Essential Guide to Owning and Caring for a Cat in Germany

Last updated on December 14th, 2022 at 08:08 pm

Are planning to get a cat, specifically a Maine coon cat in Germany very soon? Here are some things you should sort out before you own a cat in Germany.

Over half of the Germans share their life with a pet. Germany’s number one pet remains – the cat. Sorry doggo fans! Currently, there are a total of 14.8 million moggies live in 23% of households in Germany. 

So no one will raise any brows if you decided to get buy or adopt a cat in Germany.

In this post, I will cover everything about owning a cat in Germany. Right from where to find a cat to prepare your home for a new cat in Germany.

Disclaimer: This blog post may include affiliate links. These links do not cost you anything but I might earn a small commission if you decide to order something from one of my recommended partners. Thank you for your support to help keep this platform growing!

Where to get a cat in Germany

If you want to get a cat in Germany – read this article. In this post, you could learn how and where you can adopt a cat in Germany. I’ve also added some tips for responsibly buying a cat from breeders in Germany.

Read my guide on how to get a pet in Germany

What to do when you buy or adopt a cat in Germany

Adopting or buying a cat in Germany is pretty much similar to anywhere else in the world. Here are some of the things to do when you get a cat in Germany.

Register your cat with the local vet

So you have decided to own a cat in Germany, but do you have a vet already?

It is highly recommended to register your cat at your local vet as soon as you welcome it into your home. You can easily find a veterinarian or veterinary clinic nearby in the Veterinary Online Directory.

There’s actually no requirement to do this right away. But sometimes clinics run out of capacity to take new patients. Once you register your cat with your local vet as a patient you can take your kitty the moment he gets sick without a long waiting time.

Get your cat microchipped and vaccinated

If you are adopting a cat in Germany, chances are it might be microchipped already.

If not, then getting your cat microchipped is one of the first things you should do as a cat owner in Germany. Microchipping is your pet’s permanent identification number. Having a registered microchip increases the chances that a lost or stolen cat will be returned home to you. Your cat will also need a microchip when you travel abroad and throughout the EU.

You can get your new cat microchipped at any local vet practice. Your cat should also get vaccinated against rabies as well as certain types of cat illnesses such as feline flu. Your vet will guide you regarding the right vaccinations for your cat in Germany.

Get your cat neutered or spayed

This rule applies if you live in Berlin and if you plan to let your cat go outdoors.

The new measures, introduced on June 2022 state the requirement for cat owners in Germany to have their cat neutered or spayed and microchipped if it is to leave the owner’s house.

If the new regulations are violated, Berlin authorities can seize the cat and can compel its owners to neuter the cat.

Assess whether you need pet health insurance in Germany

This is one is optional but can be quite handy on occasion.

Vaccinations, castrations or sterilisations are not that pricey in Germany and are often not covered by pet health insurance in Germany. However, vet bills can get quite expensive in Germany for bigger treatments.

It might be anecdotal but I’ve heard stories by our Maine coon’s breeder, and our neighbours of spending 1000s of euros on unplanned medical procedures- one neighbour’s cat jumped off the balcony fracturing a limb, another cat swallowed something inedible and the other had a hip issue due to old age.

Some cats, such as Maine Coons have some hereditary health issues. They include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hip dysplasia and spinal muscular atrophy.

However, I still have not met anyone who recommended pet health insurance in Germany, even professional breeders. Most Germans get only operation coverage for their cats.

AGILA OP-Kostenschutz

Since healthy young cats may not need any sudden medical treatments, you can also do without cat health insurance granted you to set aside a reserve for emergencies and save up money for unplanned medical treatment for the kitty.

If you really want to create a safety net, it can be useful to take out just surgery cost insurance to get part of the expensive surgery costs reimbursed. The premiums for such tariffs are lower than the more comprehensive policies.

AGILA is a provider specialising in house pet health insurance in Germany. They provide operation coverage starting at just 5,90 € per month.

How to cat-proof your house 

After sharing my life with a cat for over a year I have concluded that they are inherently suicidal. When our cat is not destroying plants or laptops or our telly, I will catch him about to do something that could hurt him. 

So here are some things I have learned about cat-proofing our apartment over the past year. 

Balcony safety net or window protection net

Do you live in an apartment a few storeys above and want to allow your cat on the balcony? Then please consider getting a balcony safety net. I’ve heard at least two horror stories (one from my own neighbour) of cats jumping off the balcony probably trying to chase a bird. 

The result was an injured cat and a very expensive visit to the vet. 

