New to pets, kitten questions

RedXIV

Hey folks,

Hopeful for some advice here Last year I had my arm twisted by the kids (and the better half) to take in some kittens from a friend of ours so we now have 3 cats that are approximately 5-6 months old since we got them.

I'm the first to admit I don't know much about keeping animals but we're doing our best at the moment and I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything detrimental to their health.

First off, As far as I'm aware, we've 2 boys and a girl, so the first thing I'd like to make sure of is that we only ever have 3 cats. What age is appropriate for getting this aspect dealt with?

Also, we're generally feeding a full tin of cat food between the 3 of them 3 times a day, is this too little? Ok? Excessive? We've gone up in the amount of food as we've basically taken investigation of the food bowls by the cats as indications they are hungry and proceed accordingly. About the only thing we've really done with this is moved from food "in jelly" to food "in gravy" as they take to it much better. We've also kept them on water than with milk going from my friend's initial notes when we first got them.

At the moment the cats spend a fair chunk of time outside and then sleep inside. They were originally locked into the shed in the evenings with a bed and all but when it got a bit colder, my wife moved them into the house. Anything we need to worry about here? We've a dog next door (small highland terrier) but the cats seem far too quick and evasive for him so I've not tried to stop them getting in (which would be tricky as there is already a high wall, trees and chicken wire between the gardens.)

They also seem to wrestle a lot, no visible wounds or anything but wouldn't be unusual to hear wailing sometimes as one pins the other. I presume this is just play fighting but mentioning it in case it's important.

The only other thing I'd like to ask about is one of them seems to dribble a lot when he lies on me getting rubbed. Is this normal too?


Sorry for all the questions, I know there is a lot here but I really appreciate any advice!

Red

jenn1984

Hi

I have 3 adults and 4x8 month old kittens (long story) so have become expert in this area in the past year. Kittens can usually get done in Ireland from the 4 month old stage - we got our only female done at 5 months and this is a good idea as it prevents the kittens getting frisky with each other, males can be done at this stage or a bit later depending on finances - however I wouldn't let the males outside until they get done (cuts down on roaming). I would say one can between three is excessive - we split a can between 6 and top it up with a few crunchies/nuts (3 times a day - but did 4 times a day until about 6 weeks ago and decided to cut them down) and we let them have access to fresh water. The wrestling is totally normal as long as there are no visible wounds - our lot beat the cr*p out of each other and then cuddle/give eachother baths 2 minutes later. Can't give advice on outdoor habits as we haven't summoned up the nerve to let ours outside yet. Any more questions just let me know.

Jenn

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RedXIV

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Haven't been to a vet yet, booked in for one tomorrow.

I'm actually not sure if they were vaccinated before we got them. I know one of them had worms which we had to medicate for. But that seems to be resolved now since.

Hopefully I'll get most, if not all of the above done then.

Cheers,
Dave

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RedXIV

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The female should be safe from male siblings though right???

Or should I separate them??

Alun

RedXIV wrote: »

The female should be safe from male siblings though right???

Not at all, animals have no concept of family relations.

RedXIV

Alun wrote: »

Not at all, animals have no concept of family relations.

OK, I'll separate them somehow for the next while and get the vet to get started on the neutering.

Thanks for the heads up!

Rommie

I would definitely be getting them neutered/spayed asap, they certainly don't care about being related. If they're going outside they should have been vaccinated as young kittens, and I would highly recommend getting the feline leukemia vaccination done as well

Ayuntamiento

Move onto dry food asap as it's better for their

Ayuntamiento

I'd move them onto dry food asap. It's better for their teeth. I always thought wet food was a luxury but my little guy loves dry food and it doesn't stink as much.

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Junkyard Tom

A dry food (only) diet leaves a cat in a constant state of dehydration and is suspected of causing serious health issues in the long term. I personally wouldn't give a cat dry food at all.


The Truth About Dry Cat Food.

RedXIV

Today's new lesson has been: get a cage for bringing them to the vet. the box we brought them home in is no longer up to the task.

Thanks for all the advice so far guys, Spoke to the vet who confirmed a massive amount of it too. First set of vaccinations done, neutering and next set all booked within the next 4 weeks.

I nearly know what I'm doing now

Nody

RedXIV wrote: »

Today's new lesson has been: get a cage for bringing them to the vet. the box we brought them home in is no longer up to the task.

Go big on the cage and preferably top loaded (a lot easier to put a cat in a cage through the "roof" than the front door when they don't want to cooperate). The model I always recommend for normal cats is the Ferplast Atlas 30 open top as per below picture. You can find it in most pet stores; we got two and they are still going strong after several years of hard (ab)use.

Oh and if you got a cat who's not happy in the cage (most are not to be fair but we've had a few who did not mind) put a blanket over it all; the darkness makes them feel more secure.

Nody

Nody wrote: »

Go big on the cage and preferably top loaded (a lot easier to put a cat in a cage through the "roof" than the front door when they don't want to cooperate). The model I always recommend for normal cats is the Ferplast Atlas 30 open top as per below picture. You can find it in most pet stores; we got two and they are still going strong after several years of hard (ab)use.

Oh and if you got a cat who's not happy in the cage (most are not to be fair but we've had a few who did not mind) put a blanket over it all; the darkness makes them feel more secure.

My cat absolutely loves his carrier. We left it lying around as we didn't have anywhere to put it at the time and he was always going in there for a snooze despite having loads of other beds and cat houses and towers. So we put some vet bed in, took off the door and like you say we put a towel over the top and sides. He sleeps in there most nights and usually at some point during the day. He sleeps in the other places too but that's one of his favourites.

Now when we need to take him to the vets or anywhere we just point and ask him to go in and in he goes. He's such a weird cat!