Congratulations on your new furbaby!
Below is a list of items that you should consider for your new family member. We use and recommend all of the products on this list, and have found these ones best after testing a thousand products on the market with hundreds of foster kitties.
Please ensure you ALWAYS keep your new furbaby on the same kibble (dry biscuits) as they are currently on, to avoid a gastro-intestinal upset. To change to another type of kibble, please follow these instructions or veterinarian advice.
Don’t forget to bring your cat transport carrier with you to pickup your new furbaby!
Food
- Royal Canin Kitten Second Age
- Royal Canin Kitten wet food (gravy, jelly, or loaf)
- Felix Kitten wet food
If your kitten is over 12 weeks old you may wish to transition them to raw cat food, which must consist of at least 70% meat, 20% offal and 10% bone to be balanced, and specifically for felines.
We advise you do research before transitioning onto raw food to understand your cats needs. We recommending starting here. You can also buy pre-made raw food for cats at petstores.
Litter
- Kitter tray system and Kitter Litter
- Puppy pads (for bottom Kitter tray)
Carrier
- Plastic carrier – $45. Ensure you get a sturdy carrier, not just material for the safety of the kitty in the car. Best to buy one that will fit a fully grown cat to save having to buy a bigger size later. These are great for car trips. Need to bring this to pickup your new furbaby at the time of adoption.
- Large carrier – at only $25 they are ideal for long trips, you can put their favourite bed or blanket in there to keep them comfortable. Due to size and material (steel frame) these are best for the car and very short distances into a house, not ideal for vet trips.
Dewormer
We don’t recommend buying supermarket products for dewormers – many only paralyze the worms instead of killing them, hence why we recommend Milbemax (the best).
Kittens from 2-12wks of age need to be wormed every 2wks, from 12wks to 6mths of age need to be wormed monthly, and over 6mths of age need to be wormed every 3 months.
Fleas (only required if the cat is going outside or if gets a flea burden)
- Advocate (but ensure you do NOT use at the same time as Milbemax as it also contains a dewormer, please consult your veterinarian for advice when using both products. We use the both products given two weeks apart when needed)
Toys
- Gigwi Melody Chaser – $15 at Best Friends
Bowls (1 for kibble, 1 for wet food, 1 for water or water fountain)
- Kmart have a large range of bowls
Tower with stands – the bigger the better! Go for sturdy and durable to save money in the long run. We recommend wood built towers with carpet and scratchers as cheaper ones are made out of cardboard and do not tend to last long. Best Friends Pet Store have a great range of high quality towers that cats love.
Vertical space is very important for cats as this creates more space and allow them to recharge in their own space up high.
Cat Outdoor Enclosure
Stimulation and time in the outdoors is very important for a cats well being. All of our kitties are not free-roaming however providing a safe outdoor space for them is fantastic.
- Create your own outdoor enclosure easily and cheaply with CatNets
- Use code “CANBERRAPETRESCUE” to receive a 5% discount on your order. CatNets also donate 5% of your purchase price to us to help our fosters.
- You can engage a local tradesman to build a structure for you using CatNets or simply DIY.