Please share your kitten tips!

Parent Cafe
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<p>So we are bringing the kittens (yes, kittens–two of them, both female) home on Friday. They are about 10 weeks, have been spayed, and are from an animal shelter. H had cats as a child but otherwise we really don’t know what we are doing. My PetSmart list just has the general stuff (but I have lots of questions)–food (Science Diet is what they have been getting at the shelter, so I assume it is best to continue that at least at first?), food and water dishes (anything special I should know here?), and litter box and litter (are they all pretty much the same?).</p>

<p>Previously, I read some positive references to a “furminator” but the reviews for the kind that Amazon sells are mixed. I would love to minimize shedding–is there a certain type of furminator I should get? Any really good toys? Any other advice??</p>

2

<p>have a small [14" or so] basket on the floor lined with a soft towel , or ideally , an old polar fleece or micro fleece something, so that the 2 of them can sleep in it together. Put them in it when they are looking tired. Have it near their food and [ but not next to] the litter box, which should probably be in a bathroom, for the time being. Give them lots of affection and tell them “good kitties!” when they do what you want- pee in the litter box, sleep in their basket, etc. Get them a 3-4 level rug covered climbing tree- they will keep themselves entertained for hours and hopefully keep off the furniture as well.
If you can, install a cat door in a few weeks that opens outside or at least into the garage, so they can be trained to “go” outside asap. Makes for a much nicer smelling home.</p>

3

<p>Congratulations!! Kittens are a lot of work, but the constant entertainment they provide is so worth it! I assume the kitties still have their claws, so here is what I recommend:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Get a sturdy cat tree and place it by a window where the youngsters can watch birds and other critters. Cats like to be perched up high and will spend a lot of time climbing the tree, which will minimize counter surfing and bookshelf scaling. The tree “trunk” will also work as a scratch post.</p></li>
<li><p>A couple of inexpensive stand-alone sisal-covered scratch posts placed in the strategic locations will bring furniture and carpet scratching to almost zero. Get the kind with a feather toy dangling from the top - the kitties will play with the toy and get used to the post.</p></li>
<li><p>Buy a special pair of scissors for trimming their claws and get the cats accustomed to the procedure.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Oh, and you will also need a video camera and a Youtube account. :)</p>

4

<p>New kittens are such a delight! A favorite toy here is a red laser light. </p>

<p>As far as practical matters go, cats need plenty of clean water. Mine won’t drink if there’s ANYthing in the water, even if she put it there herself! Pay close attention to the feeding schedule and amounts on the food package. Kittens eat a lot, but need much less food as they reach adulthood at about 1 year. </p>

<p>Some kittens have a hard time eating crunchy food, so we softened it with a little water. </p>

<p>You asked about litter. I prefer the clumping kind, and haven’t found anything better than Tidy Cats. </p>

<p>We give our cat plenty of toys, but had to confiscate the balls-with-bells at night. ;)</p>

<p>One more hint: first thing when you get them home, put them gently into the litter box. They won’t forget where it is. </p>

<p>Have fun!</p>

5

<p>Lots of choices when you are shopping for cat supplies. I would go to a high quality independent pet store and ask for help from their cat specialist. That person should be able to discuss the differences between foods, the types of litters and litter pans available, what treats are both nutritious and craved, the best toys currently available etc.</p>

<p>Best selling items for cats in my shop … Blue Buffalo cat food, Worlds Best Cat Litter, Petmate and Hagen covered litter pans and scoops, and we have toys you won’t find anywhere else. We can also order anything your little heart desires for your fluffy friends. </p>

<p>In the pet industry, the big box specialty stores are not especially low priced! My staff does cross-shops <em>all the time</em> and aside from their sales – their regular prices are often higher than mine and we’re going to actually help you find what you need.</p>

6

<p>Furminators – </p>

<p>you won’t need one right away. You want to get an original trademarked Furminator, not a knock-off. There are a lot of counterfeit Furminators out on Amazon, and also a lot of me-too versions from different manufacturers. NOTHING works as well as the original Furminator brand.</p>

