I’m so excited…my family has had cats all my life but this is the first one that’s going to be all mine.
I know all the basics, of course, from having lived with animals all my life, but I would like to do everything right (even those things my parents may have done wrong…)
I would especially like tips on keeping an indoor cat that isn’t depressed and sad, and doesn’t destroy the house with scratching. (All our family’s cats have been outdoor, but I want my little girl to be indoor because I will be moving into an apartment soonish and she wouldn’t be able to be outdoor there anyway. Plus, it’s safer.)
For full information, I live with my parents now, in a house with two 10 year old outdoor male cats and a female Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy. My kitten is a girl, and I’m getting to take her home in three weeks.
You did not say how long it is going to be until you move to your new apartment but here is some advice for now.
Since there are cats in the house I would seperate her in your room with lots of toys, litter box, food, water and a scratching post. Never play with the kitten using your hand or toes. If the kitten starts biting or scratching you hands and feet redirect the play with a toy. Laser pointers are great distractions.
Let the cats and dog sniff her under the door. You can also get towels or old blankets and let the kitten and the resident cats and dog sleep on them and then trade after several days so they get each others scent.
Don’t be upset if the resident cats hiss. That is normal. I would leave her isolated until she gets a clean bill of health from the vet and gets her shots. Also get her spayed ASAP. They can do it at a very young age now.
After that make introductions slowly and watch the resident cats carefully. They may just hiss and then ignore her but they could also get aggressive if they feel their territory is threatened. You can also try dabbing vanilla on all the cats heads and the tip of their tails so they smell alike before introductions.
If you are worried about her scratching furniture you can get her soft claws which are caps you can glue to their nails and prevents them from clawing stuff up. But the best thing is to teach them to use a scratch box or post at a young age and they will continue to use it.
Pics are requested in three weeks Have fun with your new baby.
I can’t introduce her to the other animals that slowly, alas. I don’t have room in my bedroom for a litter box or a scratching post or any of that stuff (and I wouldn’t want to sleep in a room with cat poop anyway…) She is going to the vet/getting spayed very quickly though.
I also don’t want her in my room because she could hide under the bed and then I wouldn’t be able to find her. I find myself worrying about every place she could hide Do they make kitty GPS systems?
Well is there any spare room you can keep her in? Perhaps a spare bathroom? A sun porch? Some kittens can be introduced very easily but sometimes there is conflicts and the kitten needs a safe space.
Yay!!!
The kitten most likely will hide somewhere. She will be scared being taken away from her mother and litter mates. You need her to bond with you. Even if she is hiding under your bed you can talk and sing to her. Sit on the floor and read a book or a magazine and speak to her.
Do not make direct eye contact as she may see that as a threat. Just speak softly and gently. I find that cats can not resist fried chicken and cheddar cheese and can be used to lure them out of hiding places. Just move slowly and don’t grab at her. You want her to come to you on her own.
Not really. Every room has places she could hide, so none of them are any good really. Can you crate a cat like you do with a dog? I don’t want her hiding because then I’ll always be scared that she got outside somehow.
You really should let go of this fear of her hiding, it’s really very natural and healthy for a kitten to explore and hide.
Can’t you cat-proof your house so that the cat can’t get out? I’m sort of confused.
Even so cats are also very territorial, even young ones, so on the chance she sneaks out she may stick around close enough. Think of how people with outdoor cats feel. There’s always the first time you let a cat out.
If you have no spare room then you can. You will need a large crate like for a dog or a large cage but watch the bars on a cage as a small kitten can get their head caught between the bars. You need one large enough for a small litter box on one end and food and water on the other.
My mom kept her new kitten in a large crate at night or when she took showers and stuff. Anytime when she could not supervise the interaction between her resident cat and the new kitten. She only used it for a couple weeks until the cat and kitten were getting along with out to many issues.
I agree. It is natural for them to find a cubby hole to sleep in and feel safe.
I would would not let her out if she is very young. I have outdoor cats but they are spayed or neutered, have all their shots and were at least 10 months old before I let them outside.
When you do move into your apartment, you might want to consider getting a playmate for your cat. Since I’ve gotten Edison, Dewey has been much less likely to be a little bastard. I think he was bored before, sometimes.
Older cats could hurt her - I’d definitely keep them separated at first, until you know she’ll be OK around them. She’s going to be very scared at first and will need a place to hide. I adopted a semi-feral barn kitten a few years ago and while she hid under the bed in the room we kept her in, she did come out and now she’s fine. Hiding under the bed was something she did in the first few days, but the only time she does it now is when I vacuum.
My advice is buy good food and scratching posts. Food - feed a good quality. I like Wellness Core (grain free) for dry and Merrick for canned. I don’t believe cats need grains (most cat foods have them) and I don’t trust protein glutens since the food scare in March.
Get a scratching post that is big and heavy - not one of those flimsy 3’ high posts on bases that most pet store sell. The reason cats like to scratch furniture is because it is sturdy and doesn’t tip when they get going. Get a post that won’t tip over.
Trying to keep your new overlord in a crate will take up more room than a litter box unless you are using a very small crate–that would be hard on a kitten. She’ll need to explore and run around so the sooner she knows you are her human, the better. And she’ll learn that faster if she lives in your room and identifies the way you smell with all things good for a kitty.
I love kitties–in fact one of the first threads I ever read on the Dope was one called “Kitties, kitties, kitties!” and that thread made me laugh out loud.
I would definitely get her her own litterbox, at least at first. Resident cats may be offended at some new cat pooping in their potty, and decide the corner will do until the offending poop is removed.
Also, yes, a big heavy scratching post, made out of weaved straw or whatever that stuff is, but not carpet (that might encourage her to use regular carpet). And clip her nails. Get her to trust you first, to where she doesn’t mind you holding her. Then just sit her in your lap, pet her, and using regular old human fingernail clippers, clip the nails not quite to the quick. If you’re hurting her, she’ll let you know.
And seriously, let her hide. All cats need a safe place where they feel like nothing can get them, especially kittens who’ve just been totally displaced from everything that made them feel secure. Let her find her own security in your house, and don’t worry too much when you can’t find her… she’ll come out for food and bathroom eventually. And it’s highly unlikely she’d try to get out of your house, because she’s already scared, and outside is even scarier to most kittens who weren’t born there.
I plan to feed high quality food. The older cats eat Castor and Pollux Organix, and I’m going to get her something of that sort of caliber. I won’t be feeding any wet food (none of our cats have ever eaten wet food, because it smells terrible.)
And on the scratching post, do those flat scratchy board things that you can hang on the wall work well in your opinion? I ask because I have found that the most scratching gets done by our cats on the moldings around the bedroom doors, which are in a narrow hallway with no room to put a scratching post right near the problem area. But I could probably hang a scratchy board right over where she’s likely to claw.
She’ll be getting her own box, just not in my room. It’ll be in the upstairs bathroom, right next door to my room.
Okay, okay. I’m just worried for her
Also…are there any good ways to make her love me, and not like my parents more, since they’re both home all day and I have to work? I don’t want her to think of my parents as what people are like. (My parents are wonderful people, don’t get me wrong, but they’re sort of in the “hands-off” cat-rearing school, wherein our cats have no toys, don’t get a lot of play or attention other than petting, etc. whereas I want to be active cat-mommy who plays with her with toys all the time and stuff and socializes her to accept having her nails cut, her teeth brushed, my hands in her mouth in case she needs pills, etc.)
If she sleeps in your room she will Because that will be her safe place and it smells like YOU.
Also re the scratching posts, some cats are horizontal scratchers and some are vertical. I’d always had vertical scratchers (as in the couch or curtains) until Chloe acquired me. She is a horizontal scratcher and loves the cardboard scratch dealies (they are essentially disposable and she shreds with glee).
Also, though I will be taking a lot of care of her, she is not acquiring me, I’m acquiring her. I’ve had cats before. They don’t actually run your whole life. (Just a tiny sub-section :))
Our local vet won’t spay our kitten until she is at least 6 months old. Our first cat ways spayed at about 3 months (and that was a few weeks later than planned, because she had a cold) by a different vet 5 years ago.
Our current vet is of the opinion that while the surgical techniques are certainly available to spay that young, the fact is this is a rapidly growing young animal and the “trauma” of surgery is quite harsh when they are that young, and it is better to wait until they are a little bigger and can handle it better. She says there really isn’t any advantage to doing it young, while there is some advantage (better able to handle the shock) to waiting a bit.
While we are certainly willing to wait (especially considering the 1200$ vet bill the other cat just put us through; UTI spread to kidneys), I am curious about this point of view; are other vets going back to waiting, or is it just ours? Years ago they wouldn’t do it til they were 5-6 months old, then it was 2-3, and now it’s back to 5-6, IME.
Regardless, please consider discussing this with your vet to see where they stand.
Also, since your kitten will be exposed to outdoor kitties, that basically means that there is a risk of transmission of all those outdoor viruses, so please get your kitten vaccinated! Our vet also gives kittens 2 full doses of vaccines, rather than giving 2 half doses and then a full dose, like our previous vet did. Ask about that, too, because just the basic consult fee at the vet is expensive, and it’s a good thing if you can save some cash!
Around here all the shelters do pediatric spaying and as far as I have been able to determine the literature consensus is that they actually recover quicker, younger. The biggest physical result seems to be, perhaps ( one study suggested this ), a leggier adult cat. The American Veterinary Medicine Association seems to be a supporter:
Do they make kitty GPS systems? 
Because that will be her safe place and it smells like YOU.