Congrats Matt…Zazou is a good name.
Kittens are like kids…if you don’t want any damage to your property, then don’t get(or have) either one.
Cal mentioned the water gun method. Its pretty good, but a pain in the ass for the most part. Mine was usually empty from shootin’ Mrs Nipples as she walks by.
Have fun!!!
Be sure to keep his little claws trimmed. My ex-kitty (my old roommate has custody) found she really enjoyed climbing silk wallpaper and then hanging while she slid to the bottom. My landlord didn’t seem to enjoy it as much.
And be very careful giving catnip to a kitten. Mine couldn’t seem to retract her claws for about an hour after (not fun for either one of us).
I trim my cats’ claws every two weeks, with regular nail clippers. I dip them in alcohol afterwards, but not beforehand - the alcohol will sting if I accidentally cut too high up on the nail.
On a scratching post - get one made of rope or cardboard, not carpeting. Some cats will view carpeted scratch posts as an invitation to also use the carpeted FLOOR as a scratch post. Of the two, rope are far less messy. To get kitty using the post, rub a little cat food or tuna juice onto it - makes it smell attractive. When kitty is older, catnip does the trick too.
Waterguns or spray bottles work for most cats, though I did have one who was particularly stubborn. That cat nearly drowned in water over several nights when we were trying to teach him to stay out of our bed at night (he weighed 10 pounds, solid muscle, at 5 months, and would walk up and down the people, not the bed). We finally gave up and let him sleep there.
Oh, another thing I almost forgot. Most cats dislike the smell of baby powder. Works for keeping them out of beds too - learned that trick after the water soaked cat incident.
Congrats on the new kitty!! I have a 9wk old myself. He’s b/w too and we named him Taz cause he’s a little devil.
Required words of advice:
When trimming kitten claws, start when he’s asleep and go slow to try and keep him asleep. There is a vein that runs through the claw. It is very hard to see on kittens so just clip the very tip. As he gets older, the vein will be easier to see and you can clip with more confidence.
The squirt bottle is a must for training. Make sure to say NO! everytime you squirt him and eventually the scolding will be sufficient without the water. Just keep in mind that at 6wks old your kitten is barely a toddler (most people believe kittens should stay with mom until they are 8wks old) and he is simply too young to expect perfect behaviour.
Other than that, get him snipped, clean the litter box often, and give him lots of attention and playtime.
Congrats again!!
chrisbar
BTW. When will he start using the litterbox on his own? A few times today he’s come whining to me, and I’ve picked him up and dumped him into the litter box, wherein he does his business and comes back out.
Zazou fits perfectly into my men’s size 13 shoe.
Oops, was that you? Sorry! :o 
Anyway, everyone has given some great advice. I would also recommend that you brush Zazou a couple times a week to keep his coat free of matted hair. My cat gets those now and he HATES to be brushed. Actually, I use one of the combs with the teeth close together to pull those mats out. OUCH!!!
Good luck!!
My two cents…
Again, be CAREFUL about trimming his claws. There is a NERVE right next to the vein inside…if you cut too far (admittedly, this can be difficult with a squirming cat), it’s like cutting your own nails right up into the quick. OW!!! Supposedly it’s easier if you start trying to do this when he’s young, so he gets used to you approaching him periodically and trying to mess with his paws.
Re the scratching post: make sure you get one that doesn’t move or tip over, or he won’t use it. Using the couch would be easier.
Be sure to brush him once in a while (more often if he’s a longhair), so he gets used to that. Make it fun! You’ll still have to deal with the occasional hairball, though.
Re the litter box: if you feed him regularly as opposed to just leaving a dish out for him, you wait 'til he’s finished eating and then put him in the litter box. He’ll make the connection, if he hasn’t already.
Of course, playing with him regularly will help him be affectionate and fun, and the kind of cat who will jump on your lap as soon as you or your guests sit down and want to cuddle…unlike my friend’s psycho cats, who were half-feral as kittens and still can’t stand to be in the same room with anyone but her.
Good luck!
Re: claws…
You can buy COVERS (in various colors)that super glue on.
I saw them in the Drs. Fosters and Smith catalog.
Try http://www.drsfostersmith.com. or call 1-800-826-7206.
My sister in law uses tham, and loves them.
