"Newbie" wrote
> [A very sweet stray or runaway cat has adopted us and we, ignorant of
> all cat issues, are in panic. That's why I have a few posts each with a
> question.]
No problem! But need to know if you are actually in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
since you are crossposting to 3 groups and I do not have the other 2
turned
on (to others, apologies for posting there when you can not replay to me
just there). Newbie, its a sort of usenet ettiquate issue to post in one
group at a time. You havent done 'wrong' but i would be remiss if i didnt
warn others about my status until I determine yours.
> First, we want to take her to a vet (Chicago area). She seems to have
> no problems, just basic check up and shots. (She spends several hours
> outdoors each day.)
Good.
> What kind of pet carrier should I get that would be good for this
> purpose as well as longer drives we may have to take later. In
> particular, soft or hard? What kind do you use?
Although a soft one will work fine to hold a cat, you may find the cat
gets
'scared' and pees in the carrier. If you have a soft type, you will have
an
issue getting it clean again. A hard carrier will not have this problem.
Easiest hard carriers have an entry gate at the 'front' and at the top
both.
Also, put a towel at the bottom so if they do 'pee' because they are
scared,
you wont be bringing a wet kitty to the vet and trying to dry the worst
off
as she/he gets examined.
On your other questions (since i am adding the other groups in for now and
want to minimize the issue will reply about the here).
On food, wet is better (especially for a male cat) but you will encounter
some hype as well from those who think only wet should be allowed. It's
actually ok to mix and match a little if you use a higher quality dry.
Never 'alley cat' etc as the ash content is *going* to cause medical
problems later in life. Iams or Science diet are well thought of.
How much to feed? Either all wet in which case generally 6-6.5 oz a day
in
2 feedings (2 small fancy feast a day for example with near 12 hour
spacing
but need not be exact) or dry all the time and an evening or morning 3 oz
or
so can. Most cats will eat about 1/4 cup dry a day if fed a 3oz wet can a
day. Most cats i have encountered will self regulate on the dry so you
can
put in say a 1/2 cup at a time and just check it to see when you need to
add
a little more. If your new cat was feral or left without food for a fair
amount of time, they may overeat a bit at the start due to fear that the
food will 'go away' but they get over that fairly fast if they find it's
always replaced before it runs out.
For litter: go middle of the road for the pan. That one that fits the
normal plastic liners is right for a single cat household. If you have no
dog, clumping litter is fine (and do NOT flush this down a toilet! It
will
clog your pipes and septic!). If you have a dog, please try to avoid
clumping litters. It's a little gross but some dogs will try to 'clean
the
litter box' for you and that clumping litter will do just that as they try
to digest it. (if you have a dog, that cheapest non-clumping clay is a
good
bet and just add a little sprinkle from a box of baking soda then change
every other day). If you have no dog, clumping is nice because much of
the
additions will be scoupable out and you only have to fully change out the
pan every 7-10 days or so (depends on the cat and how often you scoup).
Most cats I have had absolutely refused the litter pans that had moving
parts (self cleaning) and types with hoods. None 'preferred' a deep lip
pan
as they have to jump in and sometimes land on something wet and ikky
<grin>.
They prefer to be able to step in.
Hope this helps!
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