Here I will try to describe how we take care of our cats and kittens. Please keep in mind there are no “universal instructions” and that different breeders will suggest different things. I am doing what I have learned from my mentor, from other breeders, and from my own experience. This is just a suggested guideline for the new cat owners.
Food
We feed cats both dry and wet food. We don’t feed raw for just one reason – I don’t trust the supermarkets for the raw meat quality. That does not mean we don’t give them every now and then some previously frozen fish or meat as a treat (salmon, beef, chicken).
As for dry food, we use the mixture of different brands. We mix them in the same amounts and serve our cats. Dry food is constantly available to them. This mixture for the kittens consists of the following food (all available through ZooPlus):
- Taste of the Wild – Rocky Mountain Feline
- Applaws Kitten
- GranataPet DeliCatessen Kitten Geflügel
- Wild Freedom Kitten “Cold River” (chicken+salmon)
- Concept for Life Maine Coon Kitten
The mixture for the adults (14 months old) is similar:
- Taste of the Wild – Rocky Mountain Feline
- Applaws Adult Ocean Fish with Salmon
- GranataPet DeliCatessen Adult Kaninchen & Lamm (Coney & Lamb)
- Wild Freedom “Spirit of Africa” (chicken+beef+catfish)
- Concept for Life Maine Coon Adult
If we have both kittens and adults, we just mix all 13 different food with a double dose of “Taste of the Wild”.
The mixture for the neuters (14 months old) is similar:
- Taste of the Wild – Rocky Mountain Feline
- Applaws Senior Chicken
- GranataPet DeliCatessen Adult Kaninchen & Lamm (Coney & Lamb)
- Wild Freedom Adult “Cold River” Sterilized (chicken + salmon)
- Concept for Life Maine Coon Adult
As for wet food, we use high quality different brands we switch every day. These brands are Cosma Nature, Cosma Asia, Almo Nature Natural, Porta21, Miamor Feline Filets Naturelle, as well as GranataPet and Wild Freedom. We try getting all different tastes and switch them around so that the same taste doesn’t come too often. We give them wet food in the morning.
Water
We have found out that having a water fountain is a must! It makes them drink a lot which is really important having them on dry food. After trying different fountains, there is only one I would dare to suggest, available at ZooPlus too: Catit Design Fresh & Clear (3 liters is much much better than the smaller one). It is extremely easy to use, just adding fresh water to it and changing a filter every 4-6 weeks. Also it is not loud at all and cats don’t tend to spill the water out of it.
Litter/Toilet
We use closed litter trays, usually having one XL in size per two cats. After trying many different brands of the litter, we have decided how EverClean Multiple Cat works the best. It is not the cheapest one on the market, cannot be ordered through Zooplus, but it is very economical and we stick to it. We mark the tray with 5cm and 7cm lines, fill up to 7cm and add more when it drops to 5cm line. This litter is extremely easy to clean and works very well in removing any kind of odors. Changing the entire litter and cleaning the trays happens only every three months or so, unless it gets unusually dirty (softer stool or any other reason).
Deworming
For deworming our cats we use Milbemax 16mg/40mg (it is called Milprazon 16mg/40mg in Croatia and Slovenia). The schedule is simple, I give them the appropriate dosage each February, May, August and November on the 15th day and repeat 14 days after.
Grooming and nails
I groom my cats at least once a week. Before grooming, I usually check and clip their nails watching not to cross the pink line because that hurts.
Immunization
All our cats are vaccinated for RCP (core feline vaccine), against Rabies and against Feline Leukemia (FeLV) on yearly basis. We suggest using Virbac vaccines or PureVax (Merial) if you cannot get a hold of Virbac. RCP is given in the shoulder area, Rabies in the right leg and FeLV in the left leg.
All our kittens follow this schedule:
- 8 weeks – Virbac Leucofeligen
- 12 weeks – Virbac Leucofeligen
- 14 weeks – Rabisin (Merial)
- 16 weeks – Virbac Leucofeligen (yes! the third time!)
Afterwards, we try to have Rabies vaccine be given two weeks before Leucofeligen every year.
Safety
Please do your best in protecting your cat! Remove any poisonous plants. Watch out for any heavy objects that could be tilted and dropped on your cat. They love the flower post and vases, so be careful they don’t tilt them and hurt themselves. Do not leave any strings around for them to choke on (dental flux or similar). Watch out before turning the washer, dishwasher, dryer, etc. Do not leave the cooked bones unattended – they can kill themselves eating them.
Protect your windows and balconies!!! All our windows have a mosquito nets on them, firmly fixed so our cats can’t fall out. We do not let our cats to our balcony if the protective net is not fixed. It takes only a second for an accident to happen!
Of course, there are many other things cat owners should watch for but it is difficult to write them all down. Just use your common sense… and feel free to ask anytime!