Arriving with a cat and no litter box is how first nights go wrong. This is the set-up the book asks you to have standing before the carrier comes through the door.
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The book behind this listThe New Cat Owner's HandbookThis page is the shopping half. The handbook is the why — housing, diet, the first vet visit, and the mistakes that cost the most. Paperback on Amazon · by Casey WhitfieldYou came here from the handbook — this is the current version of its shopping list, kept up to date as products change. Every link is a search, not a specific brand, exactly as the book says.
Permethrin-based dog treatments are severely toxic to cats. Use a monthly vet-recommended preventive made for cats — even for indoor cats, in most regions.
One in the home-base room to start, then a second in its permanent location once the cat has the run of the house.
Search Amazon →Taller than your cat at full stretch, heavy enough not to wobble, wrapped in sisal rope. Scratching preferences harden early — every use of the post strengthens the habit.
Search Amazon →Keep it level and covered with a light towel on the journey; the darkness is calming. It doubles as the first hiding spot in the home-base room.
Search Amazon →Roughly three-quarters water, which quietly solves the drinking problem, and the portioned cans make overfeeding harder. The vet-endorsed middle path is scheduled wet meals as the backbone.
Search Amazon →Fine for healthy cats as a measured portion — a bottomless bowl is how indoor cats get fat. Look for an AAFCO statement for your cat's life stage.
Search Amazon →Instead of an always-full bowl. Start the habits you want at ten years old.
Search Amazon →A monthly trim is part of the routine the book asks you to start in week one.
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