We're getting a kitten - tips please??

goodmum

Hi, Have finally decided to get a kitten for myself and my child...we're getting him in about 6 weeks and to be honest, I haven't a clue what I need before I bring him home? Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated - I have some friends who have cats so I've been asking what to do with him re the litter tray etc..still unsure about what to feed him, how often etc etc?
Is there a good website - or even a good thread on boards - that could talk me through 'Your first cat' and what to do???

thanks alot

thorbarry

hey, this website seems to have some good info

http://cats.about.com/od/newtocats/New_to_Cats_Getting_Your_First_Cat.htm

kittens are fairly easy going to look after. Feed them a small bit 2/3 times a day, make sure the water bowl is freshly stocked up. When we got our first cat, we just placed her in the kitty litter tray, and she did her business in there. A scratching pole is recommended for them too

irish_goat

Now is the best time to decide what you want to feed it as it's harder to change later on i.e. from cans to dry food. Personally I think dry food is the best as it's cleanest, never smells and easy to dish out. As for how often, we have our cat's bowl in the utility room which is always closed so the cat lets us know when it wants food by standing outside the door. Basically, it eats whenever it wants to eat and usually eats about a handful of dry food at a time and we make sure it has a bowl of water available too.

For the kitten, head down to the pet store and there's plenty of different kinds of kitten specfic foodstuffs you can get. Depending on it's age you might need to start it off by just feeding it on milk.

A litter tray is essential at the start though you should look into getting it toilet trained (assuming you have a garden) as soon as possible.

Plenty of guides here. http://cats.about.com/od/newtocats/New_to_Cats_Getting_Your_First_Cat.htm

Gordon Gekko

irish_goat wrote: »

A litter tray is essential at the start though you should look into getting it toilet trained (assuming you have a garden) as soon as possible.

Why would you encourage a cat to poo in the garden if it is willing to use a litter tray? It is responsible cat ownership to discourage the cat from using gardens as a toilet - the op has a young child who could come into contact with cat faeces in the garden.

Surely it is better to have the cat use a litter tray, which is a controlled, sanitary environment? It is potentially dangerous to the OP's child, not to mention incredibly bad manners to the OP's neighbours, for you to suggest that the OP encourage the cat to do its business outside instead of using a litter tray.

Dixie Chick

Gordon Gekko wrote: »

Why would you encourage a cat to poo in the garden if it is willing to use a litter tray? It is responsible cat ownership to discourage the cat from using gardens as a toilet - the op has a young child who could come into contact with cat faeces in the garden.

Surely it is better to have the cat use a litter tray, which is a controlled, sanitary environment? It is potentially dangerous to the OP's child, not to mention incredibly bad manners to the OP's neighbours, for you to suggest that the OP encourage the cat to do its business outside instead of using a litter tray.

You are terribly hyped up about the cat using the back garden as a toilet.

Why is it bad manners to the OP neighbours?

Draupnir

Dixie Chick wrote: »

You are terribly hyped up about the cat using the back garden as a toilet.

Why is it bad manners to the OP neighbours?

Is he/she going to train the cat to respect property boundaries as well?

irish_goat

Gordon Gekko wrote: »

Why would you encourage a cat to poo in the garden if it is willing to use a litter tray? It is responsible cat ownership to discourage the cat from using gardens as a toilet - the op has a young child who could come into contact with cat faeces in the garden.

Surely it is better to have the cat use a litter tray, which is a controlled, sanitary environment? It is potentially dangerous to the OP's child, not to mention incredibly bad manners to the OP's neighbours, for you to suggest that the OP encourage the cat to do its business outside instead of using a litter tray.

Cause it's the natural way. Is the OP supposed to stop any wild animal coming into their garden incase it takes a dump and potentially harms her child?

kiffer

Draupnir wrote: »

Is he/she going to train the cat to respect property boundaries as well?

That's easy... Cats know all about property boundaries... They own everything and divide it up between themselves...

Dixie Chick

Dogs go to the toilet outside, anywhere and everywhere. Cats dig a hole do their business and cover it up. maybe dogs should use litter trays as well in case a child comes in contact with it.

kiffer

irish_goat wrote: »

Cause it's the natural way. Is the OP supposed to stop any wild animal coming into their garden incase it takes a dump and potentially harms her child?

We should police the sky to stop the birds flying over and pooing on the garden too...

Seriously though... Cat poo is pretty nasty stuff and can cause a lot of trouble if kids eat it or get it in their eyes...
But cats bury theis poo so generally you don't find it on the lawn... Cats like freshly dug flower beds. which are full of muck. kids should be taught to wash their hands after playing in the mud, with or with out cat poo.

Prof.Badass

Buy a good camera and lots of props for maximum lolcatage.

Gordon Gekko

Dogs are a separate matter. A cat is born effectively predisposed to using a litter tray - the litter is exactly the consistency a cat likes for burying its poo, and provided the owner keeps the tray clean and sanitises it regularly, it appeals to the cat's fastidious nature. It is also free of the chance of predation while a cat is at a delicate stage

My query to irish_goat is why you would discourage this natural predisposition to using a litter tray, when it (a) guarantees that the cat won't be sh1tting all over the neighbourhood and (b) guarantees the cat won't be sh1tting where the child is playing in the garden. The attitude that we have in this country that a cat is a 'wild' animal and should be allowed do as it pleases is silly and outdated. It is simply good manners and good cat ownership to not encourage your cat to sh1t wherever it chooses. Yes other animals will poo in the garden anyway, but if you use that logic why should the OP not squat down and have a dump in the back garden too?

