I'm getting a KITTEN!! UPDATE: HELP!!

[belledreamer]

After almost 20 years, my beloved cat that I've had since I was 3 passed away peacefully in her sleep due to old age... (R.I.P.)

And realizing my need for a feline friend, my parents have agreed to let me get a kitten!

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!

We need to do some cleaning before we bring her home, but I'm hoping to go to a shelter tomorrow and see what's there to help me make my decision.

But I'm lost on what to name her...

Since she going to be MY CAT, I get to make all decisions involving her, and since my last cat was named "Kitty" I'd rather not name her that... I was thinking a Disney name, like 'Nemo' because of my love for Disney, or 'Rose; Rosie' because of my love of Doctor Who. But I'd love some other name suggestions, something short and sweet. Plus, I've never raised a kitten before, so any suggestions you can give me would be fantastic!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sparx]

I thought I'd try to urge you to get a CAT instead of a kitten. Kittens are adopted quickly, whereas cats will wait for months or years to be adopted. I understand the cuteness factor, but please don't limit yourself to only a kitten. there are many loving cats out there who need a wonderful home, and thank you for going to a shelter!

here are the names of some cats I have/had:
Dr Grumbles
Nermal
Sarabi
Gwenivear
Missy
Annabelle
Rascal
Thomas

 

[Sparx]

Also, remember to get him/her spayed/neutered when its old enough! One pair of cats can lead to over 60,088 offspring in 6 years, and all of those could end up run over on the side of the road, in shelters, or attacked by larger animals.

Please keep your kitty in doors too! outdoor cats face so many hardships that people don't realize.

 

[belledreamer]

Sparx:

Thanks so much for the advice! My preference is a kitten, but I'm open to an older cat, if it's the right one.

And yes, she will DEFINETLY be fixed before she comes home. That was one of the first requirement on my list.

I love the thought of naming her "Nermal"! (Also big 'Garfield' fan!)

 

[Sparx]

Sparx:

Thanks so much for the advice! My preference is a kitten, but I'm open to an older cat, if it's the right one.

And yes, she will DEFINETLY be fixed before she comes home. That was one of the first requirement on my list.

I love the thought of naming her "Nermal"! (Also big 'Garfield' fan!)

thats my dr grumbles and nermal (nermal is the kitten)

 

[Pearls]

marie, berlioz and toulouse were the kittens in the aristocats, so those would be cute names for a kitten

 

[TyTyandMickey]

thats my dr grumbles and nermal (nermal is the kitten)

Awwwwww I love kittens
What are their names?

 

[Savikins]

thats my dr grumbles and nermal (nermal is the kitten)

That almost made my head explode into candy it's so cute ^.^

I'd urge you to keep your kitten inside (I suppose that may be hypocritical since all of my cats are indoor/outdoor, but then again, if it was my choice they'd be staying inside at all times). My cat Monty got hit by a car and it took him months to recover, and he was very hurt and traumatized. He still has a scar on his head and a bad hip, not to mention the vet bills. Also, when I was little I had a kitten named Little Guy that got hit by a car, but he wasn't so lucky.. =[ My friend's kitten got hit by a car as well, and she and her other cats were devastated. I really don't understand how my parents can still let the cats outside after these things...

Also, as Sparx said about older cats taking longer to be adopted, the same is true for cats of any age that are brown tabby or black. It's statistically proven that cats with those colors are the least adopted. Which is sad, because black male cats are known to be extremely sweet, vocal, and affectionate (I can testify, Monty is black!).

Aside from that, I can't really think of anything right now. But have fun raising your new baby! =3

 

[Sparx]

That almost made my head explode into candy it's so cute ^.^

I'd urge you to keep your kitten inside (I suppose that may be hypocritical since all of my cats are indoor/outdoor, but then again, if it was my choice they'd be staying inside at all times). My cat Monty got hit by a car and it took him months to recover, and he was very hurt and traumatized. He still has a scar on his head and a bad hip, not to mention the vet bills. Also, when I was little I had a kitten named Little Guy that got hit by a car, but he wasn't so lucky.. =[ My friend's kitten got hit by a car as well, and she and her other cats were devastated. I really don't understand how my parents can still let the cats outside after these things...

