also. Like I said, if its not self cleaning, or even if it is, a plug in air freshener would help. Even a battery powered small one would help, those things are a lot more powerfull then they seem.

 

[Double LY]

1) There are a LOT of expensive litter boxes that scoop out the poo into a container to keep it fresh. If your willing to pay the cash, use one of these, and install a plug in air freshener near the litter box, that should keep smells down.

First of all - WELCOME BACK!

As to your kitty questions - I have invested the cash in the automatic litterbox and I HATED it. Not only was our cat freaked out by it, but it missed half the dirty litter while doing it's scoop thing.

We use the Booda Dome litterboxes with scoopable litter (we just buy the big refillable tub at Petco). This litterbox has the replacement filter that was talked about.

We feed dry with wet food as a treat every once in awhile (along with Pounce and other kitty treats).

We have a 12 year old cat, a brand new kitten, a Rottweiler and a Chow/Sheltie mix. Our reptiles are all kept in the living room and all but one of our leo tanks sit sideways so the opening is in the front. If tank clips can keep our zoo creatures out - they should hold up to most anyone

As far as the decision of risking the cat - that's obviously up to you. My husband and I did it before when we were first married and doing the apartment thing. We didn't get caught, but our consequences wouldn't have been nearly as severe either (I think we would have to had paid more monthly rent and a sizeable non-refundable deposit, but we were broke so we snuck the cat in instead).

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Hmm, I am a little confused now. I have been told by others than wet food is FAR better for cats than dry. It has more protein and dry is very hard to digest. They suggested about 80% wet to 20% dry.

 

[Emma318]

It is better.

I feed my guys one wet meal and one dry meal a day. They LOOOOOVE the wet food, and to be honest I haven't noticed that much of a difference in the smell. It's actually a lot better for them (the wet food) but be careful of what brands you use - as we all now know unfortunately, the ingredients are important!

 

[Inlovewithherps]

Wet is better.
It has much higher protien and more water.Store bought dry cat foods are full of grains and veggies which seem great but are the worst choices for a cat. Cats can't use grains the way that some animals do and convert the carbs into sugars which leads to high blood sugar and eventually diabetes.
Either RAW, Good quality canned, Or a grain free Dry is the best way to go. If you don't go grain free try to find a food that has meat as at least the first two ingredients. I feed Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul Dry food and Merrick and Wellness wet foods. My cats do really well on them and I've noticed a major decrease in litterbox odor since we switched from what they used to eat (Purina One and Fancy Feast)
If you want more information on Cat nutrition and Diabetes here are a couple of websites to check out...
http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/
As far as Litter boxes go, the Booda Dome ROCKS! My cats love it and the one with the stairs keeps the litter in the litterbox :main_thumbsup: