The Essentials for Getting a Cat in Ireland

33 comments

1. Food and a cardboard box, anything else is optional for cats. Buy them a toy and they will sooner play with the box it came in.

2. >Cats cannot drink milk. They need a special type of milk. My cats drink water

   That’s one that goes underappreciated

3. As a long time cat owner just wanted to add some helpful info and I can’t stress how important this is. The cat food listed above is not suitable for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores and require significant meat and protein content in their food.

   Anything with “derivatives”, “maize”, “wheat”, “cereals”, “sugar”, “corn” etc should not be fed to cats unless you want to deal with kidney disease and diabetes down the road. Ideally their food should contain *at least* 10-30% protein content. They can also be fed cooked chicken, turkey etc but avoid pork, beef and only give tuna as a rare treat.

   Better brands are Naturo, Nature’s Menu, Canagan, and Carnilove. Don’t fall for vets pushing the likes of Royal Canin or Hills on you, they’re full of grains and carbohydrates. They’ll fill the cat but won’t provide the required nutrition and will lead to health problems later in life.

   Lastly, cats shouldn’t drink any kind of milk at all. Water only.

   Edit: Just regarding feeding schedules, cats are opportunistic feeders, they are built for several small meals throughout the day. And an excellent reliable timed feeder I can recommend is a CatMate.

   Quick note on litter, be careful which clumping litters you use as the dust (clay, silica) is very harmful for cats to inhale and can lead to kidney and respiratory problems.

4. Clumping litter is just horrible in most every way.

   Try using compressed sawdust pellets instead.

5. Cat owner. Neutering, male cheaper than female. A must. House train.(depends on housing situation, garden v apartments) Everything else meh. Kitten food then cat. They don’t care about beds/toys etc. Soft = win. Moves =win. Cages for transport depends on travel. Mine only travelled to the vet. Laundry basket, perfect. There a wild animal that’s domesticated you. How far you go, is on you.

   Edit * they’re

6. Bloody hell that’s a lot. My cats would sooner play with a wine cork or a shopping bag than a specific cat toy.
   They go to the toilet outdoors, so no tray needed unless we’re away.
   They prefer water from puddles as they can smell and taste the chemicals in tap water.
   And they wouldnt touch Lidl, aldi or tesco brand cat food if it was all that was left and were starving. Well maybe the wet food in jelly but not a hope they would eat the dry food. They won’t eat whiskas either so not just store brands. Dunnes and Purina they would hoover down. (same supplier AFAIK though)

   Only essential I would have is a scratching board or post so they stay away from furniture.

   Also get your pets snipped/spayed people.
   We’ve had 6 cats and all have been rescues.

   ETA ginger cats need suncream on their ears. They are more prone to skin cancer.

7. My lad (RIP) stopped waking me up in the middle of the night when I set his automatic feeder to 5.30am.

   He’d have his breakfast then went back into bed for a snooze. It was a game changer.

   Oh and a cat that goes outdoors needs a worming tablet every 3 months if they eat mice (which they will).

8. Speaking from (sad) experience, if your cat goes outside get them the FLV vaccine

9. r/cats

10. Another important one to note, they can get pregnant at just 6 months old. So if they left their mother at 12 weeks, you have about 3 months to neuter them.

11. I got my second kitten recently, and because he wont give his big sister a moments peace (she adores him), I started getting her used to a harness + leash and now we have our daily walk so that she gets a bit of time alone with her Dad.

    Cannot recommend enough. She loves her walkies.

    EDIT – just to add, I make sure I do it in the evenings, when its a little quieter. I’m also lucky enough to have big communal gardens to walk around, so no danger of her being spooked by cars etc.

12. Here’s a tip: Cat toys are mostly expensive and don’t interest them all that much. Buy a packet of ping pong balls and they’ll have great fun chasing them round the place.

13. The cat food you listed is absolute muck. Please feed your cat proper good quality food.

14. Our cats love to be up high and will happily spend all day on their cat tree. They also love cardboard boxes to sleep in, cardboard scratchers and balls with a bell inside them. They have completely ignored the expensive cat beds we bought them. Also recommend the cat documentary on Netflix at the moment!

15. ​

    Best Cat accessories : Radiator Bed, Window Still Perch.

    Best Cat Toy: Cardboard Box, Crumpled Up Chewing Gum Wrappers, String

16. Another underrated point that I think most owners aren’t prepared for is how much some cats shed their fur. The amount of hair I scoop up around the house, the couch, the curtains etc is enough to make a birds nest 😂 getting a good brush to groom them is a must. Also a good lint roller for your clothes and fabrics is so handy for your own needs as well.

