Essential kitty care references for the cat parent

NOTE:

the contents of this page is created by the tipped ear clan minions, and is based on our experience and research. While we’re happy to share – which is why we have it online – we must make it clear everything here should not be treated as a substitute for screening: the onus is on fosters who use this page as reference for potential adopters to ensure that all pertinent concerns or details are duly communicated and/or addressed. Fosters who use this page do not represent us minions nor do we represent them in any way.

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• Every cat parent, new or experienced has known the taste of “cluelessness”, so you’re in good company! And there is no denying that even if you do have experience with cats, updates and refreshers on your knowledge can only be beneficial. It never hurts to upgrade where tlc for your brood is concerned, because If You Take the Time To Understand Them, Cats Make Great Pets.
• Looking to adopt? If you haven’t done so, please also think about the Questions the potential cat parent must consider. Better yet, read Top 10 Mistakes by New Cat Owners for a quick quick primer, even if you’re not new to cat-parenting.

Cat Info/Ref
There’s a lot of references available, you just need to commit the time to understand the basics for a start.
- If you prefer to read a book together with your kitties, try the nlb. They have any number of petcare reference books available for loan.
- alternatively, if you’re online alot, these are some good web-based references:

• About Cats website:
  • Cats for Beginners
  • Cat Food and Nutrition
  • Top 10 Mistakes by New Cat Owners
  • Spay & Neuter for Cats
  • Litter Box Essentials
  • Feline Behavior Issues and Training
  • You and Your Cat – Bonding – Maximizing Your Relationship
  • Commonly Answered Questions About Cats
• PetsEducation.com>Cats (Good list of reference reading. But if it’s not here, there’s always google)
  • Note especially: Quick, call the vet!
• healthtalks (home site: http://groups.msn.com/singaporecats), also useful for quick guides. Some stray cat care-givers also frequent the group.
• Dawn’s blog: where the director of operations for Cat Welfare Society, their only full time paid staff, talks about the work she does for the society. It is really useful, even if you are not caring for stray cats, as it will teach you awareness of issues that concern cats, homeless or not. And please do STERILISE if you are feeding or caring for any homeless cats.

Oh, and check out our Kitty TLC category or the tlc page for other cat-minion requisite education, note especially

• Hey, what’s that in my food dish?? in the cat parent checklist.
• Don’t give old Jolly Rogers a chance to laugh at your pet’s expense (cat hazards – from flowers to chemicals)

If you need help understanding the terms used to describe a cat’s coat patterns and coloures, refer to “My cat is a what what what?“

Essentials Shopping
This is a very basic shopping list if you’ve never prepared to fetch a kitty baby home before. As far as possible, do also consider How to Green Your Pet while doing your shopping:

• carrier
• scratchpost
• food
• litter and litterbin
• drinking fountain
• toys
• window mesh
• Micro-chipping: cat NRIC
• Collars (optional)

And here’s a list of handy contacts you might find useful.

Also refer to the tec Cat supplies bulletin.

O, and before you go out and filch a kitty, please consider: Introducing a new kit into the bloc: How To Avoid the “Wham! Bam! Hissy-Fits” Syndrome

Readings ref

• From time to time, tec gets in a bit of education we’d like to share with you. So do check out our book reviews and caterati posts.
• This blog, started by a new cat-parent offers commiseration, and is a good reference for seeing new cat-parenting in action.

(Created: 4 Apr 06. Updated 10 Dec 07)