Yubon or other cat peas

I'm not positive if this applies to cats as well as dogs, but they don't process fats like we do. Therefore, more than a bite or two of hamburger should be boiled and rinsed. It looks gross to us, but they love it.

Definitely a covered box. I would cut the matted fur off, it would be less painful than trying to untangle it. Regular brushings should help to prevent (most) mats in the future.

I haven't had cats in quite some time, so I will defer to others on your litter and food questions, but have fun with your little one!

You can't make his food yourself from ground beef unless you buy nutrient additives formulated for cats, which you'd have to get online and even then I wouldn't recommend ground beef as a base.
Your cat will be absolutely fine eating any wet food he tolerates, but don't feed him dry food exclusively. Cats are obligate carnivores, and adding carbs to their diet in the form of grains really isn't good for them long term. They also don't get enough moisture in their diets with just dry food, and can suffer from urinary and kidney problems eventually. This is newer thinking than when we were kids and were told to only feed dry food to help their teeth (it doesn't). Feed him cat food because it's formulated with the proper amounts of taurine, etc that cats require. I bet birukitty can post some excellent links for you about cat nutrition.
In the end, it comes down to what your cat will eat. Mine are picky about expensive canned food but love Fancy Feast, so FF it is.

I use a clumping, clay-based litter. I like Tidy Cats for multiple cats, but also use Fresh Step. It doesn't matter a whole lot as long as your cat likes it. Some cats like enclosed boxes and others don't. Try a enclosed box and if he's not a fan you can take the lid off. I have 3 cats and with all the scooping I do, it's just easier to leave the lid off.

They don't need beds but mine like them. All 3 are curled up in their own beds as I'm typing this. My old man cat has a heated bed I bought him off Amazon. Try putting one in a quiet corner where he'll feel safer, or maybe under an end table or something like that.



I'd cut the matted parts off, he'll look silly for a bit but it will be easier and less traumatic than trying to brush them out. You can't wash out truly matted fur. Then you can keep up the grooming as his fur grows back in and prevent any new mats from forming.

IMO Making your own cat food is a pretty complicated endeavor unless you have the right equipment. Specifically something that will grind up bones. You definitely don't want to buy ground beef off the shelf. Pre-ground meat has the surface bacteria already ground into it, and the butchers that prepared the ground meat expect that the consumer will be cooking it, so, their equipment and/or handling procedures may not be as sanitary in its preparation.

I got my cat from a co-worker who was fostering him. She had a butcher that made food specifically for cats. It was $$$$, but she had 4 cats in the house, and you couldn't smell the litterbox at all! Unfortunately this butcher is on the other side of town - otherwise, I'd go with a raw diet.

Congratulations on your new kitty! Cats are so much easier than dogs and you are going to love having a cat. They are equally as affectionate and in my mind just as if not more intelligent (but then I am biased-I am a true cat person). To me cats are elegant, graceful creatures that deserve respect at all times. I talk to my cat as though he understands every word I say and surprisingly it seems as though he does. 

Food-I believe the better quality food we feed our cats the less health problems (and vet visits) they will have. It's the same with people. Feed a person a diet of entirely junk food and you'll end up with a lot of health problems. Feed a person a diet rich in whole natural health foods including lots of vegetables and fruits (for people only) and you'll see the doctor a lot less and have less health problems. Cats are 100% carnivorous but they need certain things in their diet (taurine) being one of them that means you can't just give them some hamburger every day and that's it. You need to make sure they are getting a 100% balanced daily diet to fill their nutritional needs. 

I feel my cat the best, most healthy diet I can which is what is called "a raw diet". Instead of a commercially prepared food I buy off of a shelf I buy the meat from the grocery store and mix it with a product I order online that provides all of the extra nutrients my cat needs for a balanced diet. It's a powder supplement. I get it from this website www.felineinstincts.com It's called My Natural Cat and a trail size makes 4-5 pounds of food once you add 2 pounds of meat (I use ground turkey I buy from the store) plus some salmon oil you can get from this site and water. The trail size of powder is $14.50. The small size of salmon oil is 8.8 oz is $16.20 but lasts a very long time. I make up a batch and then put the food into pint sized glass mason jars and stick them in the freezer. One jar can sit in the refrigerator for 3 days. This is what I do-I started my previous cat Biru on this diet when he came down with kidney disease at the age of 14. It literally saved his life and reversed his kidney disease. 

You obviously don't have to do this, but it is an option. Meat is better if it is not cooked for cats. Think about it-before we came along cats caught mice to survive and did they cook them before they ate them over a little campfire? Of course not. They ate them raw. Their systems are designed to handle raw meat and there is more nutrition in the raw meat for them. 

