MUST have toys/accessories?

Hi there !

I've been posting a few questions here and there, since I will be adopting two little Siamese kitten in 4 weeks. I've had all the important stuff answered, now the fun part: shipping time!

So far I got the following:

CrazyCat Condo
http://www.crazycatcondos.com/CRAZYCATCONDO.html

Pet Fountain
http://cgi.ebay.ca/DRINKWELL-PLATINU...QQcmdZViewItem

2 scratch pads, a few stuffed mice toys.

I'm wondering what to get for my two liter boxes. With top, no top, clay, crystal, etc? Cost isn't really an issue, I just want the best for them. Claw cutter I will have to see at the vets what he suggests, I'm going to see the breeder in one hour and ask her.

Do I need cages if I bring them to the vet?

First of all the toys will build up over time. One of the best toy investment I got though was buying a pack of 100 drinking straws. Cats love chewing on them and playing with them. They're really cheap as well, just have to make sure to get the used ones and throw away before the cats have chewed bits off them. Should help with teething cats as well.

Toys on poles are great as well (keep away from those kitten claws). Feather sticks are great and the Da Bird toy is supposed to be fantastic (I haven't gotten one of those yet, although I should have one being shipped to me now)

I recently got a zoom groom brush and it's been really good. My cat loves it and she's hated all other brushes so far. It's a brush that's almost more like a massage tool rather than a brush.

It looks like this http://www.zooplus.de/bilder/1/33548...agebuers_1.jpg and it's very good at getting loose hair out. Probably not as good as the furminator comb but cats tend to really love it and with a short haired thin coated breed like the siamese I'm not sure you'd need a furminator anyway.

I would get cat carriers to have for them to travel in when you go to the vet or to a cattery. I leave Nikita's carrier out all the time and it's one of her main sleeping spots. That's really handy when she has to travel because it smells like her and she's comfortable in it.

Anyway you'll build up lots of toys as you slowly buy more and more

Start out using the same litter as the breeder has for them. It'll be strange enough for the kittens to be in a new place so trying to keep their toilet as close to the toilet they're used to is a good thing. Same with the boxes if the breeder has open boxes I'd start off with an open box. You can change it later if you want to.

You have two cats and the rule of thumbs for litterboxes is one box per cat plus one so you should have three boxes according to that. It depends on the size of your house and how well they get along etc. but that's the rule of thumb.

I vote for Da Bird also but I've never tried it on young kittens. Any wand type toy is great with kittens. Look at the toys closely before you buy them. Don't buy anything with small objects that they can chew off and swallow (like eyes on mice, etc). I also avoid things with tassles because they tend to get chewed off and swallowed.

For litter boxes, every cat has a little bit of preference. In my household I have both open boxes and ones with covers. In general, the open boxes are used 4-1 over the covered ones. And the really big boxes are used more than regular sized ones. Many people here buy rubbermaid type bins because for 1 they are less expensive than regular litter boxes and for 2 they are bigger.

How old will your kittens be when you adopt them and do you have pictures yet?!?!?!?

For litter boxes I'd get one of each (open and one with the top) - see which they perfer.

You do need two carriers for any trips to the vet, traveling, anytime they are in a car. Also its good to have a carrier for EACH cat in case of an emergency and you have to evacuate the house or something. Some cats are fine with two in a carrier, but you would not want them fighting in an emergency.

The kittens will be 8 weeks old... they are now 4 weeks old I believe, maybe 3... in any case I'm getting them around beginning of October !

I just went to see them - pure cuteness The mom is absolutely gorgeous, so is the father.

Pictures will be made available shortly

Congrats on the new kitties coming! They will love the cat condo. As others said, toys will add up quickly, my cat loves pipe cleaners twisted up, so now you can find one anywhere in my house! You will find out what they do and don't like by trial and error, trust me, there will be things they won't like, but thats ok. There is no way to know for sure what they will or won't like. Have fun with your new kitties when they come!!!

Manda

I have pipe cleaners and sparkly craft pom-poms. You can find them in the craft section of stores like Wal-Mart. I buy the large ones. They usually last a long time. When I don't see any around, I dig them out from under the dresser and other places they have been batted. I actually bought a new bag of them today.

I second the drinking straws and Da Bird (although any kind of dangly thing on a stick works for a kitten). I've also seen something called a "kitten mitten" which is a glove with long fingers with pom poms at the end...I've seen kittens go nuts over that.

