Three years ago I was NOT a cat person, as a matter of fact, I didn’t even like cats and now my inbox is full of questions about cats and my favorite cat products. Find the full story on how I became a cat person here. The short story: I fostered kittens to help out a local rescue and then I fell in love and now they’re my whole life. I like finding the best stuff for my cats, they are spoiled, but I also didn’t want my house to look like I had cats so I set out to find the best and coolest products that would benefit them and not look ugly to me. I’ve also tried countless brands of food and different products to keep them healthy. Here is everything I use for Caroline and Max. Heads up, I refer to them as "the girls".
PLAY
They are obsessed with the infinity scratcher from PetFusion! Both Caroline and Max scratch it and lounge on the infinity scratcher. In three years I’ve replaced it once. It’s great because you can flip it over and use the other side when it’s getting worn. I’ve also leaned it up against a wall so they can climb it and sit on top. It comes brown, black, or white and actually looks cool in my living room. PetFusion has a ton of great products and they all have a sleek look so you can spoil your cats without your house looking like a pet store.
The Cat Dancer doesn't seem like it's anything special but they go crazy over this wire and cardboard and it's under $3!
This mouse Caroline is playing with in the picture is by far their favorite toy. It was recommended me by someone who works at All The Best Pets. You can order it here. It’s made from real animal fur and beware, it will make your cats crazy. They treat it like real prey! They run around with it in their mouths and make the strangest noises. I now have three of these.
HEALTH
Most people don't know this but 90% of cats have feline herpes. It acts as an upper respiratory infection with symptoms like sneezing and eye gunk. I scoop Viralys Lysine into their wet and dry food daily to help prevent flare ups which can also be be brought on by stress. I order this from Chewy.
I also give them Nutramax Proviable DC, a probiotic to help their bellies! Humans take vitamins for preventative care so it only makes sense to give them to our pets. Open a caplet and sprinkle it on their food. (I tried to actually give them the caplet the first time, DON'T do that!) I order this from Chewy.
Any cat owner knows that wretched sound you hear when your cat is about to barf up a hairball, I panic and run to grab something to catch it because they always seem to be on the carpet. My girls LOVE grooming each other so hairballs were a constant issue until I got Sentry Hairball Relief. It's a toothpaste consistently which you can squirt on their paws, a bowl, or let them lick it off of your finger like I do!
My go-to cat trick for anyone with a new cat or having behavioral issues with their cats Feliway Classic and Feliway Multicat diffusers (think Glade but no scent!) that release pheromones resembling a mother cat to help keep yours calm. A year after I had my girls, Max decided she was going to stay under my bed. She would only come out to eat and she did this for a few weeks. I asked my friend from Motley Zoo Animal Rescue what to do and she recommended Feliway. Hours after I plugged it in Max came out from under the bed and never went back! I replace each diffuser once a month and have them in two locations in my house.
TRAVEL
By travel I mean to and from the vet. My backpack from Your Cat Backpack gets a lot of attention. Both of my girls fit in here, they are pretty tiny and love being on top of each other. It’s convenient to carry and it’s great for them to see what’s going on through the bubble. It’s not good for flying because your bag will need to fit under your seat.
FOOD
The food situation with my girls was a giant pain in my butt. It took me about a year to find food they both liked and it didn’t last. I’m finally at a point where I know what they like and I’m a huge fan of the Weruva brand wet food. I do a mix of different kinds whether it’s B.F.F. or Weruva Paw Lickin Chicken. Cats like variety so it’s not best to give them the same food every single day, imagine you had to eat the same exact meal every day. I often mix chicken shreds with one of the B.F.F. packets or PATE cans. The other brand they like is Royal Canine! The are a fans of the "Beauty" can (I actually saw and felt a different in their fur when they were eating this regularly) and the Royal Canine adult instinctive can. I also started feeding them the Royal Canine Instinctive dry food. Dry food was a struggle because I couldn’t find ANY that Max liked which meant Caroline would eat hers and Max’s. They both love the adult instinctive. I recently saw an add for Smalls for cats on Instagram, a company that sends weekly food so I’m going to try it out for the girls!
I often get questions about how and when I feed the girls. I give them dry food in the morning but I measure it out for their age and weight (a lot of cat parents don’t do this) you can find it on the back of the food bag. In the early evening I give them their wet food meal.
TREATS
Cats are so unbelievably picky. It’s as if they are purposely trolling us. Both of my girls like different flavors of treats. Max will only eat chicken treats so I give her these Life Essentials Freeze Dried Chicken treats. But I put each piece under warm water before giving it to her. It’s easier for her to chew and it’s always best to hydrate a cat whenever possible. Caroline loves any treat, except for chicken treats, (they're trolling me!) I’ve been giving her these Blue Wilderness Chicken and Duck treats and she loves them.
LITTER
I am pretty sure I tried every type of litter box possible. Sometimes I had issues because the box didn’t properly in my bathroom or they would fling litter all over when covering, it was a struggle. Then I found the IRIS Top Entry litter box and it was life changing. It holds in the smell, they can’t fling litter everywhere, and when they jump on the lid to get out most of what was stuck in their paws is left there.
As for litter itself, I love Dr. Elsey’s it’s affordable, unscented, and it traps the smell. They make a few different types of litter but I go with the Ultra. I’ve had the litter genie since I adopted my girls and I couldn’t live without it in my life. Instead of stopping and tossing in your toilet and causing a clog, the Litter Genie helps collect clumps without a smell and then toss the bag when it’s full. (It works just like a Diaper Genie). I have never had an electric littler box that does the scooping for you, I’ve heard they are often overrated and overpriced but if you have one that you love reach out to me!
I'm clearly OVER THE TOP when it comes to being a cat mom but I'm not a regular cat mom, I'm a cool cat mom. Follow my girls on Instagram @cmkittens. And to adopt from Motley Zoo Animal Rescue head here!