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We use all of this at home. Each card has the free or cheaper version too, and links to the guide it came from.
Five things for the first day, and you probably own three of them already. Everything else can wait a month. The whole story is in the day-one guide.
Ours: Amazon Basics, two doors
The top door is for a cat that won't walk in. The lift-off shell is for the vet, who can examine a frightened cat where it sits.
No free versionThere isn't one. If you're choosing between this and a bed, spend here.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: Trixie Vico
The cover keeps the dust in and catches the one who misses the edge. Get a large one: a grown indie in a small box goes beside it.
Free versionA large plastic storage tub with a door cut in the lid.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs has a compartment for small garbage bags
Check whether your litter box comes with a scoop before you buy one.
Free versionA slotted kitchen spoon, kept for the purpose.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: Pet Pattern, 5 kg
Low dust, clumps properly, and doesn't smell. Start small: a cat used to one sand may refuse another. There are dupes about, so check the pack when it arrives.
Free versionAny small pack of clumping litter from the pet shop near you, kept in a dabba with a lid.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guide100 to 200 ml is the size
Most pet bowls sold online are dog-sized. A cat wants a small, shallow one so its whiskers don't touch the sides.
Free versionTwo steel katoris from the kitchen.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: Amazon's own leak-proof ones
They line the carrier, go under a sick cat's bed, and catch what gets kicked out of the litter box.
Free versionFolded newspaper under an old cotton cloth. It's what most of Pune uses.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: BarkButler
For paws after the vet and the bit of gravy on the chin. Cats hate scented wipes, and a cat rarely smells anyway.
Free versionA damp cotton cloth. Never a scented baby wipe, and nothing with Dettol in it.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideFor a rescued kitten whose eyes are open. The cheapest thing on this shelf is a complete kitten food. The whole story is in the kitten food guide.
2 to 12 months, 80 g each
In every second pet shop and on every grocery app, and a complete kitten food, taurine included. Nobody needs to feel bad about buying it.
This is the affordable oneBoiled chicken or egg at home stretches it; the guide says how.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guide2 to 12 months, about a kilo
A pouch a day plus dry left out is how most homes here feed a growing kitten. It keeps for weeks in a sealed dabba.
Free versionBoiled chicken or egg does the same stretching job.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: the 1.2 kg dry bag
Made for pregnant and nursing cats, and for kittens from about one to four months. Most vets here will name it if you ask.
Cheaper versionThe Whiskas pouch costs a fraction per meal, and it isn't a compromise you need to apologise for.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideAfter four months
It takes over from Mother & Babycat once the kitten is four months old. A sound choice if money isn't the constraint.
Cheaper versionWhiskas kitten pouches and dry food.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideHair on everything, office clothes included. What actually works in a Pune flat. The whole story is in the cat hair guide.
Ours: the regular tear-off kind
After the carrier, the most useful thing we have bought. It's the only kind that works quickly on office clothes before work.
Free versionA loop of brown packing tape round your fingers, sticky side out.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideThe one I love
My cats tolerate it best of everything we've tried, and the fine mist traps the fur. Indies have short hair, but they still shed.
Free versionAny comb. A plastic one from the corner shop works.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: KENT Duster, 600 W, bagless
Its narrow nozzle fits the window groove exactly. Once a week along the grooves and the skirting, and never the floor.
Free versionAn old toothbrush to loosen the felt, and a damp cloth wrapped on a butter knife to pull it out. Twenty minutes instead of two.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideOurs: Presto Elite, two microfibre heads
Fine hair and dust bind into a grey film in the corners, so a tiled floor with a cat needs mopping. This one leaves it dry in five minutes.
Free versionA bucket and a well-wrung cotton pocha.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guidePee on the bed, vomit on the tiles. One purchase keeps the clean-up short. The whole story is in the accidents guide.
Ours: Wakefit, about ₹750
The best purchase I've made as a cat person. Kitchen towels, strip the sheet, an ordinary wash, and that's the whole routine.
Free versionA sheet of thick plastic or an old rexine cover between the mattress and the sheet. It crackles, and it works.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideNet the balcony and the windows before the cat comes home. The whole story is in the netting guide.
Ours: Mr Right's
The same net Pune puts up against pigeons. A cat can't tear it with its own body weight, and this one has lasted longer than the others we've had. The listing says fitting is included; check that it covers your area.
No free versionAny pigeon-net fitter will put one up, or bring his own net, for a few thousand rupees.
See on Amazon Read why, in the guideThings that cost more. Each will get its own guide, with the reasons in full.
Ours: Petverse
It cost about ₹20,000 and I bought it out of real need: litter work is just so unpleasant.
Cheaper versionA big covered box, scooped every day (the day-one shelf above).
See on AmazonOurs: Amazon Basics, sisal posts
Homes here are small, and cats like vertical space.
Free versionA cleared shelf or the top of a cupboard, with a way up. A new cat often picks one on its own.
See on AmazonOurs: Imou. Mine is an older model that's no longer sold; this is the current one
It's sold for home security, not pets, which may be why it was cheap. The night vision is great and the cloud storage works reliably. Friends keep asking me what it is.
Free versionAn old phone running a free home-camera app does the basic job.
See on AmazonOurs: HoneyGuaridan, stainless steel
Meals on a timer, for the days you're out late or away overnight.
Free versionA friend or a sitter who drops in.
See on AmazonWe're @catadoption_pune on Instagram. If something here didn't work for your cat, tell us that too.