<p>(I buy a knockoff and send it home with one of my employees to try. They all prefer the Furminator. Yes – we do product testing so we can honestly recommend what we sell.)</p>

<p>The Furminators are expensive. And they work. Really well. </p>

<p>But for now, start with a soft brush and get the kittens happy being brushed. You can use a small mammal petting brush or a baby brush. The kittens aren’t shedding yet!</p>

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<p>Our two seem to like running water. We started out opening a faucet for a slow drip, but ended up getting a plug in water fountain that gives flowing water all day without wasting water.</p>

<p>If there’s one thing we could have, it would be to somehow keep them from scratching furniture and door jambs. We have scratch posts and other gadgets like that, but we don’t know how to keep them to only use these.</p>

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<p>Keep things low key when you bring them home - actually Friday, Saturday, Sunday - to give them time to adjust. The first couple of days I carried my two kittens to the litter box every hour or so: I wanted them to learn exactly where to find it when they needed to use it. Remember the kittens never really had to look to find their litter box at the animal shelter. Like other babies, they may forget to go until they can’t wait. So every hour or so just put them in the litter box - maybe make their paws scratch around in the litter. One of my kitties needed the reminder more often than the other, I think. She played so hard that she wouldn’t stop til she dropped. She always seemed surprised (and grateful) for a litter box reminder.</p>

<p>I’m glad that you got two kittens: they’ll keep each other company. Two aren’t really more trouble than one. The annual vet bill doubles, of course, but I think it evens out. My two seem healthier and happier having each other as playmates.</p>

<p>We use Tidy Cats clumping litter; Science Diet dry food, an electric water fountain (running water at all times) and I just bought a Furminator after seeing the recommendations on CC - though I agree that you can wait to get one.</p>

<p>You are going to have yourself some fun with those kitties! :)</p>

9

<p>Yay kitties :slight_smile: Suggest for the first couple of days that you keep them in one room; perhaps a guest room? With the litter box in one area and their food in another. They’re going to be a little nervous & that way they can start to adjust to you. You’d be surprised how hard it is to find a kitten when they don’t want to be found.</p>

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<p>Bringing home two kittens at the same time is a good idea. Kitties love a companion. We got two rescue boy kitties last summer to add to our family. I must say, our older girl cat, who was not as delighted at the new addition. What has been nice is that the boys entertain each other and often curl up together in a little nest when they sleep. </p>

<p>We like the Fresh Step Multiple Cats clumping litter. I haven’t liked Tidy Cat litter as much - find that with multiples, it’s not as good on the odor control. You will find what works.</p>

<p>You may also want two litter boxes. Cats are territorial about that sort of thing.</p>

<p>Second that, on fresh water. We don’t have a fountain, but should. They do love fresh water. Change it frequently. </p>

<p>Also agree on the laser pointer. Fun toy. Cats love anything with string or ribbon - attach one to a stick and play with them! Plus get some of those little mice toys and toss them around. It beats them bringing you the alternative - the half dead, bloody real mice! Remember, they are hunters. </p>

<p>We got those oval and fleece cat beds. They like them alot. They also like tearing up my couch. I don’t like that alot. I haven’t been able to break them of this habit, even with scratch posts. I have used the scratch off products, but I don’t think it works as well as advertised.</p>

<p>Were these kitties at the shelter from the same litter? Or two separate ones? </p>

<p>They will probably hide a lot at first until they feel comfortable with their surroundings. We locked them in one room for the first few days. After they seemed much more friendly, we opened the room and let them explore. </p>

<p>Also, not sure about other kitties, but all three of ours absolutely adore those soft serrasoft style fleece blankets. You can get them cheap at a discount store - saw them for $6.99 at Ross. They kneed on them and start purring and it calms them. I think they think it’s their mama. We have several of these for the kitties when they want to lay on the couch with us.</p>

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<p>Oh, and you will also need a video camera and a Youtube account.
[The</a> Internet Is Made Of Cats - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi8VTeDHjcM]The”>The Internet Is Made Of Cats - YouTube)</p>

