# Tomorrow I own a kitten...now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2006, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653 "2006-09-14T08:54:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/41 "2006-09-15T06:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=dnooman] Wow! Thanks for all the tips! I’m using lots of the ideas as we speak. I can’t take a photo to save my life, so don’t expect much. Here’s [Leela](http://community.webshots.com/album/554130687XOkqqN). Yes it’s from Futurama, but it sounds like it would make a good kitty name to me. I’m taking suggestions for her name too. She’s really sweet and affectionate. No firebreath or evil farts yet, knock on wood. Hopefully I can post some better and cuter pics later. Thanks again. [/QUOTE] She’s adorable. If you use those pillows a lot, it’s a great idea to let her snuggle on them, too, so that she imprints on your scent. I believe that kittens, puppies and human babies can’t be overhandled, as long as you put them down when they want down. So hug her all you want, as long as she’s good with it. She’ll be happier, and so will you. I guess no one told you the facts of cat names. People don’t name cats. Cats will let you know their names, as soon as you have proved yourself worthy. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/42 "2006-09-15T06:17:22Z")
The cat is a Marmalade… Check the house for things that can choke a cat. Grey nearly croaked on a chair, one of those with the spokes as a back. Grey poked her head near the top of the chair back, then slid down the spokes. I saw her do this, and rescued her before she choked. I then removed those chairs. Also check things like dishwashers, washers, dryers for cats before running. Green laser pointers work better than red, but at the end of play, give the cats something solid to catch. Also, get a cat carrier. Essential for vet visits. Leave the carrier open when not in use, let the cats use it as a cave. And understand that when you let the cat sleep with you, that that’s it … the cat will sleep with you from now on. And get the first cat a second cat, soon. And get the cats vet screened ASAP, and consider health plans with regular visits. Cats tend to hide their ailments until they’re serious. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/43 "2006-09-15T16:50:18Z")
Two weeks back we got a six-week-old white kitten and named him Van (short for Vanilla, tho’ Vandal also works). Fortunately he had already been introduced to the joys of the litter box, but the one we had was economy sized, so to speak. No problem - I screwed together some one-by boards of different lengths to make a stairway (I called it “The Stairway to Heaven”). Rather to my surprise, he readily marched up it and into the box. Alas, it’s probably the only thing that has been easy with him! So, when should he be neutered (and yes, I’ve already threatened to castrate him myself! :eek: ). ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/44 "2006-09-15T18:37:03Z")
dnooman, your new kitten overlord is adorable–but you might have to reconsider the name. Since the orange color is sex linked\*, it’s much more likely that any orange cat is a boy, and since young kittens are notoriously difficult to sex, it might turn out that your Leela is more of a Frye–which would be appropriate as the hair color is right for the name. 😉 My daughter had an orange cat that a vet declared to be female, and she was named Sadie–later on, Sadie developed a big old set of balls and the name was changed (also due to a a greater familiarity with his temperament) to Sado. \*From [this site:](http://www.fanciers.com/other-faqs/color-genetics.html) > [@](#): > > In comparison, the red-based (phaeomelanistic) colors have much less variation. Red is usually described as orange or “marmalade”, but some red cats have rather pale pigmentation and so people may describe them as yellow. Cream is the dilute form of Red, and is described as a buff color. The symbol for the gene for Red/Cream is (O); Black is recessive to Red. > > The Red gene (O) is carried on the X chromosome; for this reason it is sex-linked. Males normally only have one X chromosome and so if a male carries the Red gene at all, he will be Red. Females have two X chromosomes; if both X chromosomes carry the Red gene, then the cat will be Red. However, many females carry the Red gene on only one chromosome, which allows the black-based pigmentation to show through in patches. This combination of red and black is called Tortoiseshell. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/45 "2006-09-15T19:04:47Z")
Oh, and to establish my bona fides as an Orange Cat Overlorded One, [here is a picture of He Who Must Be Obeyed!](http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/smartaleq/IMAGE_0062.jpg) (Commonly known as Pratchett, or Dammit getouttathere!) Let the SQUEEEEEing ensue! 😉 \*For those keeping score at home, this cat is a bit over a year old, and that chair is 30" wide–yes, he is indeed bloody huge. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/46 "2006-09-15T19:22:13Z")
