Hi I am new here.

[filardimarg-9]

Hi, my name is Marg, I am in the process of rehoming a cat from the RSPCA, she was a stray so quite thin & her fur is a bit matted & not looking good, she is a long furred girl is an adult cat but no idea how old she is. Not sure what they are feeding her in the centre but it didn't look very nice, I would like to get her onto a raw diet after she has settled in a bit, I feed my GSD raw for many years but have never tried with a cat so have got some reading up to do. I have no idea when we will get her yet as we have to have a home check.
I would love some advice on any of this.

Marg.

[bobbys girl]

Hi Marg and welcome to CC. If she is with the RSPCA it's probably the cheapest option they are feeding her!

I have no experience of feeding with raw food but I know there are folks on here who do and am sure they will be along soon.

I feed my crowd wth Felix AGAIL and James Wellbeloved dry, though they do also get leftover chicken and fish from time to time.

Good luck with the home visit. I look forward to hearing all about your new kitty.

[MarySkater]

[cross-posted with bobbys girl]

It doesn't say much for the rescue centre if they don't sort her coat out before you take her, but maybe they will get it done. One of my cats is long-haired. If I catch a mat forming in her coat, sometimes I can comb it out, but if it's too tangled, I just take an electric clipper to it. I've always been able to spot a mat before it gets too big, and I don't need to clip down to the skin, just sort of "lift" the lump out with the clipper. It's less stressful for both me and the cat, compared to trying to groom it out.

I can't advise on diet, but if you search here on "raw", you'll find discussions about it. However, since your cat is an adult and may never have been given raw food, she may not take to it. Cats are fussier eaters than dogs! Something that gets said here frequently is, the best diet for a cat is the one she will actually eat.

Good luck with your new fur baby, and keep us updated.

[booktigger]

Good luck with the home visit, I would check they are going to sort herfur out first, I've never had an issue with homing a cat while a bit thin, and a dull coat if they have been feeding kittens, to get them in a forever home quicker, but not with matts. It could be diet related though, my recent fosters were longhaired, the first few weeks they needed brushing daily or you would find a new matt, then when they got used to a better diet, you could brush once a week.

[filardimarg-9]

Well thank you for the replies, I think they must of groomed her at some point as she was a stray, she could of been in a much worse state than she was when I saw her on Thursday, she only came up for rehoming while we were there. I found a couple of small knots behind her ears, but her coat looks very dull, but then who knows how long she was a stray for, could of been a week or months, some good food (either raw or a good quality wet/dry food) will soon sort that out, I hope.
This is the first time I will of rescued a cat, for the last 25 years I have had German Shepherds, but we lost our last shep over 2 years ago & I hate not having any pets in the house.

Marg.

[Judy Barnett]

Welcome to CC I agree with Maryskater I'm not very impressed with the shelter, they normally get the cat home ready which includes, coat conditioning including de-fleaing and worming. Still, once you get her home you'll soon have her sorted out, the lucky girl. Good luck ps my cat is on Felix and Tesco dry mix and loves it.

[filardimarg-9]

Really excited, my home check is in the morning, 1st October.......looks like I may have to go shopping sooner than I thought.......great.

Marg.

[bobbys girl]

All fingers and paws crossed.

[Judy Barnett]

Good luck with the home check, let us know how it went.

[filardimarg-9]

Well we passed the home check.........I have been shopping for lots of things she will need, a bed, carrier, litter box, a brush, food bowls.....I will buy some food there as I don't know what food they are giving her. I am collecting her this afternoon, oh wow, I can't wait.

Marg.

[Ruth B]

Congratulations on the new addition.

I would say to try and keep her on the same food as she is used to for a few days and then gradually mix in your prefered choice. You don't want to upset her stomach by giving her something that is far richer than she deserves.

Having previously had a long haired Ragdoll cat I can recomend trying to get her used to having a few minutes grooming every day rather than trying for long sessions. The sooner a matt is picked up and dealt with the easier it is to get rid off, but don't feel embarrassed if you find one that is too much for you to get out, a quick trip to the vets will soon have if cleared, and I'm sure that everyone who has had a long haired cat will admit to having been there at some point or other.

I've never tried a raw diet, my three are on a mix of Felix As Good as It Looks, Gourmet Gold, and Gourmet Pearl, with Purina One as the dry option. The main thing I understand with feeding a raw diet is to make sure they get a bit of everything, skin, bones etc as well as meat. The advantage of feeding a good ready made cat food is that they are formulated to make sure the cats gets all the vitamins, minerals etc that they need. Be wary of any that say they are a complementary cat food or something like that, they might be missing some vital ingredient.

I also have to agree, a house without a pet never really feels like a home.

[booktigger]

That's great, fingers crossed she settles in well

[filardimarg-9]

Well I got her home fine, they had groomed her, so no knots, she is very fussy, loves to be stroked & head butts my hand to get more fuss. She has eaten a little bit of Burns dry food. I took her into the kitchen to show her the litter tray but she was very frightened so I brought her back in the lounge with me. Not sure I am keen on the dry food, she just swallows it, doesn't chew it at all, but it is meant to keep their teeth nice.

Marg.

[Ruth B]

I personally wouldn't just feed a dried diet, there is a lot of evidence to link purely dried diets to urinary tract problems. As for the idea that it helps their teeth it might a little, but as I heard it put 'its like expecting a kid that ate only pretzels to have good teeth'. If you want to take care of her teeth you would do far better seeing if she will accept you brushing them with proper cat tooth paste.

