Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Strange Cat/Kitten Question
Options
-
04-08-2008 3:53pm#1
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Ok so it looks like I am getting a kitten and i have also bargained it to have it inside too
Which is ace.
Although the buying of the food and vet bills etc are my responsibility but everyone will look after her.
Anyways whats the best food to feed a kitten that may have not been weaned and what is the best food for a kitten that has been weaned.
Also with litter trays , do kittens tend to take to them quite well, or how do I go about training them to use it per se.0 -
-
-
Some cats are intolerant of cows milk and it will upset their stomachs. So as a general rule, don't give cats milk.
However - I will admit I give my Milly a tiny bit of milk sometimes as a little treat. It doesn't upset her stomach, so no harm, I reckon. I don't think its particularly nutricious for cats though, so not to be used as their dinner. (I suspect this whole "Don't give cats milk" is over-emphasised now in order to sell more Whiskas Cat Milk!)
Always have fresh frequently changed water available for your kitten/cat - they can get kidney problems otherwise. (However, you may find that it'll prefer drinking from the kitchen sink instead!
)
When are you getting your kitten? You must be quite excited! Just be sure to check that the previous owners have wormed it. And you'll need to get it vaccinated against cat flu etc (Also don't forget to get it neutered/spayed at about 6 months!)
Best of luck with it!0 -
Defo looking forward to it should be the weekend. I am not entirely sure of the age , but I believe its more than two months old. I also think its been fully vaccinated and wormed.
Actually do I need to have it spayed if its going to be an indoor cat , or is just a given you get it spayed?
MsFifers, what do I actually feed it, as in whats the best, Can you feed just dry food or does it need to be a healthy mix of both as in whiskers etc, it really is a new experience all of this.0 -
Advertisement
-
Van Zuylen wrote: »Actually do I need to have it spayed if its going to be an indoor cat
Yes!!
I found that just feeding them a good quality dried food (for kittens, until they're about 1) will keep their poo-output to a minimum! Very important when you've got a litter tray indoors! :pac:0 -
-
Van Zuylen wrote: »Actually do I need to have it spayed if its going to be an indoor cat , or is just a given you get it spayed?
Yes - do. It isn't just to stop him/her making more babies. Intact males will "mark" their territory - ie spray really stinky pee around the place. Neutered males don't do this. Also unspayed females when they go into heat will start acting ... well.. lets just say - a bit weird!Van Zuylen wrote: »MsFifers, what do I actually feed it, as in whats the best, Can you feed just dry food or does it need to be a healthy mix of both as in whiskers etc, it really is a new experience all of this.
I was advised to feed a high quality dry kitten food at first - like Hills or Royal Canin. You won't get them in the supermarket - it'll have to be a vet or a good quality pet shop. They are more expensive, but if you buy in bulk, it'll work out about the same - cos your cat will be healthy! The dry stuff is v. good for their teeth.
I leave a bowlful of dry food out for mine in the morning and let them pick away at it over the day. Kittens especially have small stomachs so need to eat small amounts v. often.
I'm beginning to suspect Whiskas is giving one of my cats an upset stomach. You could try it out and see if you kitten is ok on it. The advantage to tins/pouches is the water content which is good for the kidneys - but its usually only about 4% meat - so it is crappy food quality. Maybe stick with the dry food for now. You could give the odd treat of a Whiskas kitten pouch or even some cooked chicken/fish if you have some leftover (no bones though!).
As the kitten food has v. high fat content, after about 6 months you can change to adult food (do it gradually ie mix in a bit of the new food with the old so they get used to it).
What else can I suggest....:D
Oh yeah - it'll probably be terrified when you bring it home, so put it in a quiet room to settle down for a while, and let it explore the rest of the house on a gradual basis.0 -
Excellent stuff msFifers great post.Yes - do. It isn't just to stop him/her making more babies. Intact males will "mark" their territory - ie spray really stinky pee around the place. Neutered males don't do this. Also unspayed females when they go into heat will start acting ... well.. lets just say - a bit weird!
