Reddit reviews PetFusion Cat Scratcher Lounge - Walnut Brown, 1 Level (PF-CL1)

Your questions aren't silly! It's great that you're thinking about how you can make you both comfortable before you dive into a new situation. Always set yourself up for success! :)

> do I buy a litter box/food/scratch-post before I plan to bring a cat home?

That's generally a good idea, yes. Means less stress for both of you as you're scrambling to get everything ready for him. You might ask the shelter what food the cat has been eating, as cats can get an upset tummy when switching brands/types. Not a big deal, but he will have poops that are a bit stinkier/liquidier than normal poops. That should alleviate within the week. You can lessen the tummy troubles by doing a more gradual change, mixing the food he is currently on with the food he will be on more and more, until he is eating what you want him on. But you can honestly just do the change, too, and just deal with the sadpoops for a little while.

I suggest a couple of different scratching posts, if you have the space! Cats like having options, like a horizontal post and a vertical one. Cats also like being high up, so if you can swing a tall post with platforms, he will probably like that.

Get two litter boxes! A lot of people don't realize it, but the rule of thumb for number of litters you should have is NumberOfCats + 1. So, 1 cat + 1 = 2 boxes. Clean them often. Cats are very clean creatures (especially compared to dogs) and are MUCH more likely to have accidents when they feel they do not have a better option than peeing in your bed. That's not their fault. You wouldn't want to step on your own pee/poop either! If you have problems with litter getting kicked out of the box, a litter mat can be helpful.

> Do I need to buy a carrier for the cat?

Yep. You'll eventually need to take him to a vet in all likelihood, and a carrier will make that so much easier, as most cats despise the car. I recommend a hard carrier. The softer ones seem nicer in general, but the hard carriers are easier to clean out, and you never know how a cat will be in the car until... well. They're in it. One of our cats poops and pees every. single. time. So he always gets the hard carrier.

> Should I contact a vet before I get the cat?

The shelter might require you to have a vet already, so I'd probably at least pick one out from google search. They might require you to go get a checkup, but probably not. That's more of a rescue thing, I think. Most shelters have their own in-house vet, so it's not really necessary. Don't be afraid to contact the shelter if he seems to be coughing and wheezing. Upper respiratory infections are very common in shelter environments due to the crowded nature of them, but they are also very treatable, and the shelter will be able to give you medication for him.

> How do I train a cat?

Someone mentioned Jackson Galaxy, who I generally agree is pretty good for training if you have some problems. But most of the time, cats are pretty out-of-the-box ready pets. That is to say, if you have an environment that is good for cats (where you let them have some space, where you don't make a huge amount of loud noise, where they aren't prodded and poked at constantly), they generally don't need training. We've fostered tiny kittens that automatically knew how to use the litter box. We also have boy cats who were not fixed until well into adulthood and have never had problems spraying.
It's instinct to go in the box, especially once they're fixed and don't need to mark territory really.

> For those of you who own a cat/cats, any advice for this first-timer?

Give both of you time to get to know each other. Don't force it. He will come to you, given time and space, and you'll be able to cultivate a better relationship built on trust and mutual respect if he knows that you won't force him to do things that he doesn't want to do (especially at first--think about it like building a friendship with a person; you would trust your friends to do things that you would never trust a stranger to do, and it's the same for him).

Cooing and gentle words are generally pretty good for coaxing, as is letting him smell your hand/something that smells like you before you approach for pets. Think about it like introducing yourself. You wouldn't go up to someone you didn't know well and just touch them without at least saying hi.

Every cat I have ever known, male or female, fixed or not, will pee in a pile of anything if it is left long enough. They see it as 'trash,' and I think it just registers as litter. So, if you are the type to leave clothes on the floor... I would try to stop that.

Keep nails trimmed. Scratching posts are for sharpening nails, which is an instinct that they have to fulfill, and you're giving them an outlet for. Some people think it's for 'filing' the nails down, but it's not. It's for keeping them sharp enough to get prey. You'll have to trim them.

And this is just my own personal opinion, but... young--but not kitten--boy cats are best for first timers. I have one girl, and I absolutely adore her, but she is very high maintenance/prissy/touchy, whereas my three boys are all pretty chill. Each cat is different though, so obviously your mileage may vary! It's just something I've noticed in general in my time of owning and fostering cats, that boys are more laid back/forgiving than girls (and thus I think a little easier for a first timer). Young adults are also great for first timers because you have less accidents (though that's generally not a big concern anyway) and they're more able to be on their own for longer periods of time. Older adults/seniors are great too if you want a really, really chill, more stand-offish cat, or if you want a cat that you'll have for <10 years, but if you want a little more energy and time, a cat that's about 1-2 years old is a GREAT way to go.

