I’ve already given my thoughts on the best cat toys, as approved by my cat Benny. This post is part one of a series where I look at everything that has been bought for our cat so far. We’re starting with the basics – the cat supplies you should definitely have. Granted, a lot of these are not the most basic version of something – your cat can just use a plain ol’ bowl for water and food – but they have seen success in my household.
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Cat Food
Our vet recommended a total wet food diet for our cat, but we haven’t fully listened to that. See, my husband is actually very allergic to cats. He also adores them, but we had waited for years before getting one as he didn’t want to be sniffling and sneezing every day. After we decided that a cat was for us, allergy management became very important. A person at the shelter where we adopted Benny actually told us about allergen reducing food, and it piqued our interest. We did some research and came across the Purina LiveClear brand. You can see their claims in detail at their website, but essentially the food is supposed to be able to neutralize a common allergen in a cat’s saliva, which then makes the cat cause less allergy symptoms. We figured it couldn’t hurt to try it out, if it didn’t work or Benny didn’t like the food, we could easily just buy a different bag of food next time.
Luckily, Benny has an obsession with all dry food (not dry treats oddly, but he is super into kibble) and had no problems eating the LiveClear Chicken and Rice Formula. As for the allergies, we did notice a difference in the amount of sniffling and sneezing my husband had. Granted, our evidence is only anecdotal – it’s hard to separate whether this reduction in symptoms is due to natural immunity, OTC allergy medicine, or the food. But it’s enough of a difference that we haven’t changed Benny’s diet, only supplementing the dry food with some wet food as well.
Cat Feeder
So now that I’ve established why we feed our cat dry food, now on to the delivery method. Our friend has an autofeeder and found it to be great – you don’t have to worry about making your cat mad by missing dinner by an hour if you’re not home. We’ve had no issues with the PetLibro Automatic Cat Food Dispenser – it’s programmable for several meals a day with varying amounts of food. It was set once four months ago, and there have been no issues on our side or on Benny’s. We decided that we didn’t need the version with WiFi connectivity, which is slightly more expensive and stores less food. We still check on the food area daily, so we don’t need any advanced notifications for when the food is low or confirming that the food was dispensed. Highly recommend for ease of use.
Cat Water Bowl
Apparently cats prefer running water over still water. There’s probably a few reasons for this, explained by Rover here, but it makes sense conceptually. Running water is likely to be fresher, and everyone prefers fresher water. With this in mind, and also not wanting our cat to become dehydrated, we opted for a cat drinking fountain. The PetLibro Cat Water Fountain is great, and Benny drinks often from it. The tank needs to be refilled about every one to one and a half weeks, which is much easier than keeping an eye on a water bowl throughout the day. We keep it in the always on fountain mode and it is mostly inaudible. In fact, if it is louder, it’s generally a sign that the filter needs to be replaced.
The only caveat I would add to this product is that you really should be committed to cleaning the filter and fountain every two weeks, which is what is recommended by the company. Having a dirty filter goes against the whole point of trying to maintain the best water source for your cat. And even after just two weeks, there have already been hints of that nasty pink mold in crevices of the device. Luckily the PetLibro fountain is very easy to take apart and clean, and doing that for five minutes every two weeks is worth the benefits. But if you know you’re not the person to keep up with changing filters and cleaning on a schedule, this might not be for you.
Cat Nail Clippers
The gonicc Professional Pet Nail Clippers came at the recommendation of a friend who has multiple cats as the easiest way to trim a cat’s claws. We have had some success with these clippers, although to say it’s been easy would be a downright lie. Benny does not like his claws being clipped. No amount of treats or cuddles has been able to fix this. I highly doubt that is the fault of the tool, though. The clippers are swift and sharp and painless and Benny is just a big baby.
Cat Grooming Brush
Unlike the nail clippers above, the FURminator Deshedding Tool has worked wonderfully for us, and Benny appreciates its use. He flops around happily as we brush him, not bothered at all. And the FURminator works. When we first adopted Benny, we thought he had a wiry coat. Turns out, no, his coat just needed some love and attention. With regular brushing (about once a week), his coat has become silky and smooth. There’s always a solid amount of fur that comes off with the FURminator, but never enough to leave him patchy. And it’s great knowing that the fur that comes off with the brush is not going to end up on surfaces in our house. Highly recommend!
Cat Carrier
The petisfun Soft Cat Carrier has been a surprise win for us. We chose a soft-sided carrier because it’s easy to store, and it’s also easy to open from several angles. This one specifically has the option to put up flaps over the mesh side openings so the cat can be more hidden from the world.
Luckily for us, Benny is not a shy or scared cat. He loves this thing so much. He uses it as a cat bed – he will sleep in the cat carrier. This took no effort from us to accomplish – we unzipped the door and he just went in, and then we started finding him taking naps inside. I can’t guarantee that every cat will take to this carrier as much as ours, but I also can’t think of a better product endorsement.
Cat Supplies – Conclusion
Wait, you’re probably thinking, what about litter? Surely that’s an essential portion of cat supplies? Yes, litter and a litter box most certainly are essential cat supplies. But I decided that our chosen litter box deserved its own dedicated post. But what do you think about our basic cat supplies? Have you tried any of these with your cat? Anything I should look into for Benny? Leave a comment below!