All of this hassle can be avoided by buying a simple window or balcony protection net for just a few euros.

PiuPet® Katzennetz is one of the many balcony nets available in Germany that you can easily install on your balcony or window and give your indoor cat safe views of birds and bees. 

A word of caution: Before ordering a balcony net, review your rental contract to check whether you are allowed to drill on balcony walls to avoid any future problems with your landlord. Our contract states otherwise, so, unfortunately, we could not put a net in our balcony without drilling.

However, there are also balcony nets which can be installed without any drilling. This cat protection net costs only €25 and can be installed without drilling the walls – so you won’t even have to ask your landlord 😉 

Cable protectors

As a first-time cat owner, one of the most shocking revelations was – chewed-up mutilated cables. Our cat just wants to bite the cables, all the cables in the world. 

For one, a pet chewing electric cables is dangerous for obvious reasons. But it can also get expensive at times. 

I had to replace my Macbook charger within two months of bringing Jonesy home. Bloody cat chewed it to the point where it just stopped charging my laptop. Later, he chewed up his water fountain’s cable disrupting his own water supply.

Now your turn to tell me the dumbest thing your cat has ever done! 😉 

I tried everything from rubbing hot sauce on the cables to sticking cables under tables with cord organisers. He was just too motivated to chew the wires. 

The only thing that protected our cables from Jonsey’s bite of death is using cable protectors. These things are made of pretty hard material and go over the cords like casings. Even if the cat is determined to chew up the wire he just cannot get through the casing. 

I use this sturdy transparent wire protector for office electronics like lamps, and power cords because our cat spends a lot more time there. This cable wrap has also effectively deterred Jonesy from biting through our longer cables. If you need to protect shorter cables from your cat, you can just cut them to match the length.

How to prepare your home for a cat in Germany

Maine coons are not very high-maintenance kitties. However, their large size and temperament call for some special attention to their day-to-day needs. Here are some essential supplies for any Maine coon cat owner. 

Cat transport box

You will need a cat transport box to transfer your cat. If you want to travel with your cat, take him to the vet, or on vacation – your cat should only be carried in a suitable cat transport box.

With a transport box for Maine Coon cats, you can make your cat’s journey as pleasant and stress-free as possible. Plus it is safer for EVERYONE if your kitty is restricted in a box while you’re driving.

We knew that our cat will grow up to be a big long boy, so we got an XXL carrier for him especially for Maine Coons. It definitely was too big for him when he was a small kitten. Now that he’s a bit bigger, it paid off whenever we go on a road trip with the cat. He can comfortably stretch and sleep in it for hours.

Our cat’s transport box also doubles up as his bed whenever we take him on a holiday with us.

Cat tree and bed

Since our cat is an indoor ‘travelling’ cat, and we have a lot of windows in our apartment, we decided to keep cat trees and window perches in every room. This way Jonesy can have his own space and it doesn’t lead to territorial issues with our sitting area. 

Since he’s expected to be a large cat we decided to get cat trees that are suitable for Maine coons. 

We have a ceiling height cat tree for the living room. It’s still sturdy even though Jonesy is now over 7 kilos. We wanted a minimalist-looking cat tree with enough perches and a cave for the kitty. And I have to say it has been a good combination of value for money and quality.

 

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We also got a medium-sized cat tree for my home office, where Jonesy likes to spend most time snoring on the window next to me. He has outgrown the top perch but still just loves to sleep on it. 

But our Maine Coon’s favourite bed is this cat heater hammock. It’s compact and foldable and can be hung on a surface like a radiator. We even take it when we go on holiday with Jonesy. This way he always has one of his favourite cosy places even when he’s not home – that’s when he’s not looking out of windows from one of these window sill perches.

Cat litter 

Maine coons don’t need any special cat litter. I have tried 4-5 different brands and types of cat litter in Germany. 

Initially, we started out with Cat’s Best Öko Plus/Original because that’s what our cat’s breeder used with her cats. We decided to keep the same litter to make the transition easier for our kitten. Unfortunately, it didn’t clump too well, and I had to spend a long time scooping up the small chunks of cat poop and pee in the box. Plus the tiny wooden pellets would get stuck in our cat’s long fur and eventually end up ALL over the house. 

Next, we tried a scented clumping litter by Karlie. This was by far the best clumping, the most odour-controlling and the easiest-to-scoop cat litter we used to date. Unfortunately, I must be allergic to something in it because every time I started cleaning I would end up with a bout of sneezes and sniffles. 

