Of course we decided to take Firefly Girl.
The decision was pretty easy and made early, but we left it a couple of days just because we’re cautious people.
With the deposit paid and the cat in the bag, so to speak, next was preparing for her arrival.
We had a few weeks to prepare, which was plenty, although naturally some things do end up being a little last minute.
Basia, the breeder at Hotfuzz Bengals, supplied us with a guide on how to go about introducing a new kitten, something many breeders do.
I know this as I’d been sent others when contacting them whilst researching articles for this site.
The Room
The first thing we had to work out was where to keep her until she settles in.
Ideally this would be a separate room, where she can quietly get used to her new surroundings.
With a little moderation i.e. moving out bits that may get damaged or cause the kitten harm, the spare room fitted the bill, and with Covid restrictions, wasn’t likely to be used anytime soon.
We did ponder keeping her in the living room in a cordoned off area, but this idea got vetoed (not by me if you know what I mean).
In all honesty, I’m glad it did.
Litter Trays and Litter
We’d read it’d be a good idea to have 2 litter trays (one upstairs and downstairs), so we measured up and worked out where these would go.
We opted for the covered/enclosed variety as we felt these would be less messy and contain smells better (that didn’t pan out…), like the one shown from Pets at Home. Equivalents can be found on Amazon here.
Basia used wood based litter, so it seemed sensible to continue using it. Plus it was relatively inexpensive.
Again, we purchased this from Pets at Home, but Amazon sell similar too.
Food and Bowls
Having dealt with what would come out of kitty, we looked at acquiring the foodstuffs that would go in.
As with the litter, it was a good idea to continue with food she was used to, then introduce something else slowly if necessary.
Our kitten was used to a pre-mixed raw food combined with tinned, plus some biscuits now and again, so we pre-purchased the tinned and dry food to start with.
There was no real need to buy cat bowls when something cheap from a supermarket will do, but we did anyway.
One of them came with the word ‘cat’ written on it, which made me laugh.
Not really sure why.
Cat Tree
Most cats like to look down on us- physically and metaphorically, so a cat tree was a must.
Criteria here included something reasonably compact, that would fit in with the look of the living room (to an extent) and again be reasonably priced.
We considered building our own, but didn’t really have the time, so in the end we went for what you see pictured.
This time, from Zooplus.
Toys
It was easy to get carried away.
And we probably did a little.
From update videos sent by Basia, we saw our Bengal playing with one of the below tracks, so naturally we thought “we know she likes it, so let’s get one.”
What cat doesn’t like stuffed toys with catnip? So three of those.
Finally, something dangling off a stick is standard playing fare for cats, and I’ll admit, the one we purchased had a festive theme to it.
Having read about Bengal cats and their love of water, I really wanted to buy some battery powered fish, but held back.
For now….
The Room Again
In the week leading up to collection day, we finalised the layout of the room.
The cardboard in the photo was part of the original plan to keep her in the living room, but the base we thought would work well to trap any litter (or worse) that should escape (also see The Best Cat Litter Mats 2022).
We’d heard it was best to leave litter trays open to start with, then in time adds the lid, so that is what we did.
The rest of the room consisted of a double bed, with blankets and boxes underneath, a tray where kitty’s food and water bowl would go, a box with a hole cut it in it and stuffed into a jumper (no seriously…) and the top of the cat tree on a side cabinet to act as a pseudo basket.
Plus an office chair.
We added a scratching board (as pictured) and a scratching post, a bit like one of these, plus one for the living room.
We were now prepared in a practical sense at least.
The cat carrier was at the ready…
Further Reading:
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