Have you ever gone to your local pet store only to find yourself having that "deer in the headlights" look as you scan walls full of choices for food, litter and everything else you can imagine? Which food should you use? Is there really much difference? On this page we'll give you a few pointers based on our experience including our official recommendations.

Food
Which food to use can be one of the hardest decisions to make after you've finally picked the perfect kitten to join your home. We always want the best food for our beloved kitten, but how do we pick what is best? There are so many different recommendations - wet food, a low grain food, no corn, a food with a lot of research behind it, etc. It seems that everyone you ask will have a different opinion. After trying countless brands of food we have finally decided to recommend Royal Canin or Science Diet for your kitten. We learned that research and many years of producing quality food for pets has a lot of benefits - even if the food does contain some corn. We now use Royal Canin for all of our cats in the cattery and have been very pleased with it so far. We have used Science Diet in the recent past and we were very pleased with it as well.

Wet food
We will often have people ask us about wet food. While we know of a lot of people who feed their cats wet food and are not opposed to using it, we have decided not to use wet food ourselves. We made this decision based on a few reasons: First, there is the behavioral aspect. After using wet food for just a couple days it was impossible to get something out of the refrigerator without being swarmed by cats. We could barely cook anymore or clean up the kitchen - they were all underfoot (literally!). Second, the cats started thinking any can we opened was for them, causing pretty much the same result - lots of cats in the kitchen. Third, some of the cats started to have soft stools. This might have just been the brand of food we were using, but we weren't very pleased and were glad to see the stools return to normal when the wet food was removed. For all these reasons we decided to not use wet food - and our cats are perfectly happy and healthy without it!

Treats
We occasionally will give our cats and kittens a treat. Often we use treats to teach tricks. We have taught some of our ragdolls to beg for treats, come when their name is called, and even play fetch. Our ragdolls really like the Whisker Licken's Dynamic duos (chicken and liver).

Water
When raising the kittens we use both bowls and fountains for water. This way they are ready for whatever home situation they go to. Bowls are relatively easy to use and we make sure to provide clean bowls of fresh water on a regular basis. The fountains are a good option for water - and our cats love to drink from them. They can be a little time consuming to keep clean - but we have figured out some ways to make the process simpler. To keep a fountain clean, make sure to change the filter at the appropriate time - each brand of fountain has a different time frame for changing the filter. Placement is also important. Try to place a fountain away from litter boxes, food, and other sources of dirt (like the back door). This will help the water stay cleaner longer. When the fountain does need to be cleaned (usually once a week here, but we have a lot of cats) - take the whole thing apart and throw it in the dishwasher. You will also need to take the pump apart. Our fountain's pump has several little pieces that come off so you can wash it all very well. I throw everything in the dishwasher that I can (using little baskets for the tiny pieces). I then clean the rest of the pump with warm water and dish soap, making sure to rinse it very well when I'm done. I use pipe cleaners to clean the small spaces, making sure to get every spot clean. After the dishwasher is done - it is ready to put out again. This method saves a lot of time and gets the fountain much cleaner than could be accomplished by hand.

We use only reverse osmosis water for all of our cats and kittens. Reverse osmosis water can help prevent cats from forming mineral crystals and stones in their bladder. While crystals can be normal, some cats might have trouble with crystals (ranging from bladder discomfort to serious life threatening urethra blockages) and it is worth helping prevent them. If you have questions about reverse osmosis water and the benefits to your cat, please speak with your veterinarian.

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