Plug up any openings between the kitchen cabinets and appliances. My new kitten got behind the stove through a tiny opening and while trying to get her out, I discovered a tray of rat poison that must have been put there by the previous tenant. I was warned against using clumping litter until the kitten is six months old. Apparently the dust is especially sticky and their little lungs can’t handle it. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/47 "2006-09-15T19:38:39Z")
[QUOTE=cerberus] Grey nearly croaked on a chair, one of those with the spokes as a back. Grey poked her head near the top of the chair back, then slid down the spokes. I saw her do this, and rescued her before she choked. I then removed those chairs. [/QUOTE] I saw my cat do the same thing…after I rescued her, I mercilessly laughed at her. I kept the cat, and the chairs. She was so humiliated by the laughing that she has never tried it again. To the OP, get to know a vet now so that when you have an emergency you know exactly where to go and who to call. If you can, get a vet with emergency hours, if not, find your nearest emergency vet. If you want to crate train and/or leash train, now is the time to start. My cat is both and it makes travelling with her and taking her to the vet and taking her hiking and camping much easier. Find an almost fail-proof way to find/call your kitty like shaking a can of kitty treats and get her used to coming to you when you use it. And post more pictures, especially of her watching OSU march to a national championship this year. Have you considered Scarlett or Brutus as names? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/48 "2006-09-18T16:06:48Z")
**dnooman** How about an update on your new master. A picture or 2 would also be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/49 "2006-09-18T17:06:30Z")
Awwwww! Cute little kitten! [QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] I was warned against using clumping litter until the kitten is six months old. Apparently the dust is especially sticky and their little lungs can’t handle it. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard that the reason you shouldn’t use clumping litter with little kittens is that they might eat it (eeewwww!) and it can block their intestines. I’ve also heard that that’s bunk. I used clumping litter from when I first got the Neville kitties (we have an automatic litter box, so we have to use it) and never had a problem. Katya, the younger of the two, was about five months old when we got them. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/50 "2006-09-18T19:57:17Z")
How did I miss the picture link. :smack: What a cutie pie! ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653/51 "2006-09-24T05:40:06Z")
Thanks for this thread. We just got ourselves a kitty too, though he’s a bit older than Leela (such a cutie!) and we’ve had cats, all strays. We don’t know the kitten’s name, but we call him Jork (long story). He was found by my brother-in-law in Kansas City, running around outdoors. BIL had the vet check him and had all pertinent shots done, but was told the kitten was too young to have his balls chopped yet. We snuck him [back to Chicago on Amtrak](http://www.rhodeshows.com/vickie/galleries/Cats/Jork/). Jork’s giving our older cat Ecto fits because he’s very rambunctious and keeps jumping on Ecto’s back and biting at his tail, which is highly amusing to us. Ecto has always been very very aloof and hissy. After we got him several years ago it took 2 years before he stopped hissing at 3 other cats we had when they walked by Ecto. They were very sweet, friendly cats, but Ecto didn’t want to have anything to do with them and they learned to give him a wide berth, even though they quickly learned he was all hiss and faux bite and not really dangerous. Those 3 cats have since died (not all at the same time, oh my I miss them so, we had two of them for 18 years) and we were left with the one who seemingly hated us. He’s always hated being held and only deigns to be petted occasionally, though in the past few months he’s started to get friendlier. Maybe he finally got it into his walnut-sized brain that the other cats had disappeared and he might be next. Or not, but he’s definitely gotten somewhat more affectionate lately since he’s been the only cat in the household. In any case, this new intruder just will not leave Ecto alone, and it seems to be a good thing, because Ecto’s stopped hissing at Jork (amazing to us, since it’s only been a few days) and seems to be getting into the spirit of play. Sort of. It’s still early days yet. If they ever cuddle up together the universe might be on the verge of imploding, but we’ll see. I’d love to see it. I do worry about Ecto because he’s declawed (he was like that when we got him as a stray from a vet…he and another cat we took in were abandoned in an apartment) and Jork has already drawn blood from Ecto’s ear. I do believe it’s only play but I worry about Ecto’s eyes and ears. My husband wants to declaw Jork but I don’t. I might look into Soft Paws. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-own-a-kitten-now-what/372653.md?page=2)