17. What are your views on having an outdoor cat in an urban area?

    I’m a big cat lover and we always owned two or more cats growing up in a rural area with plenty of outdoor space. They were always outdoor cats but were real pets. As they got older they spent some time indoors, but always slept in their outdoor cat house.

    I lived in an apartment for years and made a conscious effort not to get a kitten as I would not be home much during the day due to work, and I felt it would be nice for a cat to have access to outside space as much as possible.

    I’m in a house now with a decent garden and really want to get a kitten. My partner is not warm on the idea of having an indoor cat with young kids, so it would primarily have to live outside. I’m conscious of not having my cat do its business in my neighbour’s gardens and whatnot, as I would not like it myself.

    Is it difficult to train a cat to use a litter box outside? Is it fair to have a cat in a housing estate? I know a lot of people do and manage just fine. The roads are relatively quiet (traffic would be a lot slower than at our rural home).

    What do you think?

18. To add: an enclosed litter tray also cuts down on smells, as well as litter scatter.

    Don’t forget they need worming (Bravecto, Parazol) and flea treatment (Spot On) several times a year too.

19. A very reasonably priced way to spoil your cat: [https://fredscatnipfarm.com/](https://fredscatnipfarm.com/)

    If you’re going to buy your cat drugs, get them the good stuff. Quality of Fred’s is fantastic, they always go bananas smelling it through the envelope when it arrives.

20. I always found enclosed litter trays a bit cruel for the cat. They’ve got a much better sense of smell than we do. And while it does stop most of us from smelling it, it’s not a pleasant environment for cats. Best thing regarding litter trays is to dispose of poop asap to avoid the worst smells and use sawdust pellets instead of clay litter ( I’m still not sure if my nose is working right but I think I notice a smell difference between the two) either way, the sawdust pellets are less messy. If it is a mess problem, try a mat under the tray and keep a dustpan nearby.

21. I love cats and have had a few but the fuckers waking me up in the night or just going mental at around 3am always proved too much

22. IMO you need a small cat habitat or some shelves for them to climb

23. >Cats get lonely if they are on their own for too long. A second cat can be a great option if feasible

    I almost think this is a must-have. If you have the space for one cat then I think the only reason not to get two is if you can’t afford a second pet, which is of course absolutely OK. But if you can afford it, you don’t really need more space for a second cat – you just need to stay on top of the litter situation – so for companionship I think it’s best to get a second cat.

    Sometimes they will randomly hate eachother though, but then I like to think that’s a type of companionship in itself lol

24. Thanks for sharing, you’re going to get people disagreeing on things like food, and others disagreeing with them etc 😂 food wise what you listed is on the cheaper side, I’m of an opinion that within a realistic budget, the cat should be given what they prefer rather than what’s cheapest or dearest. My cats get whatever’s handiest apart from the coshida as they just hardly touch it. I supplement that with raw chicken which they enjoy immensely and keeps them in good nick. One of my cats was sort of the street tom and in a bad way, now he looks like a fuckin show cat. My dog is a bit easier and likes the baker’s dry food which is cheap and will it most any can. Varies on the animal and whatever works works

25. Dont forget you need to get a cat, for your cat.

    But then in case the two of them dont get along, you need to get 2 more cats to be friendly with your two cats.

26. Thanks for posting this. Not in Ireland but i just got a kitten and this was v useful!

27. Great post, thanks for sharing!

28. I like the effort you’ve put in the most, but I have to add that different cats can like very different things, especially food. It’s hard to standardize this. Hell, my cat is so picky he doesn’t even stick with one type of wet food.

    Also, I prefer covered litter boxes. I can’t always clean them right away, and I don’t want the dirty box stinking up my house.

    Some of these are awesome deals though. I spent far more on things like the carrier box, and I’ve barely used it a handful of times since I got my little fella 2 years ago.

29. bump

30. I have a cat that we feed once a day, she lives and sleeps outside and has no desire for any other messing. We’ve been feeding her milk for 14 years without any issues and she won’t drink anything else basically.

31. Commenting so I can find this post again.

32. The essentials for getting a cat in Ireland: If you’re renting, go fuck yourself.

33. Is it an outside cat? They will roam and kill wildlife if they are. And crap in the neighbours gardens. Cat people often ignore the wildlife devestation and crapping their little cutie does.