As my first cat was a stray and my second was a senior, kitten proofing was new to me when I got Opal and Mica. During the wait for them to travel I had plenty of time to research (and make myself anxious reading horror stories about things that can go wrong). Here's a guide of things to think about when preparing your home for a new kitten, the majority of which apply to adult cats too! Ensure all furniture is stable and won't fall down if your cat jumps on top of it. You can get anti tip anchors to secure anything you're concerned about.  Identify any nooks and crannies a kitten could get stuck in, as well as possible escape routes. Seal them up! Keep breakable items, cat food, human food that is toxic to cats and dangerous chemicals stored away. If your cats are the sort to open cupboards like Opal is, I recommend baby proof locks. We have multiple types and they're all easily opened by adult humans. Put blind cords out of reach. You can get baby proof items that all...

I've previously blogged about my catio, but the really fun bit is finding things to go in the catio for your cat to enjoy. Catios are still relatively novel in the UK which can make it difficult to source furniture and other weather-proof accessories. Today I'll be sharing photos of what I have, links of where to get one (where I remember!) and Opal and Mica's rating of how much they like it (or not). Shelves I ordered corner shelves and ladders to be included with the catio but you really need different levels, so more shelves were needed. We ordered another four from B46 Woodcraft who kindly did custom sized ones so they'd fit our catio. Mica was helpfully testing out the shelves by jumping on them before we'd even secured them, such was his joy. We also ordered a couple of rope ladders, but the cats don't use these as they're a bit unsure of them, and given the size of the catio and the amount of stuff in there already, they don't actually need them f...

If your cats go outside, a cat flap is a must for your sanity. Today I'll be reviewing the SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap Connect. It ain't cheap, especially as you have to buy the hub as well to link it to the app. At £200 in total for both, I'll be giving my opinion on whether I think it's worth the expense. Our previous SureFlap was a basic one with a manual four way locking system. It did the job for our senior cat Mali. As she couldn't climb the fences due to her age, she was allowed to pop in and out as she liked, and we'd have happily let her out at night too if it wasn't for the fact she'd scream bloody murder at any neighbourhood cat that dared to invade her territory and wake us up. The problem with Opal and Mica was that once their fear of the outside turned into curiosity, they soon saw their 'cat proofed' garden as a challenge. Opal was the original mastermind by squeezing through tiny nooks and crannies, but she soon lost interest once...

I appreciate a litter tray isn't very interesting, but it's an essential for any cat owner and having wasted plenty of money over the years on unsuitable trays I thought a review would be appropriate. Ideally your cats should have one litter tray each plus a spare. We have a ridiculous four in total, one being a spare we keep on another floor and yet another spare kept in the catio. I have used plenty of different cat litters over the years and I keep coming back to wooden pellets. It's affordable, doesn't track everywhere, and it's relatively decent at managing odour provided you clean out the poop as soon as possible. My only issue with it was the amount of time I'd spend each morning painstakingly sifting out the sawdust with a litter scoop. To use wooden pellets effectively, you need a sifting tray. I soon found there is not a lot of choice of sifting trays in the UK. Luckily, Brit Pet sells a sieve system imported from Australia. However, as you can imagine...

I know this is a contentious topic, so to start off with, this is not intended to be a debate about outdoor vs indoor cats. The reality is there will be circumstances where cats are not allowed to roam outdoors, for example those with FIV. What I like to think we can all agree on, is that if you do have an indoor cat, they need feline enrichment to make up for the experiences they miss outside. A good compromise is a catio. A safe space where your cat can be outside, ideally freely accessible so they can use it independently when they wish. J was not a fan of catios, so we first tried cat proofing the garden. It kept them in as kittens, but as they got older we had to admit defeat. It was a shame, as provided it works, giving your cats the whole run of the garden gives them more territory than a catio. I would have preferred to get a catio designed and fitted to our awkward outdoor space, but given J was less keen the agreement was we get a cheap one. We went with a catio from Animal H...

It was lockdown 2020 when I found myself seeking out a cat companion. My 17 year old cat Mali had passed away that summer and I was thinking it may be time to open our home to another cat. I'd have happily got another elderly cat, but the husband was most insistent that he didn't want that heartbreak again so soon and would rather have kittens. That's right. KittenS. I was completely new to the adoption process. My childhood cat, Jasper, was a stray. Mali had already had multiple homes and came to live with us because she hated the other cats she lived with. There was a lot of competition, and the criteria is strict. It's for good reason of course, but some rescues do seem to operate a tick box exercise without considering the full circumstances of the potential pet owner. After a few too many disappointments, I reluctantly had to give up with my 'charity begins at home' mentality and consider other options. It had to be a rescue, so when I found an organisation...