I was advised to feed a high quality dry kitten food at first - like Hills or Royal Canin. You won't get them in the supermarket - it'll have to be a vet or a good quality pet shop. They are more expensive, but if you buy in bulk, it'll work out about the same - cos your cat will be healthy! The dry stuff is v. good for their teeth.
I leave a bowlful of dry food out for mine in the morning and let them pick away at it over the day. Kittens especially have small stomachs so need to eat small amounts v. often.
I'm beginning to suspect Whiskas is giving one of my cats an upset stomach. You could try it out and see if you kitten is ok on it. The advantage to tins/pouches is the water content which is good for the kidneys - but its usually only about 4% meat - so it is crappy food quality. Maybe stick with the dry food for now. You could give the odd treat of a Whiskas kitten pouch or even some cooked chicken/fish if you have some leftover (no bones though!).
As the kitten food has v. high fat content, after about 6 months you can change to adult food (do it gradually ie mix in a bit of the new food with the old so they get used to it).
What else can I suggest....:D
Oh yeah - it'll probably be terrified when you bring it home, so put it in a quiet room to settle down for a while, and let it explore the rest of the house on a gradual basis.
I am hopefully getting a female so no sprayed cat pee by a male all over the house.
Totally looking forward to this now. When I get it home what should I do, cause if its terrified will it not get stressed and maybe no1/no2 all over the place.
First cat we had must been 19 years ago now, wrecked the place with no2 everywhere, must been completely stressed out , parents were not impressed and he was shipped off to a neighbours who took him in.0 -
-
Some great advice there MsFifers, thank you!LOL! It must have been stressed out! Or else, maybe a bit too young or something.
I think you should just put your kitten in a quiet place, leave a litter tray close by, and it'll figure it out. The fewer other people around, the better, and don't keep trying to pet it if it looks nervous, let it come to you instead.
I kept mine in the hall (tiles!!:D) for their first couple of days, with their litter tray in the corner. I had a little bed ready for them, and a couple of empty cardboard boxes so they could hide if they felt like it.
It took them about 3 days to warm up to me and come over. And probably another month before they would relax enough to sleep on my lap! Now they are the cuddliest cats in the world and snuggle up to me every evening.
If it does have a mishap just lift it into the litter tray, clean the area completely and use white vinegar to remove the smell (not bleach as the ammonia in it will actually cause the cat to pee again there to cover up that smell). Cats naturally prefer to bury their waste, so when it is in its litter box it should figure out that it is a handy place to dig - easier than carpet!
When I get her, I will let you know how I get on.
On a side note thankfully we have no carpet, only tiles and laminated floors
Anyone with any other advice feel free to add 0 -
-
Oh - I forgot to say - you should ask what it is currently being fed, and give it the same thing at first. Changes can upset the little tummies! You can gradually introduce your high-quality-nothing-but-the-best food after a while.
You really don't need a lot of stuff. Just food/water bowls, a couple of litter trays, litter (again whatever it is used to). You can give it a bed - can just be a box with an old towel or cushion, or it may prefer to sleep on your sofa!
A scratching post is good - or else it might use your furniture. Try to find a v. long one though -most of the ones for sale are too short and your kitten will outgrow it pretty fast.
Kittens turn everything into toys so don't worry about that!! Some little scrunched up balls of paper will keep it entertained!
Aw man! Now I really want a kitten! 0 -
Again more good adviceOh - I forgot to say - you should ask what it is currently being fed, and give it the same thing at first. Changes can upset the little tummies! You can gradually introduce your high-quality-nothing-but-the-best food after a while.
You really don't need a lot of stuff. Just food/water bowls, a couple of litter trays, litter (again whatever it is used to). You can give it a bed - can just be a box with an old towel or cushion, or it may prefer to sleep on your sofa!
A scratching post is good - or else it might use your furniture. Try to find a v. long one though -most of the ones for sale are too short and your kitten will outgrow it pretty fast.
Kittens turn everything into toys so don't worry about that!! Some little scrunched up balls of paper will keep it entertained!
Aw man! Now I really want a kitten! Thanks MsFifers. 0 -
Yes, lots of excellent advice from MsFifers.
