I’m thinking of getting a cat or two. Ideally two sisters that will play and get along with each other. I’ve been talking with someone a few hours away about rehoming a pair of Siamese sisters, but that isn’t set in stone yet. Here are some questions and thoughts I have, but I would welcome any advice you might have for someone who hasn’t had pets in years.

I really want to use horse bedding as cat litter. I’m looking at getting this litter box.. I’ve watched some YouTube videos on the topic, but any thoughts or gotchas?

If I end up getting kittens from three hours away, what gear will I need to bring to make the trip successful? One big cat carrier? Two separate ones? If they seem calm, would it be okay for a passenger to let them out in the car on the way home? Or would it be best to keep them in the carriers?

I’ve gone through this page and I’ve got a few of their suggestions in a list and ready to order. Anything else that I should look at getting? Supplies, tools, furniture, toys?

Best way to choose a vet? Cheapest? There’s one very close to my house but there are a number of options and I could start making calls.

Once the cats can have kibble, what’s a good way to choose the kind to buy? What should I avoid and look out for?

Also, what would be some great names for a pair of sisters?

Thanks!!

Edit: Can I feed cats/kittens tuna from a can once in a while? Sardines? Anything to keep in mind with this?

I’m thinking of getting a collar for each and putting a Bluetooth tracker on them. Any experience with this? Maybe this would be the tipping point of finally setting up ESPresense. 🤔

Another edit: Anyone have a Red rocket cat litter pail? That seems to me to be better than the litter genie. But also I’m not sure if it will be needed if I use pine bedding and baking soda for cat litter. Maybe just decide later if I need it?

  • snoons@lemmy.ca
    English
    2·
    1 day ago

    I’ve had bad experiences with pine pellets, if for whatever reason you’re unable to change it in time it will go mouldy and irritate your throat and eyes. I ended up going with purinas “tidy cats”, the unscented version. It works the same as clay litter, but there’s not as much dust (and you don’t have to power lift it). For food I always get Acana; it’s more expensive but I think it’s a lot healthier for them just by reading the ingredient list and I rationalize the extra cost by saving on vet visits. Also it makes their coats super pretty looking. :3

    *For litter boxes we got these large plastic tubs and some foam mats that were specially made to collect fallen litter from amazon. One of my cats aggressively buried her poop and would get litter all over the place, so this set up helped a bit with the mess haha.