<p>Its been a while since we had kittens- but you are getting good advice- keep their nails trimmed you will be sorry if you don’t ( but don’t declaw them)</p>

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<p>Too bad we live nowhere near cnp’s shop - she sells good stuff. :)</p>

<p>cnp is absolutely right about the original Furminator being superior compared to cheap knockoffs.</p>

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<p>Kitties will react differently to a new home. Some just have the wander of a new house and do fine. Others might freak out and go into hiding. Having had both types, I would probably introduce them to one room for the first day. Water, food, and a disposable litter tray (with regular non-clumping litter at first). Once they are roaming around and interacting with you, let them explore the house, but you’ve given them a little comfort zone.</p>

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<p>They don’t recommend clumping litter for teeny weeny kitties, I guess because they eat it. But, we introduced ours to clumping litter very early and they had no problem. The world’s most amazing litter box. Get the larger of the two sizes.</p>

<p>[Omega</a> Paw Roll n’ Clean litter box](<a href=“The Omega Paw Self Cleaning Litter Box rules - YouTube”>The Omega Paw Self Cleaning Litter Box rules - YouTube)
[Roll’n</a> Clean Litter box | Self Cleaning Litter Box](<a href=“http://www.omegapaw.com/products/roll-clean-litter-box.html]Roll’n”>Roll'n Clean Litter box | Self Cleaning Litter Box)</p>

<p>My system is to roll it once a day and dump the drawer into large plastic cat litter pail lined with a garbage bag with a tight fitting lid. Once a week, I take the bag and put it in the trash. No muss, no fuss. Add more litter every couple of days. You are constantly replacing the litter in the box with fresh and there’s no reason to completely dump and change the box very often. Every couple months I dump the whole thing and start with fresh, but honestly, I’m throwing out perfectly clean litter. We have two of these boxes, but both kitties use the same one primarily.</p>

<p>We prefer the Fresh Step clumping litter, but any of the major brands work fine.</p>

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<p>Furminator is great. It really does work if you can train your kitties to put up with it. Not necessary until they are little older though. As far as fur, it will really help if you just put an old throw pillow or old folded up towel down where they seem to have found a sleeping spot. They will definitely use it and that contains the fur.</p>

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<p>Any toy on the end of a string will drive them nuts. I like tying one end to a little stick for “kitty fishing”. But, be very careful of leaving string or ribbon around. Kitties eat it and cause serious intestinal obstructions. The really the one big precaution to really watch out for.</p>

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<p>Laser pointers are great fun. WalMart sells them with batteries, cheaper than buying the batteries. Little tiny catnip mice are great fun, too. Grocery stores usually sell a package of eight or nine of them, which will immediately get lost under ever piece of furniture in the house.</p>

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<p>Definitely agree with the recommendation for a sisal scratching post or two and for perches where they can get up in the air and look out the window. Cats love to climb.</p>

<hr>

<p>Get on the floor and play with them. If they are spooked, just hold out a crooked finger and them come up and sniff your finger at their own pace rather than reaching out and grabbing them. One of our kitties was a feral cat, born outside in a hole. It spent the first two weeks under a bed and it took an hour of lying on the floor with a toy on the end of a string to entice it out! Letting it sniff a finger was the only way to have contact with the poor thing without totally freaking it out. Most unusual, never had a kitty like that, but it just goes to show the range of responses to a new house.</p>

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<p>Agree on no clumping litter for kittens. I have heard also that they eat it - or maybe it’s more like they just make a bit of a mess and they try to lick off their toes etc. Use standard litter until they are older and not so clumsy then you can switch to clumping (you can still scoop the solids out of standard litter to get it to last longer).</p>

<p>I also adopted two kittens together (three years ago) and at night I put them in an empty bedroom rather than giving them the run of the house or having them sleep with me. Three years later they still sleep in the empty bedroom (well, there’s a bed etc. in there - plus the cat box). I eventually had to get two cat boxes, btw, one of my cats had a problem “sharing” and I had to get him his own.</p>

