New kitten incoming
Discussion
All being well we'll be bringing home a new kitten in a few weeks. Previously we had two cats that we rehomed so they were already adults (aged 5 and 2) and the last time I had a kitten was when I was a kid myself, still living at home with my family so it's been a minute...
The drive home is about two hours, we have carry boxes already and new, soft blankets for her. Is it worth a light spritz of Feliway or similar in the box before we set off to help her settle?
The breeder said she's only on dry kitten food so far. I think we will probably want to transition her onto wet and dry, we used Untamed wet food before which our previous cats loved and thrived on. What sort of age should we start that?
For the first week or so at home, I guess we should be keeping her close to us day and night, with bedding, food and water, litter tray and toys etc. on hand and restricting her from roaming around the whole house?
The drive home is about two hours, we have carry boxes already and new, soft blankets for her. Is it worth a light spritz of Feliway or similar in the box before we set off to help her settle?
The breeder said she's only on dry kitten food so far. I think we will probably want to transition her onto wet and dry, we used Untamed wet food before which our previous cats loved and thrived on. What sort of age should we start that?
For the first week or so at home, I guess we should be keeping her close to us day and night, with bedding, food and water, litter tray and toys etc. on hand and restricting her from roaming around the whole house?
When i brought my kitten home 2 years ago i tried to keep him in the living room as much as possible had a bed under the table he used the first night and never again. Litter tray and food. When i was at work kept him looked in the living room and my mother came up half way through the day for the first few weeks.
Within a few days he had the rule of the house tbf when i was home, absolute nightmare in the night amazing how much energy they have when young.
Enjoy every bit because my god they grown fast and before you know it they are a fully grown cat. Mines 2 now still rules the house and my parents house when they have.
Within a few days he had the rule of the house tbf when i was home, absolute nightmare in the night amazing how much energy they have when young.
Enjoy every bit because my god they grown fast and before you know it they are a fully grown cat. Mines 2 now still rules the house and my parents house when they have.
I took a 10 week old kitten in June, my thoughts.
Litter tray in the bathroom.
Food in the kitchen.
Bed under the coffee table.
Don't let him/her in the bedroom.
Moderate the use of toys so they're fun when used.
Cover soft furnishings.
Beware destruction of anything, unravelling of loo roll/kitchen roll.
Keep them shut in a seperate room when you're eating.
Most importantly, lots of attention. Anything on a piece of string and they love it. They're the most entertaining creatures!
Litter tray in the bathroom.
Food in the kitchen.
Bed under the coffee table.
Don't let him/her in the bedroom.
Moderate the use of toys so they're fun when used.
Cover soft furnishings.
Beware destruction of anything, unravelling of loo roll/kitchen roll.
Keep them shut in a seperate room when you're eating.
Most importantly, lots of attention. Anything on a piece of string and they love it. They're the most entertaining creatures!
We had 2 10 week old kittens (now nearly 2 years old) and we did the following
We set everything up in our utility room
Food wet & dry
Litter tray
Beds and even a large dog cage for the first few weeks for night
Scratch posts/climbing etc downstairs, toys, covered all soft furnishings, they seemed to love eating the plants, so they had to be moved out of reach, also started plucking at the stairs carpet, so a few used limes/oranges dotted around, plus some tin foil on some other stuff.
They were absolutely full of energy one minute and flat out the next, once they figured out stairs the whole house became a playground, so shutting doors was a must as you would loose track of where they were in the house.
One seemed to be a bit of a hoarded also, my wedding ring went missing which was later found under our bed in a pile of toys that she had gathered as an example.
We set everything up in our utility room
Food wet & dry
Litter tray
Beds and even a large dog cage for the first few weeks for night
Scratch posts/climbing etc downstairs, toys, covered all soft furnishings, they seemed to love eating the plants, so they had to be moved out of reach, also started plucking at the stairs carpet, so a few used limes/oranges dotted around, plus some tin foil on some other stuff.
They were absolutely full of energy one minute and flat out the next, once they figured out stairs the whole house became a playground, so shutting doors was a must as you would loose track of where they were in the house.
One seemed to be a bit of a hoarded also, my wedding ring went missing which was later found under our bed in a pile of toys that she had gathered as an example.
We recently brought two two kittens home at 15 weeks. The drive was about 4 hours. We used a large cat box in the car lined with blankets and a puppy pad. No accidents and we let them both out of the both during the drive; they snoozed on our kids or looked out of the window.
We have an older resident cat. The kittens live on the top floor with the kids. I installed a stair gate and some Perspex to keep the kittens on the top floor (they occasionally bolt when someone is coming or going). We have a covered litter tray and a feed station on the landing, and lined the floor with those soft foamy kids jigsaw type tiles with a cat-it mat in front of the litter tray.
We stuck with the breeder’s dry food choice but will move them onto our preferred brand once that has run out. We have a ton of frozen Katkin stuff that came with them as a bonus but we give them thawed white fish (Sainsbury’s freezer cabinet) or finely chopped chicken (but a cheap one, butcher it, poach it for 45 mins and strip it). Once they get older we will try them on other meats.
The older one has only recently started on Untamed, which he is quite keen on, but for most of his life he was on “real” meat/fish.
