Peace lilies are extremely poisonous, so you might want to take that one to work. Because you know that your kitty-to-be will zero in on that one since it’s the one he/she shouldn’t chew.
It’s entirely possible that your one kitty will turn into more than one. We started out with one and now have four. Multiples are nice since they keep each other entertained while you’re out or busy.
Great. They’ll kill me here at work when I bring in my giant peace lily (to match the little one I already have here.) At least it’s good for our air quality! Otherwise, I’ve got a banana tree, an olive tree, a lemon tree, some sort of palm thing that’s not on the list, and an unidentified. Might want to post the mystery plant in GQ to find out if Kitty’s going to choke on it.
You know I can’t get more than one cat. I skate a very fine line as it is - I live alone. I’m a librarian. I have been known to wear twin sets. Often. I garden. One cat is tempting fate; more than one is right over the edge!
Resistance is futile! You will be assimilated! 
[bolding mine]
Oh Dear Og, I misread that last word when I first saw it, and now I need brain-bleach.
Damn lowercase “t”, only a few pixels different from a lowercase “l”… :eek:
That aside, good luck with the cat-acquisition, Zsofia!
Mine do. And (as Kalhoun mentioned) they love to eat cat poop. Do your self a favor and find a way to keep the dog away from the litter box (I put the box in a room with a baby gate blocking the door). I could never train my dogs to stay away from the cat box buffet. It’s not so much fun to come home and be greeted by a dog with litter still in his whiskers.
Keep the cat food out of reach too. My dogs prefer cat food to filet mignon (but not, it seems, to cat poop). Unfortunately, it gives them the runs.
My experience has been that dogs adjust to cats easier than cats adjust to dogs. Unless the dog is into chasing cats (at 14, yours likely won’t be), they mostly ignore cats that don’t play with them. Although they can get a bit jealous when you pet the cat.
Even non cat people can get along with cats-unlike dogs, you don’t have to house break a kitten, nor train it to behave, or what have you. And cats, because they’re so strange, provide endless entertainment.
/pointing and laughing at Zsofia. You can say “I am not a cat person even though I own a cat” until you are blue in the face. But, you are too a cat person! You’ve been sucked in like the rest of us.
Better make with the pictures and fast. These threads go u-g-l-y fast without pictures. 
Feel free to omit pictures of any cat-felching.
It looks as though I’m the only person here who’s neurotic enough to worry about the possible consequences of bringing a declawed cat in to live with a dog who might prove to be angry and jealous. But that may only be because my cat has had some unpleasant encounters with dogs. So I should point out that there are ways of training a cat to stay off the piano, declawed or not.
I hope it goes well for you. And the cat. And the dog. 
One of us! One of us!
As for vomiting, cats usually vomit their food before it is digested. One of my cats eats his brother’s vomit, but it’s pretty much just slightly chewed. I wouldn’t put it past a dog to do the same.
By now your new overlord should already be home, but my guess would be that a kitten, (as opposed to a full grown cat), would merely pique the dog’s interest, (particularly when 8 oz. of fluff decides to “defend” itself from a merely curious dog). An adult cat might raise some territorial issues for the dog, but I have rarely seen a dog get jealous of a kitten, regardless how much hissing the kitten emitted. (The first time the kitten inspected the dog’s dish would be a different issue, but they generally find ways to work that out without bloodshed.)
Now I’m having flashbacks to the cartoon with the dog named Marc Anthony and the kitten.
Well, I didn’t get one of the declawed ones, so it’s a moot point. I got a little tabby cat. It’s so, so hard to pick a shelter cat - they’re not acting like they will at your house, and even in a nice shelter (and this was pretty nice, I didn’t feel like the ones I didn’t pick were going to the gas chamber tomorrow or anything) you don’t want to leave the animals. Also, there was this “what if I got the wrong one?” feeling? I keep wondering about my second choice - maybe a little more suited in temperment, but much longer hair. Then again, that was a pretty striking-looking cat, so probably somebody else will take him home. If you’re in the Columbia area, go pick Romeo up. (There was this beautiful pair of cats, maybe the prettiest I’ve ever seen, who had to go in a pair. I’m sure somebody will eventually take them - they seemed sweet, but I didn’t let myself play with them because I didn’t want to take two home!)
Anyway, it was all useless because when we got Dewey (nee Tigger) home, he was a completely different cat anyway. How on earth can you get a cat not to be codependant? When he can’t find me he cries and cries! I’ve already accidentally kicked him once because he’s underfoot all the time - he was way more laid back in the shelter. 
He’s a sweetie, though, hasn’t clawed me once even though I’m kind of clumsy with picking him up. Keeps running in front of you to make you stop and then coercing you into rubbing his tummy. He’s loud at night - I tried to keep him in the bedroom/master bath (where his litterbox and things are) so I could turn on the motion detector last night, but he whined and whined… and even when I let him roam the house it was all crunch crunch with the food and trying to get on the bed (a battle I will fight) and some ungodly scratching noise that I don’t know what it was and don’t want to know. I don’t think he’s slept yet!
So, anyway, before you see the pictures he wouldn’t sit still for, I want advice on the little things I didn’t think about.
How, exactly, do you scoop a litter box? (I get the scooping part, but where do you put it?) You can’t flush it, right? Do you guys keep plastic bags around and a trash can with a lid? I saw some fancy Diaper Genie looking thing for kitty litter, anybody have one? What’s the accepted protocol?
Will he always be so noisy at night?
How do I keep him out of places I don’t want him to go? He keeps trying to sneak into my gas log fireplace, which worries me three ways - pilot light, potential fire if I don’t notice him when I turn it on, and it’s covered in gravel that might to him look like a great place to take a crap. Is there something I can put down that they don’t like to step on where he goes into there? (I can’t put the screen where it touches the brickwork and makes a complete barrier because there’s a gas line there.)
Is he going to crap in my flower pots?
Can a cat be kept off a table? Several tables? (Kept pulling him off the coffee table, so I bet he’s taking a nap there right now.) I haven’t let him in the kitchen yet, but when I do, can I keep him off the countertops? (When I’m not home?) Is he going to eat out of the trash can?
Do people really cut their cats’ nails? How do you start? (By just handling his feet?)
How exactly am I supposed to pick him up? I keep trying to find a way to do it and support him, but obviously I haven’t been getting it right.
Also, their little toes are really weird. I just wanted to let you guys know that.
Okay, okay, here’s some pictures. Happy now?
squeeee! He’s such a cutie!
BTW, you are going to lose the sleeping on the bed struggle.
Get a squirt gun or the like. If you give him a shot of water when he goes on the counters/tables eventually he will stop going up there (when you are home).
The trash thing seems personal from kitten to kitten. Minx would never go near the trash no matter what was in it. Sammi always rips open the bags to check things out (but she is getting better about that).
I keep a bunch of plastic grocery bags in the bathroom closet. That’s what I scoop used litter into.
Best of luck with your new little kitty overlord.
Lillies are incredibly toxic to cats. They don’t actually have to eat them. Just walking on a little pollen and then licking their paws will do it.
Here is some good basic everyday info on being owned by a cat, including a list of toxic plants. And no, I wouldn’t keep a toxic plant and hope a bitter apple spray will stop the cat from eating it.
Try this for some cat info of basic health care tip (pics of trimming claws!), safety issues, feeding tips, behavior info, etc. -
Congratulations!!
He’s been unloved for a while, he’s in a new place, with new people and a new dog. He needs time to adjust to all this. Some cats don’t like to be held, or sit in your lap, but do like to sit beside you and be petted. Give him lots of love, and let him sleep in your bed. Because he’ll do it whether you let him or not. Make sure to rub his chin, and between his shoulder blades, and tell him that you love him.
Yeah, I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate the squirt bottle as a 3 AM solution to the bed problem.
Oh, I moved the lily before the cat ever came home. He’s nibbling on my banana tree, though, bitter or not bitter. It isn’t poisonous, it’s just a plant I like. It drives me nuts that he’s home alone unsupervised and is probably sleeping on my bed digesting a nice big meal of banana leaves. I suppose getting a cat is going to force me to surrender some control, huh?
I’ll get a squirt bottle for the table thing. I mean, especially with the kitchen counters. And the dining room table, it’s not very nice to have company over and there’s an animal on the table.
I’ve really never met a cat who really sought after affection like this. My boyfriend’s roomate’s cat will let you pet him, for some predetermined time, and then you better be done or you’ll be done. Dewey gets upset if you stop petting him. He’s not a lap cat, though. He’s like my dog, he’d really rather you got down on the floor to pet him.
See, this is why cats are weird. Every cat I’ve ever gotten has immediately hidden for several days after I brought it home. The last cat hid for almost a week (then crept into bed at 4:30 one night and spent as much of the next six months as possible sleeping on top of me.)