Some toys that are great for cats include the classic laser pointer, the feather toy, catnip toys, and crinkle balls.

Cats prefer to drink away from where they eat, so place his food bowl and his water bowl apart from one another! Some cats also prefer running water to still water, so if you notice your cat likes drinking out of the faucet (or if you just want to spoil your cat like I spoil mine...) you can get a water fountain for him!

Finally, if it's not working out for some reason, like your personalities just don't mesh well... take him back. I know it sounds hard, but it's best for him if he is in an environment where he is understood and his needs are met. There's no sense in forcing both of you to be miserable. Some shelters let you do a foster-to-adopt sort of thing, where you sort of try each other out for a bit. I like this option, because you hope for the best, but it feels a little bit easier to tap out if you need to. Either way, there's no shame in tapping out. Sometimes things just don't work the way you thought they would.

Sorry for the novel, but I wanted to be as thorough as I could. My parents recently got their first cat, and it's been... an ordeal for them, getting used to it.
It's great that you have some experience with cats though, so I think you'll be fine! Seriously, cats are sort of the next level up from a goldfish as far as easiness. Should be fine.

I hope you and your new furbaby are super, super happy together! :)

https://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Scratcher-Cardboard-Construction-unverified/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511465044&sr=8-3&keywords=cat+lounger+scratcher

I have that same cat bed. The rest of your equipment is better than mine, but on cat beds we are equals.

Yep. Get some soft claws. Declawing cats is inhumane. Would you like the tips of your fingers cut off so you didn't scratch anything?

http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Claws-Cats-System-Medium/dp/B00074W458

Some vets in Chicago will even put them on the cat for you.

It's just like having a nippy dog. Do you want the dog to nip your child? Of course not, but you wouldn't pull it's teeth out to prevent an accident. You'd train it to either not do it, or do it appropriately... As Vultras said, get scratching posts... or soft paws at least.

My brother was bitten by our dog when we were younger, because he also wasn't trained to not mistreat the dog. He pulled on the dogs ears a bit too much and the dog nipped him. Unfortunate, but he was okay, and it never happened again.

My cat seriously loves this thing, both for sleeping and scratching:

http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Cat-Scratcher-Lounge-Walnut/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420413466&sr=8-3&keywords=cat+scratcher

If your cat is scratching "anything and everything" it hasn't been trained well. Pets are a responsibility, and it's your responsibility to train them to correct behavior.

Don't cut off your cats fingers to fix a problem that was caused by you.

This is the one I use that looks the same. Cat loves it and lasts about a year.
[PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)

These have saved my furniture....I go through a few per year.

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https://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Scratcher-Cardboard-Construction-unverified/dp/B004X6UEH6

I find it very difficult to locate non-hideous cat paraphernalia, so I was delighted to get a somewhat mod-looking cat scratcher to entice our cats away from destroying our couch. I have this one in white

I set up their new scratcher, which they are now using as a couch. They refuse to scratch it. Instead they continue to use our new couch for all their scratching needs. Cats!

Victorinox 8 Inch Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife which I got for my husband, we needed a better kitchen knife and this one was rated pretty well by america's test kitchen

Chooka rain boots I have thick calves and these rain boots are fantastic, they're a bit wide too so I can wear wooly socks with them.

My Asus laptop

This cat lounger my cats love, especially my chunky one

And my air purifier

Buy a cat wheel, it's a must with a Bengal, lots of scratching things, a running water source, lots of toys.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X6UEH6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My Bengals love this scratching bed.

It's a cat lounge.

PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher Lounge. [Superior Cardboard & Construction]. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ipRADb6MJVEQS


My cat loves it and doesn’t scratch anything else

Dude, THIS

100% this. This is the absolute most loved thing by every cat that we've had in our house, and my mom had to get one for her kitties too.

Try getting a horizontal scratching post such as http://www.amazon.com/The-Original-Scratch-Lounge-Scratcher/dp/B00115EY0U/ref=sr_1_6?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1381872548&sr=1-6&keywords=horizontal+scratching+post or http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Scratcher-Lounge-Walnut-Brown/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1381872578&sr=1-2&keywords=horizontal+scratching+post

And an FYI...