Mine have wet food as well as dry and I've never tried too hard to brush their teeth, a couple would probably have accepted it, but for one the vet actually advised against it as he has viral gingivitis and it would just damage the gums. The worst problem I had was with our old Ragdolls, his got to the point where he need a dental doing (clean up and a few teeth extracted), unfortunately the rest of his teeth continued to have problems even after cleaning and a few weeks later he had most of the rest removed. He managed fine once the teeth were gone and lived for several more years, and he always prefered dried food to wet.

[Alice]

Your new arrival is soon making herself at home if she's already enjoying stroking and fussing - well done. I hope all have a peaceful first night together!

I wouldn't feed entirely dry food, even after a rescue advised me to do so. I always feed both wet and dry, with extra water on the wet (jelly pouches rather than gravy). As a change from pouches mine like the pate type food in foil trays, and many shops sell them singly, so you can give them a try without having most of the pack left if she's not keen. I buy them from Aldi or Lidl at 19p each.

Once you, and she, decide what she's going to eat it's worth looking at Zooplus website. They've a wide choice at good prices, and are used by many of us on here.
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats

My two Ragdolls, unrelated, came from a rescue, complete with full pedigree certificates, but have very different coats. Tilly, on the left, has fine, soft very silky medium length fur, but Leo's is very much longer, thicker and coarser, so there's obviously a big variation, even within pedigree cats.

[filardimarg-9]

We just had a little accident..........I carried her to the litter tray, put her down & she did a huge wee on the floor, I am sure she must be frightened, she hasn't moved from my side since we got home. I think I will take the litter tray up to the bedroom over night for a while till she has settled a bit, so she needn't move much.

Marg.

[Alice]

Have you an old washing up bowl or anything you can use as a second litter tray, at least for a short time, so that she's not confused as to where to find it?

[bobbys girl]

So pleased you have her home with you. As for the 'accident', well these things happen. As Alice suggests an old washing up bowl would help, or, as we did in an emergency, a plastic 'in-tray' from my office.

[Judy Barnett]

So pleased she's home. In my experience cats soon find their own feet in a new situation. The first thing Georgie did even at ten weeks, was to go around the house rubbing her face against everything, including the dog, 'thats mine, and that's mine and you're mine'!

[Lilith]

Hi Marg and welcome

Oops eh? I think they do sometimes have accidents when they're new. I once adopted a young cat who came upstairs just as my then husband was sitting up in bed ... perhaps it was his hairy chest or just the shock of the nude, but she freaked and made an awful mess ... all over the (then) trendy yellow carpet ... improved it maybe ...

She was never dirty again, bless her.

I like to feed my lot on a mix of commercial (Felix, Gourmet, Sheba) wet food and Purina One dried and Royal Canin fibre response for the naughty constipated one who doesn't eat it ... visit to the vet today ... why are vets' carpets so errrm mottled? Go figure!

She'll be fine, and so glad she's found you

[filardimarg-9]

Well we had a very good night, she slept in my room partly on my sheepskin rug & partly on my bed, she ate some more dry food, used the litter tray, she has been upstairs all day, hasn't come down at all but did have a big fright......the window cleaner came, she fled under the chest of drawers, that would of been about 10.15am & she hasn't long been out again. I am really not a fan of dry food & she just swollows it, doesn't crunch it at all. Can anyone tell me a good insurance for her please, I spoke to Petplan, the monthly premium is £15.00 a month, that is a lot.
Also can anyone tell me a raw feeding forum, I have raw fed dogs for many years but never a cat.
Many thanks & do apologise for all the questions.

Marg.

[Alice]

Good to hear that you had a good first night and that the litter tray is being used. Sorry I can't help with insurance (I've always saved the money and have been fortunate never to have any big vet bills in over 25 years) or raw food, as I've no experience of that either.

Until you get advice about a raw food diet I'd suggest getting some wet cat food for her, so that she's having both wet and dry. Mine do drink, but I add quite a bit of water to wet food, to make sure they get enough water. Leo doesn't chew the dry food, but Tilly does, hopefully if they get water into their system to soften the food they'll get the nourishment from it. Don't offer water in too small a dish - I always find that the bigger the container the more willing they are to drink! If they see a big bucketful, they're there like a shot, lapping for all they're worth, but their regular bowl holds at least a pint, and I'm sure you know that plastic isn't ideal - ceramic or stainless steel is better.

[filardimarg-9]

Oh I didn't know plastic was not good, what is wrong with it? Just typical isn't it, I have got 3 plastic bowls for her. Are they dangerous ?
She seems to of taken up residence in the bedroom, should I leave her there or bring her down, I am, at the moment, feeding her upstairs & she has a litter tray up there too. My feeling is leave her till she feels confident to come down on her own.

Marg.

[Alice]

I'd agree with you about letting her come downstairs when she's ready. She obviously feels safe where she is (so long as the window cleaner doesn't come too often!) and will explore further in her own time.

I don't see a problem in putting her food in a plastic bowl, but a water bowl is permanently wet and plastic tends to become rather slimy after a time. Others may view it differently, but I've long been led to believe that it's best avoided. My stainless steel bowl came from Home Bargains and holds just over a pint - only cost 99p. I have a drinking fountain, which Tilly liked for a while, then tired of it, so it's packed away now.

[Ruth B]

I wouldn't worry too much about the plastic bowls, i've always used plastic ones for food and water and as far as I know they haven't given any problems. Wash them properly and they should be fine, the only thing against them as far as I can see is they do scratch more and once they start to get scratched they are harder to keep clean, bacteria and such can hide away in the abraded areas, just make sure they are washed regularly, as any food bowl should be. I do have a large ceramic bowl that I use for water but that was only because one of my three decided to play with the plastic bowl and kept up tipping it. I have tried metals ones in the past but never with any luck, mine don't seem to like the metallic taste on food or water.

If she wants to hide away I would let her, just carry on as normal and she will come out and explore when she is ready.