DS wants a kitten...

[ImprovGal]

Since it's a kitten you're considering and not a full-grown cat, stick to things appropriate for the kitten's age and size. The litter box should be easily accessible for the kitten -- shallow pans for the little ones, then swap out for larger litter boxes as the cat grows. Assuming the kitten is coming from either a shelter or a foster home or such, start with whatever litter the kitten is used to. You can then gradually mix in new litters when you want to switch over to something more beneficial to you -- paper, wheat, crystals, whatever. Clumping clay litter should not be used for young kittens. The food selection process should be similar. Start with whatever they're already eating. I adopted from a local shelter and they very nicely gave me a starter bag of their food (Hill's Science Diet kitten formula) so I could mix in with whatever I wanted to switch them to. As kittens I fed them Avoderm Kitten, then Wellness Kitten for dry food, Avoderm canned or Purina Pro-Plan for canned (neither cared for the Wellness kitten canned). Now that they're both adults, I've switched them over to Wellness Core or sometimes Before Grain dry food every day, and Wellness or Merrick for canned a few times a week.

To prevent hairballs, brush the cat frequently to remove loose fur. Occasionally, you may want to supplement with a hairball preventive. The "toothpaste tube" hairball preventive I've used is Petromalt. My current and previous cats all loved it.

 

[afeld111781]

I dont know if this would interest you or not but we use sifting cat liner bags, i've only ever seen them at walmart and they are 3 bucks for 10...you put the whole pkg in at once and all but the bottom one have holes. You use clumping cat litter and then every couple days we pull the top layer up and it sifts out all the unused cat litter and keeps all the used clumped up stuff in, we then stick it in a plastic grocery bag (while its over the litter box, so it doesnt fall on the floor) tie it up and were done. We usually do it two times a week so one box lasts around a month or a little more and it is so easy and you dont have to have poop scoops sitting out...

 

[SC Minnie]

A friend of mine rescued a couple of days old kittens. She used plastic paint trays as a litter box until they were big enough for the regular box.


Yes, and very aware of 'free'. The gray cat in my sig was 'free'. She should be very thankful we love her since we have spent close to $5000 on her so far. She had surgery on her knees and she has asthma. She is a medium hair and doesn't have issues with hairballs.


OP-- Look at your local pet shelters. Kittens are generally adopted quicker but the 'older' cats tend to get overlooked.

 

[dfchelbay]

My DS10 has wanted a cat for several years now, and we've decided to get him a kitten. He'll be so excited However, I've never owned a cat before so I need some good advice on what kind of litter box to get. Where in the house do you keep your litter box? I was thinking about keeping it in our laundry room (the door typically stays open or cracked open anyway). Does your cat sleep in a bed, or just where ever it wants? Do you have trouble keeping it off of the counters/dining table?

Also, we have a little miniature Dachshund that stays in the house. He's been around my parents cat alot so they're not foreign to him, but this cat will be coming into HIS house. What's a good way to introduce our dog to his new housemate?

Any particular kind of kitty litter you use?

We just get the Walmart brand of kitty litter. A 40 lb. bag costs under $3.00. I think if you start your kitten out on it, you shouldn't have any issues. Also, we have learned over the years that kitties like to throw up. So, we buy food with hairball control in it. Also, due to the throwing up thing we only buy food with no color in it. Its a lot harder to clean up the reds and greens from the food off the carpet when they get sick. I believe it's Iams that we get with no colored pieces and has hairball control.

 

[tinkmom2]

We have a older cat Princess whom is 6 and just got our new kitten Midnight a few weeks ago. She found the litter box a few minutes after she got in the house thankfully. She sleeps wherever and when ever but has fallen asleep in the laundry and likes to sleep on the same colored blanket as her fur so we have accidently sat on her once We use a generic brand store litter and food is kitten chow. The cats are finally warming up to eachother and are now chasing eachother around the house. Be prepared for scratches on your skin.

 

[coastiewifern]

Good luck with that......if you figure it out, let me know!!! (They really aren't that bad anyway......)

No I don't think they are that bad. They have hairball prevention food but I don't find it necessary. Our breeder told us that an occassional snack of canned pumpkin is a natural hairball reducer. One cat loves it the other not so much.