Also, as Sparx said about older cats taking longer to be adopted, the same is true for cats of any age that are brown tabby or black. It's statistically proven that cats with those colors are the least adopted. Which is sad, because black male cats are known to be extremely sweet, vocal, and affectionate (I can testify, Monty is black!).

Aside from that, I can't really think of anything right now. But have fun raising your new baby! =3

this is very true, if you do get a kitten, try to get a darker colored one!

 

[DramaQueen]

That almost made my head explode into candy it's so cute ^.^

I'd urge you to keep your kitten inside (I suppose that may be hypocritical since all of my cats are indoor/outdoor, but then again, if it was my choice they'd be staying inside at all times). My cat Monty got hit by a car and it took him months to recover, and he was very hurt and traumatized. He still has a scar on his head and a bad hip, not to mention the vet bills. Also, when I was little I had a kitten named Little Guy that got hit by a car, but he wasn't so lucky.. =[ My friend's kitten got hit by a car as well, and she and her other cats were devastated. I really don't understand how my parents can still let the cats outside after these things...

Also, as Sparx said about older cats taking longer to be adopted, the same is true for cats of any age that are brown tabby or black. It's statistically proven that cats with those colors are the least adopted. Which is sad, because black male cats are known to be extremely sweet, vocal, and affectionate (I can testify, Monty is black!).

Aside from that, I can't really think of anything right now. But have fun raising your new baby! =3

My baby is a black male too and he's the best cat I've ever had!!!

Congrats on getting a new kitty! My oldest cat died this past summer, and I felt SO lonely after he died that we got a new cat just a couple weeks after Casey died.

No way would i EVER get a cat (or ANY pet) from a pet store. It's adoption all the way for me!!
When we were looking for a new cat my sis & I went to the SPCA and they had some of the most AWESOME cats, we went and hung out with the cats for hours! We wound up adopting a younger guy from Toronto pet rescue. He wasn't a brand new baby, he a was a bit bigger because he was a few months old.
It was a tough choice, there were SO many cats we were considering but the one we chose won over my old family.

As for names....it took us AGES to decide on a name. We ended up with Salem which is a perfect name for him! My only advice is to spend some time with your new cat because sometimes a name can come from a personality trait or something.

Maybe do a google search if you're having troubles. It took us a few days to decide on Salem but when we finally did we realized it fit him perfectly

^^ that's Salem. he's getting so big! He'll be 1 year old next month!

Good luck! And let us know what kind of cat you get/what you name it!

 

[Sparx]

I just wanted to say that petstores like Petco and Petsmart actually have cats FROM adoption agencies. I adopted Dr. Grumbles through Petsmart, but she came from the Fix IT foundation, which takes homeless animals (like from an animal shelter or rescues) and spays/neuters, and then adopts them out.

If you do adopt via petco/petsmart BRING CASH. Since the store doesn't get any of the money from these animals, they cannot make debit or credit transactions on them.

However, pet stores that are usually smaller, and not a chain are probably using puppy or kitty mills to keep their stock. These are the places you don't want to buy from.

 

[DramaQueen]

^^ ya i got my cat thru the toronto pet rescue @ petsmart.
there are cats/dogs at the pet stores around here though that were bred for the pet store and they charge about 5x more.

costs about $250-$300 for a "purebred" tiny kitten (that was bred for the store), cost me $80 to adopt Salem, and that's mainly because he was neutered already.

 

[Sparx]

^^ ya i got my cat thru the toronto pet rescue @ petsmart.
there are cats/dogs at the pet stores around here though that were bred for the pet store and they charge about 5x more.

costs about $250-$300 for a "purebred" tiny kitten (that was bred for the store), cost me $80 to adopt Salem, and that's mainly because he was neutered already.