We have a new adopted cat and got her one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Ultimate-Scratcher-Lounge-Walnut/dp/B004X6UEH6

Best damn scratching thing ever. She LOVES it. For some reason cats prefer to scratch things that are flat instead of vertical. She sleeps on it...scratches it..loves it.

Only the best thing ever. It's helped save the corners of my sofa
PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher Lounge. [Superior Cardboard an... https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_f8Yqyb5KQ67DX

It really depends on what your cat likes scratching on. Some cats prefer cardboard, some sisal rope, some other surfaces. Some cats prefer horizontal scratching, some prefer angled scratching, and some like to stretch as high as possible.

If you're looking for a "buy it for life" kind of purchase, I recommend this one: https://www.amazon.com/SmartCat-3832-Ultimate-Scratching-Post/dp/B000634MH8/ref=sr_1_13

I've had that one for four years with three cats and it looks the same as it did out of the box.

When it comes to my cats favorite scratchers in the world, their absolute favorite is this one, but it doesn't last as long as the plastic ones because it's corrugated cardboard. You have to replace it about every nine months.

If you want to test out whether they are cardboard scratchers before investing you can get a $7 flat cardboard scratcher here. These will last about 3-4 months.

It's THIS magical lounger.

All my cats have loved this:

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Buy this and only this one. Not the cheap version ( I learned the hard way).
PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher Lounge (Walnut Brown) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_Y99BxbGKTF5KV
I have three cats and they like it so much they don't scratch anything else. Also cut it in half for two scratchers.

I've read it's an emotional/physical stress release for cats to scratch objects. I have a large cardboard scratcher (PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher Lounge https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xh6bAbTDE1WWP) for two brothers, plus scratching posts with carpet and sisal rope, treated with catnip. We have leather and fabric furniture and the cats never touch them because they have comfort objects they can scratch on, and are encouraged to do so. Plus this scratching helps to naturally shorten their claws somewhat. We adopted these brothers at five and gave them plenty of things to scratch. I can't imagine anyone declawing their cat. Vets should be the advocate for education, and explain cat behavior in this regard, and how it's not an option.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PetFusion-Ultimate-Scratcher-Cardboard-Construction/dp/B004X6UEH6/

My highest priority item on my apartment list is this couch because I'm moving into my own place soon and don't currently have a place to sit....so yeah....thats....thats an issue.

My highest priority item on my painting list is this book because I really enjoy oil painting and want to learn how to get better at it!

My highest priority item on my hobbies list is Skyrim because my boyfriend really loves The Elder Scrolls and I think he would really love this as a moving in gift.

My higest priority item on my cats list is this cat scratcher because my current one is falling apart and I feel awful about it D:

My highest priority item on my college list is this MCAT review set because I'm hoping to get into medical school and really could use this to study!

My highest priority item on my Owls list is this set of salt and pepper shakers because like I said earlier, I have literally nothing for the apartment, plus owls are my favorite and I really love this!

My highest priority item on my Makeup list is this palette because I really love the colors and everyone keeps gushing over how amazing it is!

Finally, my higest priority item on my Add-On list is cat odor eliminator because let's face it, my cats stink.

Thanks for this fun 'discussion'

https://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Scratcher-Cardboard-Construction-unverified/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=scroll+scratcher&qid=1565708434&s=gateway&sprefix=scroll+sc&sr=8-3


My cat has this one and she naps on it all the time 😊
https://www.amazon.com/Petlinks-49906-Floor-Cat-Scratchers/dp/B01N5RECC1/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=scroll+scratcher&qid=1565708461&s=gateway&sprefix=scroll+sc&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X6UEH6

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make sure to check out the pictures in the customer reviews section: https://i.imgur.com/un9yTpc.jpg

Maybe this? http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Ultimate-Scratcher-Lounge-Walnut/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1449587113&sr=1-5&keywords=amazon+cardboard+cat

Try getting one like this one, this one or this one

Using catnip or catnip oil will make it more attractive to her. I can't guarantee that she'll never scratch the furniture, but most cats prefer things like this that have a better texture for scratching.

Owning two cats is really in many ways easier than owning one. They become lower maintenance. Of course you have to spend slightly more time feeding, cleaning the litterbox, grooming etc, but the cats are happeir, better behaved, and much more pleasant to spend time with, which in my opinion is worth the small amount of extra effort.