 

[MacFam4]

Tinkmom2- My parents have a black cat named Midnight- he's about 15 years old now, very sweet and lovable

Thanks again to everyone for all the wonderful advice!! We've always been dog lovers but are looking forward to our feline experience

 

[MichelleB]

I volunteer at a local cat shelter and have 11 indoor cats and 3 barn cats. Several of ours were 1-2 years old when adopted and brought here because they're sweetest animals but not in the "cute kitten stage" so overlooked. Try the local no-kill shelters. A good site to look in your area is www.petfinder.com Many that list on that site are reasonably priced and usually the cats are spayed/neutered before you adopt them. Maybe consider 2 cats/kittens. They like to have similar company and keep each other occupied and out of trouble. The shelter where I volunteer has no problem adopting out kittens but once it reaches 1 year old, it seems that the adoption rate drops off. Consider a 1-3 year old cat with a kitten maybe. They need homes too and you can see their true personality by then plus they tend not to get into every little thing you own. By the way, our first 3 were adopted and given to my kids for Christmas. There's no problem with doing it this way. The only word of advice....when you bring a cat or kitten home for the first time, they need an acclimation period (the best idea is to put them in one room and close the door for several days to allow them to have a safe zone and once they're comfortable in there, open the door and allow them to explore when they decide they are up to it). If you have a lot of company over the holiday, make sure you bring it into the home after or it could scare them more. We've always been dog people but our dog passed away and my daughter pestered us for 2 years for a cat. All 11 of ours are easier than our 1 dog was. They are happy if they have clean litter boxes, get food/water, and pets/attention when they want it and not when they don't. They're great pets.

Oh, sleeping...we have many different cat boxes but what they like most is a cat food tray (the cardboard low tray that canned food comes in) with a beach towel in it. We launder the towels often. They also use their cat beds but at night, 7 of the 11 will be found sleeping in various beds with people....we have 3 kids and they each have ones that will follow them to bed and curl up with them and then we have 3 that prefer mom/dad's bed.

 

[lucigo]

We had a couple of nice fall weather type days this past month so I had our kitchen window open. One day there was something in our pantry, totally freaked me out. It was a kitten!!! Long story short she is still here. Sometimes you pick them, sometimes they pick you.....

 

[momz]

I'm so glad the OP started this thread...very timely for my family as we have had a new kitten in our home for less than a week. I for one apprectiate all the advice about the litter, and hair balls.

But... a problem we are having that I haven't seen addressed is feline conunctivitis. Our little kitty seems to have it. I took her to the vet on day 3 in our home, was told that it is likely feline herpes virus and that most cats have this. the vet chose to do nothing about it. Now 2 days later, her eye is swollen, she likes to keep it closed, she is less playful (mostly just laying around in the dark) and she continues to have the same grayish drainage that was the reason I took her in. Any advice on what action to take, if any, at this point?

Some background...she came from an agency that fosters their cats. She was in a home with 2 pugs present. She was given her first round of shots and deworming before I brought her home. But the vet said that the record indicate that the shots were given at too young an age...so we started the series over. Also, he dewormed her again and had us deworm our dog as well. He said it's a good precaution considering we don't know anything about the circumstances of her birth or her mother.

My poor kitty is such a precious little thing and already a loved member our home...but I am unsure of what to do about her eye.

 

[MichelleB]

Some cats are prone to this.....3 of our 11 are. The vet should have given you a form of tobramycin for the conjunctivis -- just an eyedrop solution. Ours had a bad case about a month ago where his eye swelled shut from it and it took about 10 days for the medicine to restore him to normal -- this cat can't have soft food because he has intestinal problems. We put lysine powder our others soft food each night and that really helps keep the flair ups down. They also sell treats and a paste but we've found ours don't like it this way. When we mix it with their soft food, they never notice it. I get ours at entirelypets.com and it's item number 026007. The small container of this lasts a long time.

 

[Leshaface]

There is some great info here!!

I have one question though...where do you buy a cat door?? Is it an actual 'built-in' cat door that you have to purchase at like Lowes or Home Depot? Or do you just cut a hole in the door?? Sorry I really have no idea but would really like to get one for our newly adopted cat!

Also for you cat veterans out there...this cat STINKS! Like when a male cat sprays it has that really gross smell....well we got him fixed and sometimes he'll lay down or walk pass me and my DH and we'll both notice that he stinks! Is there anyway to get ride of this horrible stench??

 

[wdw_girl_18]

How big is the kitten? Some of the covered litter boxes are fairly deep and may be hard for a little kitten to get in and out of. When we got ours as a little one I bought a less deep box to start with then charged to a covered box when she got bigger. We have a covererd litter box upstairs and an uncovered one downstairs. They don't have a problem using either one.