If you aren't going to go this route than canned food is your next best option. Z*G is absolutely right. A diet of dry cat food is not healthy for cats. It causes kidney disease because cats are designed by nature to get some of their daily fluid needs from their food. They simply can't drink enough to fulfill them. Over time if they are fed only dry food day by day it eventually catches up and they develop urinary problems and eventually kidney disease.

But how to choose the healthiest cat food over the hugely vast amount of choices out there? This is a great website-www.dogfoodadvisor.com  Yes, it's for dogs, but it doesn't matter. The brands are still the same and what it does is analyzes the brands of pet foods as to quality rating them on a scale and then explains why. It has the foods listed alphabetically and that's really helpful. I really like this site. I spent a lot of time on it when I was trying to find a better food for Biru when he was diagnosed with kidney disease. 

Kitty litter is a matter of choice depending on what you prefer and then what the cat prefers. You've had a lot of good recommendations from the other Peas so I won't add to this. 

Beds-My cats have always slept in my bed. It's one of the joys of owning a cat in my opinion. There is a cat bed I like from Amazon because it has high sides which cats like-it makes them feel enclosed instead of just a flat cat bed. I got it for Biru who hated it but his brother cat James loved it. You can never tell with cats. It's called the K&H Manufacturing Lazy Kup. Luckily it's not very expensive, only $15.29-$19.99 depending on the size you order. Plus you can return it if the cat refuses to use it. 

You should get a scratching post of some kind. You want the cat to learn an appropriate place to scratch (and they do have to do this to sharpen their claws-it's an urge they can't ignore) instead of your sofa. I like the cardboard ones but in those I like them when they are made into a square like device that is solid so that it doesn't move around. Target had one recently that I bought from their own line. Usually you see them made into a flat surface for on the floor. This one is about 12" tall and shaped like a cube.

If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Good luck and have fun with your new fur baby!

Debbie in MD. 

     I buy my cat's meat from Whole Foods and it is pre ground dark turkey or dark chicken meat. Yes, Whole Foods may seem extravagant to many people, but I want the best for me cat and after my 2 year experience with Biru and this raw diet using the powder supplement from www.felineinstincts.com and making his food this way in which I reversed his kidney disease from Stage 3 to total reversal I firmly believe it is the healthiest diet for cats. I don't mind spending a bit more in feeding my cat this diet. I believe it will pay off in the long run on a healthier cat and less trips to the vet and less problems with his health. 

Bacteria wise-cats systems are designed to handle the bacteria. The meat doesn't have to be cooked in order for them to do so. They eat mice without cooking them beforehand don't they? I do realize mice are different from grocery store pre ground meat, but bacteria is bacteria. There is a great video on www.felineinstincts.com where a holistic vet explains how this process works in cats and why it isn't dangerous for them to eat raw meat if anyone is interested. 

Debbie in MD.

We use an open litter pan, because that is what cat #1 was accustomed to.

If you have the space, you can create a covered litter box using a big, lidded Rubbermaid container. Simply cut a large hole on one side of the lid for kitty access. This would certainly eliminate the cat throwing litter out of the box.

I've also seen furniture pieces that hide litter boxes.

You may have to try different types of litter. We started out with Fresh Step. But, I think they had to have changed their formula because it didn't work after a while. The stuff in the bag, vs. the box, was awful. Next was one that was black. I think it was Arm & Hammer. It smelled like fermenting alcohol. Blech! Anyway, we ended up with Tidy Cat for Multiple Cats. Now, we are combining that with a Tidy Cat that has Febreeze in it.

Food...my cats are fed Weruva chicken (canned). I buy it from Chewy dot com. They also get a little dry from Fromm. Dry can cause problems with bladder crystals. So, I mainly feed them the wet. I love Chewy for auto-delivery.

Cut the mats from his tail. If he is happy being brushed, you don't want to mess that up by creating a painful brushing of his tail.

Does he need a bed? Probably not. If he is anything like mine, he will find a bed or back of a couch that he likes to snooze on. Right now, one of my cats is snoozing in a basket of towels that need folded. Both my cats love laying in a basket of towels or sheets. Also, he may like to share the dog's bed. Again, my oldest cat likes the pups' beds...sometime with one of the dogs. They have a bed of their own that has never been used.

As for toys, you can spend tons of money on them. Or, you can give them the ring off the milk bottle and old pill bottles. LOL! Mine also like their MCD's Beanie Baby that is an inch worm.

This is the best scratching post that I have found. We've tried so many of them. The carpet covered ones are terrible.  

This is the best carrier ever. The oldest cat was impossible to get out of the carrier. After having to dismantle and then put the crate back together a couple of times at the vet, I bought this. Now we can easily get her out of the crate through the top door.