My two also love ping-pong balls. They're light and they bounce around!

Get a nice tall scratching post, they'll grow up fast and you'll want one they can a good stretch on when they're full grown.

I would also advise having a carrier for each and leaving them out with the door open. My two take naps in the carrier, which is nice when I come home in the middle of the day to take them to the vet

Good luck! Kittens are a handful. Remember they are babies, and just like babies they will chew on things and eat stuff that's not food. I would suggest before they get there that you get down on the floor and look under furnature, etc for stuff that could be trouble. Rubber bands, buttons, string, plastic bags, etc are all things that kitties can get in trouble with. You will not believe the stuff they will find and try to eat .

Can't wait to see pictures!

Do I really need a tall scratching post when I got a 6feet high condo with sisal rope everywhere?

Siamese often learn to play fetch and it can become their favourite game, I find small mice with real rabbit fur are a favourite toy for playing fetch with in my house. My Oriental is also quite happy to initiate play by himself and hop around on the floor batting, throwing, and chasing after a ball of paper all by himself, so toys don't have to be expensive!

Do you mean you will be getting the kittens when they are 8 weeks old? If so, that really is too young to be away from mum, they may be weaned but they need to learn social skills and good litterbox habits from her and the stage after they are 8 weeks old is very important for this development, so if at all possible arrange for them to stay with their mum until at least 10 weeks old at the very minimum - personally I think Siamese benefit from a bit longer than that and 13 to 16 weeks is better for their behavioural and emotional development.

10 weeks is what I originally intended, but no way I'm waiting 16 weeks before I get my kitten!!!

Originally Posted by TigerLord

Do I really need a tall scratching post when I got a 6feet high condo with sisal rope everywhere?

Click to expand...

Maybe not right off the bat, but eventually you'll most likely need another and if you want them to use it, you'll want it to be tall. Usually kitties like to have more than one place to scratch. Scratching is a form of communication. They leave a scent mark with their paws. It's a way to say "I was here, this is my territory". This is why doorways are a very popular kitty scratching area.

We have two cat trees and a couple of tall posts. They are all used. We have a tree in our parlor, one in the bedroom, a scratching post next to the kitchen door and one as you exit the litter box room. They probably have more furnature than I do, but afterall they spend all day inside the house and I don't.

Here's another cheap toy my cat just loves.
Plastic string from weed eater.
I just cut off about 8 inches, its curly and my cat
carriers it around and just has a good old time.

I am soo excited for you. Kittens are always so much fun. Sounds like your new babies will be spoiled rotten

I have this really cool carrier called the SleepyPod that I love. It also doubles as a bed so the kitties are not so freaked out when they have to go to the vet.
http://www.meowme.com/

As for toys, mine love the fur mice and laser. I think kittens take some time to get used to playing with the laser but once they figure it out, it's really fun. I actually use a laser level that we got from home depot, haha. But I know they sell laser toys at the pet store.

Also I have found that the best toys are homemade. My ragdoll loves shopping bags, tissue paper, ribbons, cardboard boxes, and shipping materials like those styrofoam popcorn balls. Whenever I order things online, I leave the packaging out for him to play with for a couple of days.

ouuuuuhhhh

Those sleepy pods look amazing ! One for each in two different colors SPOILED ROTTEN KITTEN

I'm so excited as well, my mother's boyfriend got a kitty and every time I see her it makes me happy... she is simply the cuttest, I CAN'T wait to get my two Siamese!

I think I'm gonna get the Litter Robot instead of CatGenie... people have been complaining sometimes some pooh stays in the box and coupled with the cleaning agent, it smells HORRIBLE in the house. Siamese aren't known to be fat - they're quite athletics. So I think one litter Robot will suffice !

I'm spending crazy for those two little balls of love and they're not even home yet

I have to agree with Da Bird. I ordered one the other day online and it arrived literally just a few minutes ago. I knew one of my girls would like it since she's really into hunting things, but wasn't sure how the rest of the crew would like it (I have two and my mother has two). Within a few minutes, everybody came out into the room and was at least following around. The girl I knew would love it went all out. Poor thing was chasing it so hard she was panting and doing mid air flips! She didn't even want to stop when I called 'time out'! I'm going to have to find a reallllly good hiding place for this.

The good thing about this toy was that it wasn't too bad on the wallet. 7 bucks gets ya started and a few more for an extra feather. I'm not wasting my money on any more of those silly balls they play with once!