Kitten dos and dont's.

[Nr1Humanoid]

Friday I'll be getting my first cat, the first animal I've had since living alone.

Arya (named after guess who) is nine weeks old and 100 percent white. So is her sister but I haven't quite decided yet as to take her too or not.

I don't want a lazy cat or a fat cat or a cat that barely goes outside so I'm asking cat lovers and catowners on great ideas how to best raise one.

I don't wanna screw this up.

We'll be flying home to my family twice a year so she'll be well travelled.

[Push R Truth]

are the kitties known breeds/mixes? Or generic house cats?

[amaron]

Don't give it milk.

[Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill]

May 29, 2013 13:04:19 GMT -5 Nr1Humanoid said:

I don't want a lazy cat

Impossible.

[Nr1Humanoid]

May 29, 2013 13:13:19 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

are the kitties known breeds/mixes? Or generic house cats?

Generic housecats. I knew their mom and her mom as well.

[Talent Name]

When they are awake they will want all of your attention and they love to play, also try and see if you can do something about their claws otherwise you will lose furniture, and make sure you can house train them.

[BigJerichool222]

I'd say don't let them outside at all, but that's just me; I've had indoor cats my entire life.

[Lupin the Third]

Make sure to video tape all their adorableness, and post it on here.

Wait no, that's a bad idea. Might give us all heart attacks from cuteness overdose.

[Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill]

For the record, cats that stay indoors will always end up getting a bit fat. due to lack of exercise.
If you do let them out, wait until you've had them for awhile and then get them a collar so they know where home is.

[Sephiroth]

If you intend for this to be an outdoors cat, declawing is a no-no. In which case you should also get a catnip scratching board of post so it won't be exercising its flaws on your clothes or furniture.

[Piccolo]

Give them an appealing scratching post (try 2 different kinds... mine loves the corrugated cardboard more than the seagrass, but she'll use the seagrass in a pinch), play with different kinds of toys (a feather toy, a jingle toy, a laser pointer, etc), and although you want them to be indoor-outdoor, you never know what'll happen in life, so get them accustomed to you handling their paws so that if you eventually need to trim their nails, you can.

If you don't want them to be fat, don't give them scraps from the table, only give them the allotted amount of food in a day, and try not to use food as a reward.

Get the sister, too, so they can play with each other when you're not around or in the mood. It'll keep them both healthier.

Good luck!

[Deleted]

May 29, 2013 13:04:19 GMT -5 Nr1Humanoid said:

Arya (named after guess who) is nine weeks old and 100 percent white. So is her sister but I haven't quite decided yet as to take her too or not.

Rule Number One:


DON'T

f***

WITH ARIA



...wait...

[Dr. T is an alien]

May 29, 2013 18:57:18 GMT -5 Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill said:

For the record, cats that stay indoors will always end up getting a bit fat. due to lack of exercise.
If you do let them out, wait until you've had them for awhile and then get them a collar so they know where home is.

See this fella?



If he spends much time outside he either gets too cold or he gets a sunburn. That's right, I have a cat that sunburns. He won't get fat, however, because even though he is always hungry like a teenage boy, his metabolism is off the scale to compensate for his lack of insulation.

As far as advice about the new kitten, look up what they can safely eat. Milk and chocolate gives them a horrible case of the squirts. They really want to eat avocados and guacamole, but it is toxic to them. They love tuna, but it is not healthy for them to eat it as anything other than the occasional treat (tuna flavored cat food adds the stuff tuna is missing).

[Toxik916]

Do get a puppy and don't get a kitten.

[chazraps]

DON'T LET IT LICK THE BUTTER!

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

When you bring them home, let them roam around the place for a little while so they can explore on their own and find their marks.

Make sure to get them used to going on the litter as early as possible. I suggest putting them on it after each meal. Even if they don't need to go, they'll know it's there and will go on it on their own eventually.

Don't feed them chicken, or at least not with the bones. Pieces of chicken bone can easily snap off and jab them in the throat.

As for going outside, they pretty much do it on their own. You will soon discover the joys of having your cat tap against the front door so you let them out, then five minutes later tap against it again so you let them back in.
But seriously, cats like going outside and they have no problem finding their way back (they usually don't go very far anyway). It's especially handy when you leave the house to go to work or something like that as they can do whatever they feel like while you're gone and again, since they don't go very far, they'll probably know when you're back (some cats even recognize the specific sound of their owner's car engine while they're still several blocks away!). And as Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill, get them a collar just in case. Or better yet, have them tattooed as they don't really like collars and often try to get rid of them.

They love playing with balls and stuff that rolls around in general, so you might want to get them something like that they can play with, and look out for the stuff you DON'T want them to play with.

May 29, 2013 16:34:49 GMT -5 Talent Name said:

see if you can do something about their claws otherwise you will lose furniture.

Indeed, I'd suggest finding a rock or tree log they can scratch their claws against as they seem to love those (from my experience, cat trees don't work). Fortunately, if they're outdoor cats, they tend to find stuff to scratch their claws on outside.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Plant some catnip outside. It is a perennial plant so you only need to buy it once. We planted one plant outside and we have enough to keep several cats perpetually high.

My cat loves me. We give him kitty pot.

[Nr1Humanoid]

Finally got the cats in the house during the weekend.

Problem is they're not affectionate worth shit. You might get away with having them on your lap if they're too tired to bother walking away.

I know it's only been three days so I hope there's ways to turn it around. Maybe I should have stuck to one.

[Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill]

Just give them time to adjust, they have to warm up to you a bit.
Also, good choice in getting two instead of one. It gives them company when you're away that way.

[Nr1Humanoid]

They're 10 weeks old so they haven't had much contact with me before now. Right now they're sound asleep at the other end of the couch.