I find that Quaker Oats canisters work well. Just scoop out the box, dump them in the canister and empty the canister into the trash on collection day.
Your mileage will vary. But once the cat is comfortable, it should stop whining. Unless it’s locked up. Cats hate that.
Maybe. I had a cat that was determined to poop in my hibiscus. Had to put window screening over the pot.
No. Probably not. Maybe if you’re incredibly consistent and alert and conscientious with the use of the squirt gun.
Yes. The ease of this depends on the cat’s temperament. Sometimes you have to wrap the cat in a towel. You can buy a clipper thingy. Don’t cut it too short – there’s a vein or something in there.
How, exactly, do you scoop a litter box?
I use a larger litter scoop (we have four cats; it’s usually a fairly big job) I scoop into a kitchen garbage bag or plastic shopping bag, tie, then throw out in the garbage.
How do I keep him out of places I don’t want him to go?
Either block it off or get a spray gun filled with water. Note that I have yet to find a solution that works permanently; if it isn’t blocked off and you squirt them with water to get them to move, they’ll eventually to back there whenever they damn well please – especially if you aren’t paying attention. I have a cat who keeps climbing on my TV stand (which has about six inches of clearance on either side) so she can scratch furiously at the mirror behind the TV. She seems to be desperate to get to the cat on the other side. No amount of “Get down!” or spraying keeps her off more than a day.
Will he always be so noisy at night?
Possibly. It’s probably too soon to tell, since he’s still acclimating to his new surroundings, and given that he just came from a shelter may still be haboring fears you might leave him. He may still remain a vocal cat though, but there are ways to train that out of him, at least partly. Whether or not they would be effective or if they would meet with your particular set of ethics (i.e. cat collars that can give a small electric shock) is up to you though.
Is he going to crap in my flower pots?
I haven’t known a cat who does unless the pots are large and provide enough room for kitty to walk around in. They seem to prefer flat surfaces in which they can squat to do their business, and if there happens to be diggable material in the vicinity so much the better.
Can a cat be kept off a table? Several tables?
Only if A) They smell really bad (to the cat), B) They are very uncomfortable to walk or lie on, or C) Your surfaces are able to actively participate in their own defense. Actually, you can get perimeter guards that can help keep cats out. Essentially they’re little devices that are placed on ether end of an area you don’t want the pet to cross. They shoot out an infrared beam to a receiver on the opposite side, and if the beam is broken it emits a high pitched squeal that pets are supposed to dislike very much. I don’t know how effective they are though. This may be effective in training them to stay off or out of certain areas, but it relies on the idea that your cat will be bothered enough by the noise it makes to stay away from it, and some cats are more stubborn than that. The other down side is that they’re battery operated so will require battery swaps when they run out. Since they’re just little IR transmitters/receivers though they probably last quite a while.
Do people really cut their cats’ nails? How do you start? (By just handling his feet?)
Pretty much by grabbing their paws and splaying them (gently but firmly) betwen thumb and forefinger with one hand while the other cuts them with kitty clippers. Usually you’d have to have someone else hold the cat while you go to work on the claws, as the cat won’t take too kindly to the activity.
How exactly am I supposed to pick him up?
I pick mine up with hands around either side of the torso, underneath the front paws. To hold a cat I will put his forepaws over my shoulder and support the hindquarters with the other hand – a little like a baby, actually, but not necessarily holding on to the head.
Teaching a cat to stay off your table is, let’s not mice words: A Losing Battle. The best to hope for is that the cat will now not to be on the table when you’re around to get mad.
Same with the bed. Cats want to sleep on the bed with you. Myself, I find the loud nighttime purring kind of soothing. Helps me nod off.
We keep an old, big plastic bowl next to the litter box, dump what we scoop in that, then haul the lot to the garbage can. Keep some old newspapers handy, I like to lay a layer of paper over the litter I just dumped, keeps the odor down.
Don’t pick your cat up by the belly, all our cats like to be carried around once in a while, and they get the 'perch". Their back legs are on one arm, their front paws cradles in the opposite hand, this way they’re not carrying weight on their stomach.
I doubt he’ll try to crap in the fireplace. Cats are fastidious (I spelled that wrong, didn’t I?) about where they go. If they go somewhere other than their box, that’s often a sign that something is wrong - sick, or just PO’d. If that does get to be an issue, pet stores have some kind of spray you can use to keep them from doing it. It’s nothing you can smell, it’s a hormonal thing (Feloway?) that keeps them out of the area.
Relax, the cat will teach YOU everything you need to know about taking care of him.