Preparing For Your First Cat

Cat-proofing Your Home

For your cat’s safety, the first thing to do would be to cat-proof your windows, balconies and gates before you bring home your first cat. See our article on How To Cat-Proof Your Home.

Basic Cat Supplies

1. Wet food
   • For wet food, we recommend decent quality food brands like:
     • Kit Cat deboned grain-free wet food
     • Fussie Cat gold or black label
     • Gold-D cat food
     • And for kittens, Wellness Core Classic Pate Kitten
2. Dry food or kibble
   • For dry food or kibble, we recommend brands like:
     • Farmina (Please choose Feline kibble)
     • Orijen
   • Do not feed supermarket brands like Whiskas, Friskies or Fancy Feast as they are high in sodium and could cause kidney disease in the long term.
3. Cat litter
   • For litter, we recommend tofu litter:
     • Cats Agree tofu litter
     • Love Cat tofu litter
4. Cat litter tray
5. Food bowls (Ceramic or stainless steel are best!)
6. Scratching boards and/or scratching posts
7. Toys

What to Do at the Vet (Basic Vet Checks and Procedures)

1. Sterilisation
2. Vaccination
3. Deworming
4. De-flea
5. FIV/FELV test

The basics of sterilisation, vaccination, deworming, de-flea and FIV/FELV test may have already been done by the rehomer. Do check with them before going ahead with these procedures at the vet.

If your cat is indoor and does not come into contact with new cats regularly, it is recommended to only do a first vaccination (without booster shots) and subsequent vaccinations once every 3-5 years instead of annually. This is because vaccinations may have side effects on your cat’s health and it’s best to keep them to a minimum and only when necessary.