I'd go with dry food only, Royal Canin or Hills are both excellent. Our kat had water and Hills until she was one, and now she's on water and Whiskas Complete Dry Food. As far as I know, Milk is food to cats, not drink, so as she's getting the Dry Food, she doesn't need milk at all. Find a brand / type that's good for the cat and the cat likes and stick to it, as MsFifers says they don't like change. As she also said, Dry Food is good for their teeth too, and has the added advantage of not really smelling or going off like an open tin of cat food.
We kept our kitten in the hall for about a week too, so she got used to it etc. Took her most of the week before she'd stop trying to hide from us and actually purred, though she had spent the first weeks of her life outdoors away from humans. All you need is one bowl for food, one for water ( don't put them beside each other, keep them separate ), a litter tray ( ours just used the tray within one day, we put her into the tray once to show it was there, and she quickly realised that the litter was easier to dig than the wooden floors! ), something to sleep on, and maybe even just a paper bag so that the cat can hide!
With litter trays, the ideal is one that's as deep as possible without stopping the cat from being able to climb into it. The deeper the tray, the less chance of litter flying all over the room when she's pawing at it, and it also means you can put more litter into the tray, thus covering up odours etc. But do make sure the cat ( especially when she's small ) can get into the tray!
After a week or two in the hall, start letting the kitten investigate the house more, but make sure there aren't little cubby holes it can get into and not want to come back out of! Find out how much food the cat should be getting each day ( they all have recommended daily amounts ) and give the cat that much each day and nothing else. This will stop the cat getting fat as it gets older.
Cats seem to be either loved or hated by people, but if you're a cat lover there's nothing cuter than having a kitten, you'll have lots of fun playing with it. Don't bother too much with buying toys, milk carton tops are great on wooden floors or lino, as the cat can flick the top and it'll slide away on the floor. A ball of string or tinfoil works great too. Once the cat is older and more comfortable with you, you can play fight with it by putting on a good thick glove or two on your hand, so its claws won't hurt!
Make sure you get it spayed and get its jabs etc., all very important and after the early months it's only once a year for the injections and not too expensive. Don't let it out at all until it's fully recovered from being spayed!
Another good point was made by MsFifers about scratching posts, most of them are very small ( and have VERY small kittens in the pictures to make them look bigger ), so get a big one or your furniture will suffer. Also, Cats, unlike Dogs, can't understand being in trouble hours after doing something wrong. If you come home and they've not used the litter tray, giving out to them, putting them in the tray etc. means nothing to them. The only way they'll learn is if it's done immediately, so if you see the kitten / cat doing anything wrong ( not using the tray, sitting on the kitchen table etc. ) make a noise about it immediately.
Speaking of noise, it's a good way to discourage behaviour you don't want. Our cat used to scratch at the kitchen door ( where she sleeps at night ) until we put the hoover on the other side, and we'd turn it on when she scratched. She learned that lesson quickly and the hoover isn't needed anymore, apart from an occasional reminder, but even now she only has to hear that it's there, we don't have to turn it on!
Lots of advice, but the most important one is have fun!
J.0 -
Advertisement
-
-
-
Some most unfortunate news everyone.
So I was meant to pick up the kitten last weekend but on Saturday morning I got a call from my mate. He had 2 left in the litter, having given away 3, so two were left. He lives out in the country, anyways early Saturday morning screechs from area he was keeping the kittens at the back the house woke him. Both kittens were very badly attacked by he thought a fox maybe, were left for dead on the back lawn, also the mother was quite badly wounded and had to be put down Monday morning due her injuired, both of use were gutted, if only I picked the kitten up earlier.
I never knew a fox could do this much damage especially to kittens.
sad situation, might look into going to the local sanctuary to pick one up now. 0 -
Some very good advice posted here!
Aww sorry Mr X to hear about the loss of the kitten, but you sound like you'd be a very good owner!
Only this mornng a beautiful kitten was brought into where i work, very skinny though as it had been trapped between a wall for 5 days! nervous and hungry but otherwise fine! He went to the dspca shelter in rathfarnham so there ya go! Good luck, cats are great
Hes all black and only about 4 weeks old so itll be another few weeks before he can go to a home!0 -
Advertisement