I found that a mix of unscented wooden pellets and strong clumping litter like Biokat’s Diamond Care Fresh works best for our allergies and the cat. 

Whenever he leaves a particularly stinky mess for us, we just add a cat litter deodorant like Biokat’s Active Pearls with the regular litter, and it clears up the funk very quickly. 

Cat litter box 

Before coming to us, our kitten had only ever used large open litter trays. When we were preparing our home for Jonesy I read many blogs recommending that open litter pans are the best for the cat. So we got two and placed them in separate rooms.

It worked well, for a while. Jonesy stopped using one of the litter trays after a few months simply because he grew too large for it. As for the second litter tray, we kept having clean-up issues with it. 

You see sometimes our cat kicks back to cover up his poop and in the process flings all of the litter box contents including his poop outside the tray.

He also has a habit of sitting in the litter tray one moment and then suddenly bolting off the next- leaving a trail of poop or pee smudges in his wake. It’s almost as if he suddenly remembered he left the oven on in the kitchen.

Every day we had to spend a long time just cleaning up after him. If you already live with a cat you would agree that smears of poop and pee everywhere in the house are NOT fun. 

Eventually, it got too tedious to wipe and disinfect the entire house daily so reluctantly ordered Catit Jumbo Hooded Cat Litter Box, an XXL litter box with a lid and flap. Its size is also perfect for a Maine Coon cat.

And boy has this been a life saviour. 

Initially, I was worried that Jonesy will hate it and it would lead to even more toilet issues. But it took just one evening of training him with treats. It worked like a charm and he has been using the litter box without any accidents.

We still have occasional grains of cat litter sticking in his thick long fur, but it’s hardly a mess. He has never tried to sprint in the middle of using this litter box so no more poop trails for us to clean up.

ProTip: You can also place the old litter tray inside the new hooded litter box AND leave the lid open for the first few days to make the transition easier for the cat. 

Cat food in Germany

Thankfully our cat is not a picky eater when it comes to dry food. We have tried and tested various dry food for cats and he devours everything. Talk about low maintenance!

Based on our Maine Coon’S response, we bulk purchase Whiskas dry food that comes in a pack of 5 and Purina ONE Indoor Advantage.

We do not ration dry food for our Maine Coon. It is available to him throughout the day. He does not have a diet problem and never seems to over-eat.

He is, however, picky with wet food. We have tried several brands, and now we know that there are some specific brands that he seems to prefer. Just like dry food, we order wet food in bulk as well. Our Main coons favourite wet food is Whiska assorted collection. We just pick the pack without any fish because Jonesy seems to have tummy issues every time. 

We have also had success with Purina Fancy Feast whenever we were out of Whiskas. 

You may have heard that Maine Coons are very trainable cats. So much so that you can take them on walks and holidays.

Cat treats are must-haves if you want to harness and leash train your cat with a clicker.  Our cat absolutely goes crazy over soft treats like Sheba Meaty Tender Sticks or Gimcat Malt Soft Paste.

Other cat accessories and toys

Cat water fountains are not necessary but are recommended for cats since they like to drink fresh water.  

Cute fountains such as this are very convenient because they are low maintenance and need a change of filters once a few months. They are also sturdy, as long as you protect the cable (in case your cat is a chewer like ours) you can keep him supplied with water 24/7.

As for the cat toys, I feel like all cat toys will go unused or ignored after a while. We have bought elaborate toy sets for our cat. Well, in the beginning, he loves everything. But after a while, he gets bored and hardly plays with anything. We found that hiding toys and only using a few at a time keeps him curious and attentive.

He has some favourites though that we always pack along whenever we go on a holiday together.

This cat tunnel keeps him busy and entertained. We totally expect that he will ignore it like most of his toys but we were pleasantly surprised when he immediately took a liking to it. He also loves to play hide and seek and attacks our feet whenever we walk past him.

Another toy that keeps our Maine Coon busy and happy is these bouncy sponge balls. They are really awesome for getting his energy out whenever he gets serious zoomies.

Besides lots of toys, Maine Coon cats need weekly grooming. They are big shedders, especially in the summer.  If left unbrushed for too long you will very soon find your house – table, couch, clothes, food everything else covered in cat hair. A de-shedding tool like Furminator works wonders and reaches through Maine Coon’s topcoat and safely (and easily) removes loose hair and undercoat.

So now you have successfully catified your home your cat in Germany!

Read here how you can leash and harness train your kitty and take him on walks or holidays with you. 

So here was a list of all essential to get a cat in Germany (or anywhere else!). Did I forget anything? Let me know in the comments below.