If you’re in Canada you have no business sleeping naked. What do you do in winter, build three fires in your room? To prevent this problem, go out and buy some thick flannel pajamas. They come with a button flap in the back so you don’t have to take them off all the way for the middle of the night trips to the outhouse.
I really don’t have any advice to give, just a few things to consider.
… they make me miss my favourite little Çebeaux. 
And of course, congratulations matt!
Believe it or not, my sister-in-law once had a set of acrylic “nails” put over a cat’s claws. Yes, they were dull, but fell off quickly & had to be replaced.
Pretty ridiculous, and the self-defense aspect was not an issue at the time (her 4 cats rule the house).
She also has one of those automatic kitty litter boxes that sifts/scoops when the cat leaves, so there aren’t poops left in it . One cat loves it, because she doesn’t go in the litter box if there is so much as one poop already in it. Another cat is scared to death of this machine, probably thinks it’s going to eat him, so he goes on the floor next to it.
Be careful, I’ve heard cats are like tatoos… You might wake up one morning with an armful. I wouldn’t know, I’m a large dog person (the dogs are large, not me).
Matt, many congrats, and I absolutely adored the post about Zazou fitting perfectly into your shoe (awwwwwww…). (I make plenty of moronic noises to/about my own two cats every day, so be prepared to find that creeping into your lifestyle. It doesn’t wear off, I find.)
A friend recently adopted two new kittens and came to me for advice, so I will tell you one of the things I told her, which you may very well already know. You don’t say what kind of litter you are using, but you’re doubtless aware (from commercials, etc) that there are two kinds, traditional clay and “clumping” or “scoopable”. Which kind is best depends strictly on your litterbox style (yes yours, not the cat’s), but they are very different and you don’t want to get the wrong one! Clay will bury the solids and absorb the liquids, and once a week (or more, depending on the heaviness of use, placement of the box, etc) you just dump the whole thing, wash out the box (don’t use anything strong like bleach, just dish soap or something similar if rinsing with water is not sufficient, and rinse thoroughly so there aren’t too many smells left behind) and refill. (I use one 10# bag of clay each time.) Scoopable also just covers the solids, but it turns the liquids into a semi-hard little ball that is meant to be, obviously, scooped out, and supposedly you empty the box completely only once or twice a year, ordinarily just adding more litter as it gets depleted. Here’s the important part - if you are not a regular scooper, the solidifying nature of this product will cause the litter to turn into something like concrete and you will end up throwing the litter box away. (Obviously I speak from experience - I once made the mistake of asking SO cygnus to pick up some cat litter, thinking that was a safely straightforward request - specifying “DON’T get scoopable” didn’t occur to me. I thought, “Well, how different can it be?” and learned the answer fairly quickly.) My friend is fanatical about scooping and scoops through the box several times a day; she loves the clumping kind. I’ve got no time to babysit a litterbox, so I use clay and just scoop out solids once or twice a week and dump the whole thing to start fresh on trash day. As a general rule, your cat will not care which kind you use, although once you settle on one you should stick to it, as a few cats are fussy and will stop using the litter box if you make a signigicant change from what they’re used to. Just pick the one that suits your style, and be aware that if you use scoopable, they’re not kidding, you have to scoop.
Your baby obviously isn’t lacking for attention (I love people who love their pet), but I’ll add my .02 about socializing. Again, forgive me if I’m repeating the obvious, but what is self-evident to one person isn’t necessarily so to another, especially if you don’t have a cat background. Call your cat by name constantly; they pick up on their identity very quickly and most will be very responsive if conditioned to it (ours come running from anyplace they are if you call their names). Talk to him as you go about your business at home; he will grow to love the sound of your voice and it will bond him with you. Also, cats can learn some basic human words, so talk to him about whatever regular cat activities he’s doing or you’re doing with him. (Our cats also understand “Go out?” and will run to the door if I ask them.) If Zazou will allow it (he sounds agreeable), handle him as much as possible. Pick him up, cuddle him, carry him around, pet him at every single opportunity. This makes for a very social and affectionate cat and will add lots of pleasure to your years together. Whenever you pass one another, always acknowlege him by at least looking at him and speaking to him; a touch is in order (doesn’t have to be a big pet, just contact) if your hands aren’t full. Even when you’re going about your business and he’s going about his, such acknowlegement means he will never feel ignored, even when your attention is on other things. Anytime your cat meows, he deserves a response. If he’s in another room, just call back to him, calling him by name. If he’s nearby, be sure to look him in the eye and speak to him (by name!) if your hands are too busy for a petting right at the moment. Lots of eye contact. Fuss over him without restraint; cats eat it up. And you can’t spoil them like you can a human child; the more attention and fuss you make over them, the more secure, happy, and calm they will be.
