Supplies You'll Need for Your Cat

Essential Items:

Litter Box - With several different choices it's a good idea to keep in mind the size of your cat.  Can he or she get in and out of the box?  If not buy a smaller one and save the larger one until your cat has grown.  Otherwise it's purely preference.  Boxes with a lid can help control odors but not all cats are accepting of them, however it's easy enough to just remove the lid if the cat doesn't like it.  Some boxes with lids have swing open doors on them.  Again, not all cats are accepting of this but it's an easy fix if not liked by your cat.

If you have more then one cat it's a good idea to consider having more then one litter box in your home.

Litter - If your new cat is an adult it's best to use the same type of litter that it has used in the past.  Otherwise this tends to be a choice of preference, however some cats will reject certain litter types for no apparent reason.

There are two general types of litter available.  The first is a clumping litter that is scooped out as clumps appear for both liquid and solid wastes.  The other is a non-clumping litter that only accommodates sifting of solid waste while liquid waste is soaked up by the litter.  If you'd rather perform little or no maintenance on the box and completely dump the litter regularly then a non-clumping litter is your best choice.  If you'd rather scoop out the liquid and solid waste clumps to prolong the life of the litter then choose a clumping litter.

Non-clumping litters also come in recycled paper, crystals, and pine as well as the standard clay types.

Litter Scoop - The type of scoop you purchase will depend on the type of litter you buy.  If you purchase a non-clumping litter that is thicker, for instance a pine or recycled paper formula, you'll want a scoop with wide gaps.  If you purchase a clumping litter you can purchase a scoop with smaller gaps.

Even if you don't intend on performing any maintenance on your litter box you'll still want to purchase a scoop just incase something comes up.  They can be purchased for a very nominal fee, sometimes even for free with purchase of litter.

Food - The type of food you will need will depend on the age of your cat.  If you have a kitten you will want to get specially formulated food that is just for kittens.  If you have an adult cat you'll want to get something for adults.  After that there are lots of choices on brand, flavor, and foods that target specific problems (like hairballs, indoor cat formulas, aging cats, etc.).  There is nothing wrong with a diet of solely dry food but you'll want to make sure it is a higher quality food.

Bowls for Food and Water - A food bowl can be purchased at a pet store or can be an old bowl from the kitchen.  It just needs to be large enough to hold food and small enough that the cat can eat from it. 

You can also purchase a 'self-feeding' bowl which is a large bucket attached to a bowl.  It continually drops food into the bowl as food is taken.  These are not a good idea for cats that have weight problems or if you have mixed ages of cats in the house.

Water bowl options are practically the same as food bowl choices only the 'self-watering' types are very helpful.  They tend not to get knocked over like regular bowls and they provide ample amounts of water.

Ceramic or metal bowls are recommended choices as plastic tends to harbor bacteria.

Travel Carrier - There are several different types of cat carriers.  It's a good idea to get something more then just the cardboard box types as this will make trips to the vet (not to mention any other traveling adventures) more comfortable for your cat as well as make carrying easier on you.  Pet stores sell a variety of carriers including vinyl, plastic, fiberglass and wicker.  Whatever type you choose make sure that it is large enough to hold your cat, easy to clean, and easy to open and close.  See the section on Traveling With Your Cat for more information on carriers.