Any toy with a feather and/or a string will keep them going for ages. They sleep wherever they want and rarely in the same spot two nights in a row. They have taken to sometimes peeing in the bath - keeping an inch of water in the bath cures that.
An issue with two is that at feeding time one will inevitable eat faster, then once finished move to the other’s bowl. That needs physical intervention, and if the slower eater wants to leave some for later, putting their unfinished food out of the way until they are ready to come back to it.
Kittens are great fun to have around. When they have the zoomies, it’s like hearing an unloading of golf balls!
We have an older resident cat. The kittens live on the top floor with the kids. I installed a stair gate and some Perspex to keep the kittens on the top floor (they occasionally bolt when someone is coming or going). We have a covered litter tray and a feed station on the landing, and lined the floor with those soft foamy kids jigsaw type tiles with a cat-it mat in front of the litter tray.
We stuck with the breeder’s dry food choice but will move them onto our preferred brand once that has run out. We have a ton of frozen Katkin stuff that came with them as a bonus but we give them thawed white fish (Sainsbury’s freezer cabinet) or finely chopped chicken (but a cheap one, butcher it, poach it for 45 mins and strip it). Once they get older we will try them on other meats.
The older one has only recently started on Untamed, which he is quite keen on, but for most of his life he was on “real” meat/fish.
Any toy with a feather and/or a string will keep them going for ages. They sleep wherever they want and rarely in the same spot two nights in a row. They have taken to sometimes peeing in the bath - keeping an inch of water in the bath cures that.
An issue with two is that at feeding time one will inevitable eat faster, then once finished move to the other’s bowl. That needs physical intervention, and if the slower eater wants to leave some for later, putting their unfinished food out of the way until they are ready to come back to it.
Kittens are great fun to have around. When they have the zoomies, it’s like hearing an unloading of golf balls!
8bit said:
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated!
Another question, we may well end up with another kitten fairly soon after getting the first. I presume we should still introduce them gradually and with care, or do kittens just get on with it?
Generally, kittens are much easier to introduce to each other than older cats so you should be fine. Depending on how long you've had the first one they may well still see it as their "domain" but won't be so territorial about the house.Another question, we may well end up with another kitten fairly soon after getting the first. I presume we should still introduce them gradually and with care, or do kittens just get on with it?
A good tip is to take something of yours with you when you pic the new one up (something you've worn like an old jumper etc) and put it in the box with the kitten you're bringing home. Then when you're home, allow the current resident to approach the new one in the box, have a sniff etc then let them out. That way they'll pick up your scent on them.
I have currently got two male kittens that are 14 weeks old and they drive me mad, nothing is safe anymore and they have just realised they can jump up on to the kitchen worktops, they are being chipped and chopped in January and I can't wait, they should be able to go out then and give me a rest. I do love them but if I had my time again I would have got 10 month old cats.
PhilkSVR said:
8bit said:
Well, here she is...
Luna, nearly 4 months old, Neva Masquerade. Bold as brass, owns the house already
She is beautiful, I have a Maine Coon, but yours is a pretty thing. Love the eyes Luna, nearly 4 months old, Neva Masquerade. Bold as brass, owns the house already
OP, great looking kitten.
Feeling sad now after losing my two earlier this year
nordboy said:
My wife wants a Maine Coon. Whilst they are fantastic, they look like they can grow to be massive?
OP, great looking kitten.
Feeling sad now after losing my two earlier this year
The girls are smaller, the boys can be bigger. Mine isn’t that big. Lots of fur though OP, great looking kitten.
Feeling sad now after losing my two earlier this year
Edited by PhilkSVR on Thursday 24th October 17:11
8bit said:
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated!
Another question, we may well end up with another kitten fairly soon after getting the first. I presume we should still introduce them gradually and with care, or do kittens just get on with it?
We went to a rehoming centre to get one kitten but they handed me another one who just started purring and cuddling in in my arms and looking up at me, so he had to come home with us too! Both were 6 months old at the time and had never seen each other before.Another question, we may well end up with another kitten fairly soon after getting the first. I presume we should still introduce them gradually and with care, or do kittens just get on with it?
We asked would they get on ok and the lady in charge let them sniff each other for a moment nose to nose and said "they'll be fine".
We popped them in the carrier and they have been best friends ever since.
I'd suggest getting the second one sooner rather than later as they are great entertainment for each other.
nordboy said:
My wife wants a Maine Coon. Whilst they are fantastic, they look like they can grow to be massive?
(
Our oldest and original MC is 8kg. Not monster sized by MC standards, but everyone who comes round says he is huge. By the standards of a regular cat, he is. (
Unusually for a cat, they continue to grow until they are about 2.5 years old.
Thanks for all the kind comments! Yes, the plan is we will get another, we'd talked ourselves round to potentially taking two from her litter if any others were still available by the time we collected her but they were all spoken for. I think we'll give her a few weeks until she settles in, she's doing very well so far but we're aware her entire world has just changed so don't want to stress her out too much. She's eating and drinking well and sticking fairly close to my wife and I so far.
Beautiful Maine Coon there - we suspect one of our previous two was a MC crossed with something else but couldn't be sure.
Beautiful Maine Coon there - we suspect one of our previous two was a MC crossed with something else but couldn't be sure.
Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff