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Have I Become a Crazy Cat Lady?
Updated: Jul 22, 2020
I'm joking. I don't actually consider myself to be a crazy cat lady.
I may be crazy at times and, yes, I have a cat. Oh, and I'm also obviously a lady. But I certainly never thought of myself as a cat person. If I could let you in on a little secret, I've never really been much of an animal person at all... So when Nick sent me a picture of a kitten he found on his dad's front porch, I knew I was in for it. Enter: Pips(or Peppa as he was formerly known as).
See, when Nick brought Pips home, we thought he was a girl. Don't ask me why, neither of us have any idea. Maybe it was because he is such a pretty cat or maybe it's because we just tend to assume cats are female. I was adamant about not keeping him. I knew how much we travel and that a pet is an added cost. But before I knew it, they were cuddling on the couch together and Nick was suckered in. Let me just say, it's really stinkin' hard to resist a kitten's cuddles and Pips is very cuddly.
We took him to Silver Bluff Animal Clinic which was conveniently nearby and very welcoming. They ran all the tests and informed us that Peppa is actually a male kitty. That's when we had to come up with a new name and ended up with Pips(after an agonizing period of back and forth debate). They also told us that he was healthy but a little on the skinny side. We went to the nearby PetSmart and loaded up on supplies with the thought still lingering in the back of my mind that we may very well end up returning it all(I know, I'm terrible!). Well, surprise surprise, one year later we still have our little Pipsy around and I'm certain he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Now, I really do love having a cat. He's so easy! He always uses his litter box and only makes a peep when he's hungry or feeling talkative. He has ruined a few of our furniture pieces(RIP green couch and desk chair) but we've solved for those problems now, thank goodness! He greets me every morning and always sits by my side while I work. He's super snuggly and actually surprisingly obedient.
The purpose of this post was both to share the story of how we adopted Pips and also to share some of the tips and tricks we've learned along the way as cat owners living in a small space.
Vet: Taking your pet to the vet as soon as you find/adopt them is crucial but pricey. Be mentally prepared to fork out some dough for the vet's bill.
Food: At first, we were just going to PetSmart every few weeks and buying the most affordable canned food we could find. Then, I got an ad online one day for Smalls(hit the link for $20 off) and we haven't gone back since. Smalls gets delivered to our door and is made with human grade ingredients. We get a mix of all the different proteins and each shipment lasts us a good 2-3 months which comes out to under $50/month. It's a bit of a splurge but we feel it's worth the cost.
Save the Furniture: If you want to save your furniture, you need SoftPaws claw caps (<- use my link for 10% off). We found out about these the hard way after sacrificing too many pieces of furniture and even beginning to consider de-clawing. De-clawing is considered severely inhumane and painful and puts your cat at very high risk if he or she ever wanders outside accidentally. Pips is one year old now and I first ordered him the Small size then the Medium and I think Large would probably be the best size. I want to say they're easy to apply but Pips isn't used to us restraining him and/or touching his paws so it can be a struggle sometimes. Totally worth it though!
Let's talk litter: We've gone through a lot of different litter options. Litter is a pain but the bright side is that your pet uses the bathroom on their own time and you don't need to worry about it. However, it can easily make a big mess especially if you have a small space like we do. We've found a few great solutions to the litter problem. Pretty Litter(use my link for 15% off) is great for older cats or cats whose health you want to monitor. It's on the pricier side in my opinion but gets delivered to your door and has an incredible technology in the litter that makes it change colors if your cat has an underlying health issue that may need your attention. Kitty Poo Club(use my link for 20% off) is our new favorite. It comes delivered to your door with a cardboard litter box and you can opt to also buy a dome to reduce the amount of tracking. At the end of the month, you throw it all out and replace it with the new one. No need to worry about washing the dirty box. We get the silicone litter and so far, I'm a big fan.
Accessories: No, I don't mean like clothes for your cat. We don't go that far(yet). A few things you'll need are a scratching post, a litter mat, a litter scoop, and a self-groomer. All of these items have become staples and they're really very cheap. Pips loves the hammock of the scratching post but doesn't actually use the posts for scratching(he much rather use our nice rug). The self groomer has been a fun addition which required some super glue in order to keep on the wall thanks to Nick knocking it off a few times. Pips hasn't warmed up to it much but it's a great way to minimize shedding.
Vacay: As you may have learned from my previous post, we recently traveled to Denver for the weekend. We always have Nick's lovely momma come by to feed and check on Pipsy but I didn't want to have to worry about whether or not she has time in her busy day as a nurse during covid to be responsible for our kitty. So we invested in an automatic feeder and a gravity water bowl. I didn't think we'd keep them once we got back but they're just so convenient that I think we might. We also didn't want to risk Pips messing with our new couch(even though he has his handy dandy Soft Paws on) so we also applied these pieces of anti-scratch training tape. It took us less than five minutes to apply. When we got back, we could tell that he had ventured onto the couch but not a thread was out of place(praise God!).
Allergies: Ah, what a joy it is to adopt a kitten and later find that you are allergic to said kitten. This means I always have to shower right after snuggling with Pips. To help with the lingering dander and hair, we bought a small air filter for the bedroom. It also makes the room smell more fresh and the air more crisp.
Smells: Occasionally, Pips will drop a real stinky one and no litter can hold back the stench. To solve that delightful problem, we bought an oil diffuser humidifier. It was super affordable and works like a charm.
That's all the recommendations I have for now. I hope you found something useful and enjoyed the little story of how we added Pips to our family.