Caring for Multiple Cats

Cats have great hearing - they hear you when you get close to their treats! And they all line up in expectation.

It's definitely best to buy treats created for cats and not give them too much human food. As an exception I give canned tuna to our cats - they like it better than canned cat food and I buy a cheap kind in bulk so it works out well. They also enjoy pieces of turkey in the holiday season! But other than that, their main treats come from the cat food department.

When you have multiple cats they will need multiple types of treats! Here are some that at least one of my cats enjoys; sometimes even two will be happy with the same kind.

Cats must have water to drink. This isn't exactly the bowl we have for the cats' water, but it's almost the same.      

It is made of heavy stoneware so it doesn't tip over or even slide all over the floor. Great attributes for a water dish. It's actually quite pretty too with its paw print design.  

At least one of our cats can often be found in the bathroom. Pippin loves to drink from the faucet in the bathtub - he'll cry until someone comes to turn the water on for him. 

Pippin also has been known to drink from the toilet, and Leo seems to be learning this trick too! So it is not unusual to find a cat in this position.

Although fully aware that cats find a good place to sleep without having a special bed bought for them, we were tempted by the offerings of cat beds and finally bought one.

This is a really cute and comfortable cat bed. It comes in different colors and patterns too - we got a leopard print one. The soft walls can be pushed down to make a bed or stand up to make a cube that provides total seclusion. As you can see, Leo enjoys it that way!

The inside is fluffy and soft, very attractive and warm! In the summer when it gets too hot you might have to remind your cats to sleep on the top - otherwise you might find a "cooked" cat half in and half out of the cubby seeking some cooler air!

Yes, cats do need to scratch and they'll scratch up your furniture given half a chance! My husband has designed various protections for the couch so that helps. We finally bought a scratching post and it's been moderately successful. It gets some use and has lasted well.

This 32-inch post is covered with sisal, which is the perfect surface for cats to scratch, and it's tall enough (and sturdy enough) for them to climb up while scratching!

If you have multiple cats you have multiple chances of getting fleas! And of course if one cat gets fleas soon they will all have fleas. So just use the flea control stuff on all of them!

We use Advantage II on our cats every month throughout the year. Yes, it's a bit expensive, but worth it compared to having to deal with cats with fleas in your home. One year we stopped using it in November thinking it was all frozen outside so the fleas were gone, and then December was warm and the cats got fleas - never again!

Yes, if you have multiple cats you have a high chance that one of them will get sick. Now, you know giving cats pills is not usually a fun or successful enterprise! So, the best chance you have is to use these Pill Pockets - you put the pill inside, close it up, and give it to your cat as a treat!

Pill Pockets for cats make it almost easy to give cats their medicine! They come in 2 flavors - Chicken and Salmon. So you have a reasonable chance of finding one they like. Or, just keep switching them around so they don't get tired of them!

Once you have a litter box you need kitty litter, and lots of it if you have multiple cats. The scoopable kind is wonderful, and with multiple cats some kind of air odor control is a necessity!

And since there's a lot of litter and scooping, the lightweight variety is a must!