For my two month old kitten we used a dish pan as a litter box for a couple of months! The regular boxes are way to big as stated above!

 

[pixiewings71]

We have a older cat Princess whom is 6 and just got our new kitten Midnight a few weeks ago. She found the litter box a few minutes after she got in the house thankfully. She sleeps wherever and when ever but has fallen asleep in the laundry and likes to sleep on the same colored blanket as her fur so we have accidently sat on her once We use a generic brand store litter and food is kitten chow. The cats are finally warming up to eachother and are now chasing eachother around the house. Be prepared for scratches on your skin.

Awwwwwww your baby looks like our Tigger's sister did before we lost her. We called her Ninja because she liked to jump and climb everywhere. Unfortunately she wasn't healthy enough and I didn't get her to the vet in time so we lost her.

We had a couple of nice fall weather type days this past month so I had our kitchen window open. One day there was something in our pantry, totally freaked me out. It was a kitten!!! Long story short she is still here. Sometimes you pick them, sometimes they pick you.....

I'm so glad the OP started this thread...very timely for my family as we have had a new kitten in our home for less than a week. I for one apprectiate all the advice about the litter, and hair balls.

But... a problem we are having that I haven't seen addressed is feline conunctivitis. Our little kitty seems to have it. I took her to the vet on day 3 in our home, was told that it is likely feline herpes virus and that most cats have this. the vet chose to do nothing about it. Now 2 days later, her eye is swollen, she likes to keep it closed, she is less playful (mostly just laying around in the dark) and she continues to have the same grayish drainage that was the reason I took her in. Any advice on what action to take, if any, at this point?

Some background...she came from an agency that fosters their cats. She was in a home with 2 pugs present. She was given her first round of shots and deworming before I brought her home. But the vet said that the record indicate that the shots were given at too young an age...so we started the series over. Also, he dewormed her again and had us deworm our dog as well. He said it's a good precaution considering we don't know anything about the circumstances of her birth or her mother.

My poor kitty is such a precious little thing and already a loved member our home...but I am unsure of what to do about her eye.

Poor baby, I would take her back to the vet, if not the one you've already seen then another one. You needs some medication for her eye.

There is some great info here!!

I have one question though...where do you buy a cat door?? Is it an actual 'built-in' cat door that you have to purchase at like Lowes or Home Depot? Or do you just cut a hole in the door?? Sorry I really have no idea but would really like to get one for our newly adopted cat!

Also for you cat veterans out there...this cat STINKS! Like when a male cat sprays it has that really gross smell....well we got him fixed and sometimes he'll lay down or walk pass me and my DH and we'll both notice that he stinks! Is there anyway to get ride of this horrible stench??

We bought our cat doors at Home Depot, just the small cat flap type, they work great. Our dog door is the kind that goes in your sliding glass door, the dog uses it and so do the cats. The kitten is curious, he's over by it several times a day but so far he hasn't tried to go out. We won't mind him going in and out but we'd rather he's all done with his shots first and it's a little warmer out there.

 

[kinntj]

There is some great info here!!

I have one question though...where do you buy a cat door?? Is it an actual 'built-in' cat door that you have to purchase at like Lowes or Home Depot? Or do you just cut a hole in the door?? Sorry I really have no idea but would really like to get one for our newly adopted cat!

Also for you cat veterans out there...this cat STINKS! Like when a male cat sprays it has that really gross smell....well we got him fixed and sometimes he'll lay down or walk pass me and my DH and we'll both notice that he stinks! Is there anyway to get ride of this horrible stench??

We got our cat door from Petsmart. It has a swinging door that can be locked, but we don't lock it. We had to train the cats to push on the door with their heads to get it open. Now they love it! Keeps the dog out of that room. There are ones that are just open without an actual door. My husband wanted to put a whole in the wall and I said no. If we decide to move a door is easy to replace with some money, but a whole in the wall is a pain to patch.

I don't know much about the stink problem. Our boy doesn't smell at all.