You can boil my opinion down to this: if the cat is likely to prefer using a tray, with all the advantages that go with that, why encourage it to go down the all-round less desirable route of pooing outside?

Dixie Chick

Gordon Gekko wrote: »

Dogs are a separate matter. A cat is born effectively predisposed to using a litter tray - the litter is exactly the consistency a cat likes for burying its poo, and provided the owner keeps the tray clean and sanitises it regularly, it appeals to the cat's fastidious nature. It is also free of the chance of predation while a cat is at a delicate stage

My query to irish_goat is why you would discourage this natural predisposition to using a litter tray, when it (a) guarantees that the cat won't be sh1tting all over the neighbourhood and (b) guarantees the cat won't be sh1tting where the child is playing in the garden. The attitude that we have in this country that a cat is a 'wild' animal and should be allowed do as it pleases is silly and outdated. It is simply good manners and good cat ownership to not encourage your cat to sh1t wherever it chooses. Yes other animals will poo in the garden anyway, but if you use that logic why should the OP not squat down and have a dump in the back garden too?

You can boil my opinion down to this: if the cat is likely to prefer using a tray, with all the advantages that go with that, why encourage it to go down the all-round less desirable route of pooing outside?

One disadvantage is the cost of a good quality litter.

Magenta

Gordon Gekko wrote: »

Why would you encourage a cat to poo in the garden if it is willing to use a litter tray? It is responsible cat ownership to discourage the cat from using gardens as a toilet - the op has a young child who could come into contact with cat faeces in the garden.

Surely it is better to have the cat use a litter tray, which is a controlled, sanitary environment? It is potentially dangerous to the OP's child, not to mention incredibly bad manners to the OP's neighbours, for you to suggest that the OP encourage the cat to do its business outside instead of using a litter tray.

Gordon Gekko wrote: »

Dogs are a separate matter. A cat is born effectively predisposed to using a litter tray - the litter is exactly the consistency a cat likes for burying its poo, and provided the owner keeps the tray clean and sanitises it regularly, it appeals to the cat's fastidious nature. It is also free of the chance of predation while a cat is at a delicate stage

My query to irish_goat is why you would discourage this natural predisposition to using a litter tray, when it (a) guarantees that the cat won't be sh1tting all over the neighbourhood and (b) guarantees the cat won't be sh1tting where the child is playing in the garden. The attitude that we have in this country that a cat is a 'wild' animal and should be allowed do as it pleases is silly and outdated. It is simply good manners and good cat ownership to not encourage your cat to sh1t wherever it chooses. Yes other animals will poo in the garden anyway, but if you use that logic why should the OP not squat down and have a dump in the back garden too?

You can boil my opinion down to this: if the cat is likely to prefer using a tray, with all the advantages that go with that, why encourage it to go down the all-round less desirable route of pooing outside?

Jeez, chill out. I don't see why cat poo is so terrible (won't somebody please think of the children!!!!!) but dog poo is OK? A dog can use a litter tray too.

teckster

goodmum wrote: »

Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated -

Since this seems to be your first cat, be prepared for him/ her to jump around the place like a maniac

In the long run dry food, with exceptions, is the worst for cats, as it usually contains kidney damaging 'fillers'.
My cat eats meat and a little bit of Orijen.

Our latest cat is like a dog in that he chews or tastes everything incl. cables.

Apart from food and a litter tray, a collar with his phone number is a good investment

tk123

For starters don't waste money on a cat bed - cats will sleep wherever they want. A fleecy blanket will do the trick. Make sure you have the usual litter & tray, scoop, food bowls, carrier etc. Make sure you have scratchers too so it doesn't wreck furniture etc - Aldi/Lidl have had cat trees over the last few weeks - these are brilant and will have hidey holes, platforms etc that the cat will adore. Kittens will get into tiny places, behind presses etc so if you have any spaces like this that you don't want it to get into cover them up now before they get in. Get a brush and get it used to grooming from the beginning -also lint rollers for when there's hair everywhere Get a collar with a bell so you know when it's nearby - kittens have a habit of getting under your feet.

The Sweeper

Care sheet from this forum's care sheet sticky:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=57818717&postcount=53

The Sweeper

Dixie Chick wrote: »

Dogs go to the toilet outside, anywhere and everywhere. Cats dig a hole do their business and cover it up. maybe dogs should use litter trays as well in case a child comes in contact with it.

And people can be fined if their dog shits in a public place and they don't pick it up; beaches and parks are full of 'poop scoop' bins, and many people poo-scoop their own back yards before they let their kids out to play in them. It's generally considered responsible dog ownership to clean up your dog's shit.

Cats shit in flower beds, kids' sand boxes and love light-weight mulch and freshly dug earth. They also do this all over your neighbour's gardens, and unlike a dog, you probably don't follow them around and pick that up so your neighbour is left dealing with your cat's shit.

This is a contributing factor to why if someone says "I hate cats", a few people in the room will nod in understanding, where if they say "I hate dogs" there'll be gasps of horror.

Additionally, other than the fact that encountering something else's shit while you're digging your garden beds or playing in your sand box is unpleasant and unhygenic, toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. Cats shed the disease in their faeces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

If you allowed your dog out and it trotted across the road and crapped in your neighbour's front garden, you'd be told you were an irresponsible dog owner and quite possibly an obnoxious individual with no regard for your neighbours. Let your cat do the same thing though...