I adopted Dr Grumbles at 1 year old (roughly) and she cost $45.00 and was fixed (which is less than its costing me to get nermal fixed) Granted, Dr Grumbles is an adult cat, and black, so she had two marks against her. The kittens that were there to be adopted were costing 70-80$.

 

[AbsoluteAwesome1]

We just got a new cat about a week ago ^__^
We adopted her from a local animal shelter and she's about 9 months old. She's a light-colored calico, and she's the sweetest thing. We named her Dora. =)

We've been looking for a new cat for a while. Our old cat died at like 22 years old last year.

 

[disneyluvr13]

That's awesome that you are getting a new cat! I currently have two cats, I have one pure white cat named Gracie who is about one year old, and the other is a tabby/siamese mix named Kitty, who is about 14. I agree that if you choose to adopt a cat, you should go for the older ones. An upside to that, older cats are most likely a lot calmer, unlike kittens, who can't sleep through the night so they wake you up around 2 AM wanting to play. Also, I bought a kitten from Petsmart, and when he was about two years old, his kidney or bladder ruptured(i cant remember which one) and he had to go to the emergency vet, and he didn't make it, he had to be put to sleep. I guess it depends where the Petsmart animals come from. Then thats when I got Gracie, I went to an adoption center this time. There where so many beautiful cats there, I didn't know which to choose. But I could actually tell that she wanted me to pick her. When I walked to the door to see if my parents were coming, she walked to the corner of her cage on the side i was standing to try to see me. Even though I knew she was the one, I walked around and petted all the other cats so they wouldn't feel sad.

Enjoy your new cat!

 

[belledreamer]

Well, we finally adopted a cat! A beautiful 9 month old Calico who we are still figuring for a name but are currently calling her "Jenny" (Doctor Who inspired! )

But it's been a difficult 24 hours... She's EXTREMELY skittish, every noise scares her, she's barely eating, won't play, barely using the litter box, etc. I think she's having seperation aniexty since the santuary I got her from was the only home she's ever known and she had companions. Now she's at a new home by herself; no other cats. I'm getting anxious.

Will it take long for her to adjust? Is there anything I can do to help?

I'm starting to wonder if I'd do better to bring her back...

 

[disneyluvr13]

Well, we finally adopted a cat! A beautiful 9 month old Calico who we are still figuring for a name but are currently calling her "Jenny" (Doctor Who inspired! )

But it's been a difficult 24 hours... She's EXTREMELY skittish, every noise scares her, she's barely eating, won't play, barely using the litter box, etc. I think she's having seperation aniexty since the santuary I got her from was the only home she's ever known and she had companions. Now she's at a new home by herself; no other cats. I'm getting anxious.

Will it take long for her to adjust? Is there anything I can do to help?

I'm starting to wonder if I'd do better to bring her back...

Don't worry. Most cats all go through that stage of being scared of their new surroundings. It just takes some time for them to get used to their new home. You could try putting out some toys she might be interested in, or whenever she comes near you you could try to pet her. Usually it will take a couple days for them to get used to everything. Just give it some time, she will come around!

 

[Sparx]

Well, we finally adopted a cat! A beautiful 9 month old Calico who we are still figuring for a name but are currently calling her "Jenny" (Doctor Who inspired! )

But it's been a difficult 24 hours... She's EXTREMELY skittish, every noise scares her, she's barely eating, won't play, barely using the litter box, etc. I think she's having seperation aniexty since the santuary I got her from was the only home she's ever known and she had companions. Now she's at a new home by herself; no other cats. I'm getting anxious.

Will it take long for her to adjust? Is there anything I can do to help?

I'm starting to wonder if I'd do better to bring her back...

Just leave her alone. She'll adjust in her own time. as long as she IS eating and IS using the litter box, there isn't a problem. If she's hiding, just ignore her. She'll come out in her own time. Almost all cats go through this.