 

[momto2inKC]

We currently have 6 indoor cats (they are not ever allowed out) and 1 stray that showed up. He tends to come inside to eat/sleep then right back out.
The one litter brand that always has worked well for us is Fresh Step scoopable. It is the best! As far as litter boxes, we use Boodah boxes from Petco. It's a big dome covered litterbox. It has a ramp that goes in, then they step down into the litter. Several of our cats are quite large and they fit fine in it.
We've bought cat beds, but they prefer to either be in one of our beds, on the back of the couches, in a box or laundry basket (especially if there's warm out of the dryer laundry in it ).
They love the pom pom style balls and the little balls of fur. Oh and anything on a string/stick, especially if it has feathers! And catnip is always a fun treat

 

[Fyrefly]

But... a problem we are having that I haven't seen addressed is feline conunctivitis. Our little kitty seems to have it. I took her to the vet on day 3 in our home, was told that it is likely feline herpes virus and that most cats have this. the vet chose to do nothing about it. Now 2 days later, her eye is swollen, she likes to keep it closed, she is less playful (mostly just laying around in the dark) and she continues to have the same grayish drainage that was the reason I took her in. Any advice on what action to take, if any, at this point?.

Any vet who "chose to do nothing" gives me a bad feeling. I would get a second opinion.

One of our cats had a bad allergy attack and was ripping out his own fur and his ears were bright red. We went into our usual office which has been having a lot of turnover lately, and the guy basically just did some bloodwork and said to come back in a few weeks. Nothing to relieve his discomfort or anything, and his was bleeding where he kept ripping his fur even though we stopped him whenever we were around.

We went to another vet who was much further away so we stopped using once the newer office opened near us. Even walking in we got "Wow that cat's ears are RED!" from the receptionist. And the vet gave him an antihistamine shot to reduce his discomfort and some steroids, and we worked with her on a plan to reduce varieties of food and other things and gradually reintroduce them until we figured out what happened. It turned out to be a free sample of food that we never bought any of, but set him off bad enough that he needed medication to get back to normal.

Two weeks after this our old vet calls and says the blood work is in and its not a disease they tested for, it may be an allergy, come in for an examination...

Bottom line is, there are far too many good vets out there to waste your time with one who won't treat your pet as well as you would treat your own.

 

[Sinderelly]

Have you considered another puppy? If you have never owned a cat they are very different creatures. My ex loved cats and he and his room mate owned 8 between them. He left the cats behind when he came to live with me. Cats have some disgusting habits and in my opinion are evil creatures lol. My ex had a cat he was watching for his mother climb on his bed and defecate on his pillow. He said the cat was not happy at being left with him. He also told me one of his cats climbed up on the counter and urinated on the toaster. Both the toaster and the pillow were thrown away. Their house smelled awful and cats climbed on their counters and table. Yuck! I would never eat food from someone's kitchen that owned a cat. I'm allergic to cats anyway and that's okay with me. I LOVE dogs. If they get mad at you they will hang their heads, pout or act sad. Cats have a tendency to retaliate

 

[CinRell]

Thanks again to everyone for all the wonderful advice!! We've always been dog lovers but are looking forward to our feline experience

Once you go cat, you'll never go back

You got GREAT advice here. For initial intros, I'd put the kitten in a carrier or cage and put it in the middle of your living room and let pup sniff it out Treats for both as positive reinforcement for not focusing TOO much on the kitten (prey drive). And you might consider having a litter box in the room you have the kitten sleep and close the door... late at night in a new place, he/she could get confused.... we always put fosters in a spare room or bathroom with a bed, food, water and litter box.

If you are considering declaw, please read this first. Sure some people have had NO issues but why risk it? Instead teach kitten to use a scratching post (nip helps!) from day #1 or look into soft paws. If you adopt a cat, claws come with it. Don't amputate...

http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/


CONGRATS! I hope you post pictures!!

 

[Juliegirl1]

I just want to say that if you get a kitten please keep your toilet lids down until it grows a bit.

We just got a five week old kitten named Tinkerbell and we keep her in the bathroom when we aren't home so the dog won't get to her. Two days ago she tried to jump on the toilet and fell in - when I found her I thought she was dead - she was ice cold and stiff but let out the faintest mew when I picked her up out of the toilet. I think she fell in and couldn't get out - she only weighs 12 oz. Luckily her head was above the water. I dried her off, warmed her up - finally ended up sticking her inside my shirt and put the heating pad over that to get her warm - she was shivering so much. I really thought she was a goner. She had been in the toilet no more than an hour and a half - not sure how long exactly but that's how long she was locked in the bathroom.

Thankfully she is okay but I think she is down a life. I was so upset when I found her - it took me over two hours to get her warm. Now she seems fine but I am still keeping an eye on her. Luckily we had just started a regiment of antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection so that should help if she gets pneumonia.

I would have been heartbroken if she hadn't made it! Anyway it's one of those things you don't really think about so I didn't want it to happen to anyone else!