BTW, this will apparently be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think declawing is all that evil. I have had several cats over the years and never declawed until I got one who had such sharp claws that it was impossible for me to enjoy petting him because of the painful kneading. I had him declawed at the same time I had him fixed; he walked a little gingerly the following day and then never gave it another thought. His lack of claws greatly increased the joys and affection we were able to share over the years. As for it being cruel, well, is neutering cruel? I don’t see that much difference; it’s another version of our altering the animal in such a way as to make it better fit our household/life (I neutered all my cats, even solitary cats who never went outside and thus did not need protection from reproduction, and so should everyone else). For many cats, the repeated battle of clipping nails every week (very few cats are agreeable about it; most will fight like heck) would certainly add up to more suffering and trauma (not to mention resentment of you, whom they should trust completely, regularly springing on them with a frightening and upsetting process than makes no sense to them) than going to sleep with claws and waking up without could possible be. And saying that it’s like taking off your own fingers up to the knuckles is a bit much (no offense); it goes without saying that cat’s paws work quite a bit differently from our hands. It is true that declawing removes the lowest section below the joint, but everything still works just the same. It’s just not that big a deal to the cat. He’s asleep when it’s done, they heal almost immediately, and if it will make it possible for you to share much more affection, I say go ahead and do it. Our current two have claws, and I have occasionally contemplated having them declawed, not because of destructiveness but just because I wouldn’t have to move them off my lap/wherever when they get too prickly. Incidentally, it is widely believed but not true that declawed cats can’t climb trees (I’ve seen them do it many times), but it is true that you would not want to declaw a true outdoor cat, for reasons of defense. But make Zazou an indoor cat! Outdoor cats are at so much risk, from cars, animals, cruel sickos, parasites, diseases, and so on. A cat can live a life of perfect contentment without ever going outside; open windows (with screens, natch) are just as good for catching the breeze and the outdoor scents. If you want to let him outside, rig a collar and clothesline to keep him right near your door while he prowls through the grass - but you must keep a very close eye on him (check on him at least every two minutes if you must step out of sight), since such can easily get tangled or caught on natural objects and leave your cat in a very scary and potentially dangerous or fatal situation (especially if there are trees around).
I know this has been long and wordy (it’s a subject I care about), but hopefully I managed to pass along some tidbit of value somewhere. It has really brightened my morning to read about your new baby and think about the happiness the two of you will share. I had my last cat for fourteen years; he was my cherished and adored child, and he fascinated and enchanted me as much on his last day of life as he did the day I brought him home from the shelter. The two cats I have now are completely different individuals but just as much loved and savored. Cats are endlessly beautiful and bewitching. Many, many good wishes. :)Will you be able to post a picture?
Zazou? That’s a wicked cool name!
Oh, and EJ’sGirl - your sig made me laugh. 
cygnus: Thanks for the info. Actually, the other reason I heard for not getting scoopable was because kittens like to taste things and if they swallow scoopable litter it could cause their little insides to gum up.
I read about making him an indoor cat, which is what I plan to do (living in an apartment where I’m not technically allowed to have pets and all). Maybe de temps à autre I could take him out on a harness when he gets bigger. On the other hand, my parents’ cat Rosie is an outdoor/indoor cat (or was, in her younger years), and is still going strong at age 15.
What ever you do, **DON’T DYE THE KITTY! **
StG
Well, if you decide to harness train Zazou, give me a shout, Matt. I’m an old hand at harness training kitties. If you decide to do it, start while he’s young, around three or four months old. It’s much harder, though not impossible, to train an grown-up cat.
Catrandom
From the “For what it’s worth” department, I have 2 cats. Both of them female calico’s. I had them both spayed and declawed when they were kittens. Hasn’t hurt them in the least. However they NEVER go outside, at all. As for the scratching stuff up, the vet told me to get a squirt bottle and use it whenever they did something I didn’t want them to do. Maybe it will work for your cat, but mine? NOOOOO way. I have litterally drowned the kitten (well, almost) with the water bottle. Now if I get the bottle, the cat just runs and hides until I put the bottle down. Ya, she learned all right. :D:D