In my experience, cats kind of do what they want but you can do some things to curb their behavior. If he likes catnip, you can put catnip in the places you want him to go. Also, you might find it beneficial to get him some more places that are "his" like a cat tree and a laydown scratcher. My cat is partial to this one and will lie in it all the time.


The key to getting him to know that you don't really want to hang out is to humanely give him signals that cats understand to say "hey don't get in my space." Yelling, setting him down somewhere else or scolding won't work because cats down understand that. You can try things like blowing air in his direction if he's on your lap, or get a squirt bottle to mist water at him if he's somewhere you don't like. Make sure it's a mist, and not a directed nozzle squirt.

As an aside, you should probably talk to your GF about this.

Hope this helps, good luck.

My dogs love their bed by Bessie and Barnie. It's so damn expensive (think about 125) but it's got a washable cover and it's super luxe. [see website here] (https://www.bessieandbarnie.com/)

[Favorite treats] (https://www.amazon.com/Zukes-Naturals-Roasted-Chicken-16-Ounce/dp/B000H0ZJHW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1491847332&sr=1-1&keywords=zukes)

Also we got a [KitNipBox] (https://www.kitnipbox.com/) and also the dogs love a [BarkBox] (https://barkbox.com/)

[Cats fave scratcher] (https://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Scratcher-Cardboard-Construction-unverified/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=sr_1_8?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1491847932&sr=1-8&keywords=cat+scratcher) This thing lasts around 6 months! Love it so much.

And if I may state, I do love our Roomba. It's pet related right?
*edit to add pure Roomba love ;)

My cat loves sisal posts but won't touch cardboard apparently! I bought her this fancy scratcher 2 months ago and she's only scratched it like twice lol https://www.amazon.ca/PetFusion-Scratcher-Construction-significantly-alternatives/dp/B004X6UEH6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=petfusion+scratcher&qid=1551210284&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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The reviews rave about how their cats love to scratch it and are laying on it all the time. My cat never does either. But she loves playing with toys in the holes so atleast its not a total waste :p

I got one of these: PetFusion about 3 years ago and my cat hasn't lost interest in it yet. In fact we got a kitten about a year and a half ago and he started using it immediately. Well worth the money and seems like it will last at least another 3-4 years.

The cat sounds like it's bored and has pent up energy. Pets are like little toddlers: If you dont entertain them, they will do it themselves and it can be destructive at times. Here are some things you can help redirect and expand say energy:

Hunt/play:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HHYRTCT/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R3SFBC/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D3NI31Y/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HBC5M6Q/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O127GZU/

Perches/things to climb/scratch
https://www.amazon.com/CatastrophiCreations-Deluxe-Cat-Playplace-Wall-Mounted/dp/B01EXLSKRQ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C5TUVXU/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004BA6LSK/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6/

These are just some ideas. Also go to your local pet store. If the cat doesn't like the new toy, usually they will let you return the toy for a full refund.

We adopted two kittens from a litter of seven, born to a barn cat, who had no human contact until about 8-weeks old.

The male came around quickly. The female, however, would just hiss and run away.

Here are a few things that have helped:

I got my tablet, sat on the floor with a "husband pillow" and played YouTube videos of cats meowing. She came over to investigate the sound and sat on my lap. It was like magic. I can't explain it. My hypothesis is that the sound reminded her of being with the rest of her litter and maybe she thought I was her momma?

Try to avoid making direct eye contact. I guess it's a sign of aggression. When you do reach out to pet her, bring your hand from the side or behind. Reaching toward her head from the front or above can be perceived as an act of aggression.

Next step: get her to sit on the couch with us.
We have a large cardboard lounger she likes to sit on. This one. So I bought a smaller one that would fit on the couch between us. Then we bribed her with treats to get her on there with us.

The couch/lounger thing has taken a while, but now she jumps up there on her own, waiting for us to join her on the couch for dinner and TV.

She still doesn't like to be picked up or held. Next on my to-do list is to get her to sit on my lap.

PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher Lounge (Walnut Brown) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6UEH6/

Our cats are just obsessed with it. One of them is very protective of it; this is like the one thing in the house that he's decided is HIS, so he lays on it when he wants to be left alone. Considering you never know if your cats will like something you buy, it's surprising when you get two of them to agree so much.