<p>Scratching posts in front of the couch are a must! Then get a squirt bottle for discipline. If you don’t want them doing certain things when they grow up, don’t let them do it now. I don’t like cats on the table or kitchen counter and mine get a squirt and sometimes a yell when they get up there - mostly they don’t do it though since I have trained them that it’s a no-no. They learn the word “no” pretty quickly if you use it consistently and in the same firm tone.</p>

<p>But mostly just have fun!</p>

15

<p>Laser pointers – if you buy the cheap cat ones they will break asap. I won’t sell them anymore. My experience, in my shop, is that my customer doesn’t care what they spent on something --they expect it to be good quality. Therefore, I won’t carry the poor quality ones I can sell for $3.99 because they will break in a day or so. There’s a brand that retails around $9-11 and it is <em>much</em> better.</p>

<p>Water fountains – awesome product for cats. Several brands on the market. They all seem to last at least a year. Your choice will be between plastic, ceramic, and stainless with different shapes and water patters. I am partial to the Drinkwell brand rather than the PetMate. Hagen (Cat-it) is a low cost but reliable version in pastel plastic.</p>

<p>Scratching posts – come in cardboard for under $15 or carpeted for $20-hundreds depending on size and details. Some of the cardboard scratchers are very cute and fun. The large carpeted ones are more furniture like and priced accordingly.</p>

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<p>We own a Drinkwell fountain - and I don’t remember exactly when we bought it, other than to say years ago. I wash it thoroughly at least once a week and replace the filter as needed. I keep thinking that one of these days it’ll just give out but no signs of that yet. On the other hand, I have my doubts about electric litter boxes - we don’t have much luck with those … nice in theory, in practice not so much.</p>

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<p>I have an opinion on electric self cleaning litter boxes also!</p>

<p>In the words of one of my customers – they don’t seem to work very well and it’s much grosser trying to clean, troubleshooot and fix the mechanical box than it is to just scoop the litter box in the first place!</p>

<p>There are two quality levels out there. This info is from the manufacturer. Poorer quality is from Walmart. Better quality in pet specialty such as Petco. Price difference is about $30-50. Absolutely worth getting the better one. As a consumer, you will not see the difference. The packaging is very similar. It’s just not the same item – check the UPC.</p>

<p>I won’t stock them. If a customer wants one, I order it for them with the disclaimer that my customers have never been happy with them and it would be a final sale as I am not recommending such a thing!</p>

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<p>cnp, I’m totally with you on he self-cleaning litterboxes! There is one that uses some sort of polymeric spheres as litter and requires to be hooked up to the water supply and drain. The box washes the waste off the spheres and then bakes them to dryness. As I was reading reviews of that contraption on Amazon, I was dying from laughter! I almost fell of the chair after coming upon the review that mentioned “the scent of freshly baked cat feces wafting through the house”! LOL. </p>

<p>I got my cats a box that is more than a foot deep and has a sturdy lid with a big round hole in it on rhe top (like a Rubbermaid storage tub). The cats have no problem with it - they hop on the lid, jump down the hole and go about their business. Since the sides are so tall, litter stays in the box no matter how vigorously the kitties work at covering their “deeds”. : Of course, my spoiled kitties have a regular catbox, too, as the second one. Although one has to have n+1 boxes for n cats, I draw the line at cleaning 2 litterboxes. :)</p>

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<p>The absolute best cat toy EVER is the Turbo Scratcher! The only toy all of our kitties have played with consistently over a long period of time. Plus, they love to scratch the center cardboard insert, which is replacable. They tear those inserts to shreds. With that and a nice TALL sisal scratching post, we have only very minimal problems with them scratching the furniture.
[Amazon.com:</a> Bergan Turbo Scratcher Cat Toy, Colors May Vary: Pet Supplies](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Bergan-Turbo-Scratcher-Colors-Vary/dp/B000IYSAIW]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Bergan-Turbo-Scratcher-Colors-Vary/dp/B000IYSAIW)</p>

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<p>Strongly consider making them INDOOR kitties. Indoor cats have a much longer life span.</p>