Ordering Kitten Supplies/Kitten advice!

Hello everyone!

Thank you all for bearing with my variety of questions across these forums. I know I may seem dumb, but I know nothing about kittens so Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m here to get advice from all of you wise, kind, people!

Our kitten will be coming home in a few weeks, so I have time to get things shipped to get online discounts and whatnot.

The kitten is male; heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a silver Maine Coon and will be about 12.5 weeks old when he comes home.

We live in a two bedroom two bath condo. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a Kitchen and a large living space. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s big enough, but we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have room for giant cat trees or massive automated litter-boxes.

We have a litter box; itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a covered litter box with a little flap to get in. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll likely take off the flap, as well as keep the cover off at first. Should we keep the cover on? So the kitten gets used to it right off the bat?

The other things I can think that we need is...

Feeder/Waterer: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...#RatingsDetail - I was looking at these from Petsmart. I know Maine Coons have large appetites so I want him to have food and fresh water available to him at all times. Also, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re college students, and we work. So I want to know if myself or none of my roommates are home for like 3 hours if he gets very thirsty he can have all the water he wants to drink.

Scratcher: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2753687 - I thought this would be good since we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have room for a large tree it would give us something he can scratch on that doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take up space and we can mount it to whatever height he needs.

Cat Bed: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...#RatingsDetail - This bed looks machine washable and I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think a cat bed needs to be anything fancy, just a warm option for the cat to sleep.

Food: I got this covered, I know of special Maine Coon food.

De-Shedder - How old should the cat be and what de-shedders are good? This one I have no idea on.

Also what do I need to brush my catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s teeth, and when should I begin doing this?

What else should I get/need?

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m excited!

I got this bed for my cats and another bed that is not on the site.
My cats love the beds.
The bed you are ordering is good.
I never tried a scratcher like that but it looks like something he would like.
I would keep the cover on the litter pan.
I do not know what is good for bushing teeth.
I have never done that before.
I would get a flea comb and some cat toys.
I have a sphynx coming next week.
Where is the kitten coming from?

He's comming from a breeder in Tampa, Florida, Called Pat's Angels: http://www.patsangels.com/

If anyone knows anything about them please tell me! I'm not in so deep that I can't get out just yet.

A flea comb? I'll look for that.

Also, with inside pets what's necessary as far as flea/tick/whatever else needs to be prevented, prevention? Honestly, I doubt he will even go out on our balcony (this is still being discussed but I'm nervous about that even.) What's necessary? What's a good idea? What's not necessary?

Originally Posted by kunskitten

Feeder/Waterer: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...#RatingsDetail - I was looking at these from Petsmart. I know Maine Coons have large appetites so I want him to have food and fresh water available to him at all times. Also, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re college students, and we work. So I want to know if myself or none of my roommates are home for like 3 hours if he gets very thirsty he can have all the water he wants to drink.

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these look fine. i personally prefer the fountains [running water] to this type of waterer - that said, before having fountains i used a gravity-fed waterer like this & the cats seemed to like it.

Originally Posted by kunskitten

Scratcher: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2753687 - I thought this would be good since we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have room for a large tree it would give us something he can scratch on that doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take up space and we can mount it to whatever height he needs.

Click to expand...

the only drawback i see to this is the remounting you'll need to do once he's full-grown - i wonder what kind of mark it'll leave on the wall? also, you may find that he'll scratch other walls that don't have the scratchers on them. i don't know that will happen, but it's definitely a possibility.

Originally Posted by kunskitten

Cat Bed: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...#RatingsDetail - This bed looks machine washable and I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think a cat bed needs to be anything fancy, just a warm option for the cat to sleep.

Click to expand...

hmm... how large is it? MC's grow quite big - he might outgrow it quickly. i'd get a largish bed, if it were me. he'll probably sleep w/you most of the time, anyway

Originally Posted by kunskitten

De-Shedder - How old should the cat be and what de-shedders are good? This one I have no idea on.

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the furminator gets good reviews here.

For fleas you can use Frontline,Advantage or Revolution from the vets.
My cats do not get any flea treatment because they do not have any on them anymore.
I have used Frontline and Advantage before and they do work.

The breeder looks ok to me.
I see they check for Hcm which is good and he is coming at the right age.
Is your kitten on the site and what ones are the parents.
Here is the website to my breeder if you want to see it.
http://www.angelfire.com/nc2/wizardgatecattery/

We're on week 3 of having our first cats.

For the scratchers, our rescue recommended some type of scratching post in every room they might sleep in, because the mostly scratch when they first wake up. We put one in the living room and one in the bedroom (we got one post with carpet and one with rope to see which they liked) and sure enough, the ONLY place in the house they scratch other than those is in our bedroom when they sleep on a big chair and wake up to no scratching post. I just bought a 3rd post today (the rope, they preferred it by far. Plus it has a fun catnip mouse on it that they ripped off in .5 seconds and chase all over the house!)

The other thing I'll mention is to get a bunch of cheap glass or ceramic bowls for feeding (we got them for 60 cents each at walmart) so that you can give him/her a new clean bowl every day and just stick the used one in the dishwasher. Saves a ton of time!

First, congratulations on becoming a new parent!!! If you don't already have this covered, I'd start calling around to interview vets to find a practice you like - I think you'll definitely want to take your new baby in for a check-up when he arrives, and you'll feel better just knowing you've got a vet you trust to answer all the many questions you're going to have! Also, vet can help you with the whole deal of tooth brushing, and yay you for starting it when he's young.

Kitty will want to scratch and play wherever his people are, so remember to have lots of scratchers, etc., in all the rooms (don't worry - you'll get used to your new style of decorating). I don't know much about Maine Coons and how much you may want a cat tree down the road - if there are places he can jump high you may get away without a tree. Check your library for books like Kittens for Dummies - you'll get a checklist of what to expect of your baby, and yourself.

Originally Posted by kunskitten

Feeder/Waterer: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...#RatingsDetail - I was looking at these from Petsmart. I know Maine Coons have large appetites so I want him to have food and fresh water available to him at all times. Also, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re college students, and we work. So I want to know if myself or none of my roommates are home for like 3 hours if he gets very thirsty he can have all the water he wants to drink.

Click to expand...

Well from my experience with these waterers and feeders. the feeders work really well if you haven't got a cat that liks to knock them down. snow does. the biggest problem with the waterer is that algae kept growing inside. and i cleaned it everyday and put in fresh water. yet algae kept growing. I too prefer the Cat Fountain

I second the furminator. I'm extremely fortunate that Zoe sheds next to nothing, but I use it on my Golden Retriever and it's amazing. Get some toys, your kitten will want to play. Laser pointers are cheap and effective. Check out a toy called Da Bird at http://www.go-cat.com/ . I haven't met a cat that did not like this toy. Skip the gravity feeders. Use feeding time to bond with your cat. Use a simple water dish and change it everyday. Congrats and best of luck.


Fuz

bet it is so fun getting ready for your kitty.
Some things that come to my mind for a new cat
vet visit scheduled and ready, brush, litter, litterbox, cat scoop for litter, supplies to clean litterbox, food bowls, water bowls, food, cat bed/s,
lots of toys of all kinds, like balls and cat wands and cat nip mice, etc. and at least one really big cat tree (this is my cats favorite thing of all time and makes kitty soo happy!) and lots of scratchers, and a cat tunnel.