Need help with Kitten

Ok so i'm getting a 2 month (8 week) old male kitten on sunday. I know its a little young to leave the mom, but he is weanged and is using the litter box and eatting on his own. (owner of the mom can no longer keep him or his brothers any longer. dont worry brothers have homes lined up too)

I have a 1 1/2 year old, spayed female named Shadow at home already. What i need to know is the basic of kitten care. And how do i get the 2 cats to get along. Shadow is a very playful cat, and is still a kitten at heart so i dont think she will hate having him around, buti dont if i should just let them meet by them self or do something else.

Any help would be nice. What do you know now about kitten care that you wish you knew then. Thanks for all the help and quick replays.

I think the very first most important thing is to make sure the kitten has been tested for all diseases and has had a health check to make sure it's not going to bring in any health problems to your kitty.

Next thing is to take things S-L-O-W-L-Y. Keep the kitten in a room on his/her own, and keep her there until it's ready to explore a bit further. The kitten needs to learn where its litter box and food is, and in a big, new house, it can be very daunting. Even once the kitties are friends, it can be helpful to put the kitten in a room at night until its fully settled in.

Start of with the kitten in one room, and let Shadow sniff under the door at the kitten. If Shadow has something that she likes to sleep on, put that in with the kitten so she can start smelling like Shadow - and likewise, once it smells more like the kitten, you can give it back to Shadow to get used to the kittens smell.

We've let our cat/s meet the new addition/s on the kitten's first day here - just a nose to nose sniff, and did regular short, supervised introductions. Some cats may find this too stressful, and you may want to hold off introductions for a bit longer. See how it goes and make that decision yourself.

We got Stumpy who was really laidback, and seemed to want a friend, so adopted Lily, and there's was hissing for the first couple of days, and by the 3rd day the hissing had stopped, by the 4th day they were friends, and I think a day or two after that, Lily was suckling from Stumpy...

With our new little foster kitten, the cats took longer to get used to her - partially because she STUNK, partially because she was tiny and frail, and couldn't be played with or interacted with. But within 2 weeks when the kitten was a bit bigger and stronger, Lily decided she was ok, and now they adore each other.

So it just depends on them I think - just use your judgement. We made sure if the bigger cats hissed, we reassured and petted them rather than yelling at them and stressing them out further.

Let us know how it goes, and if you have any specific questions, feel free to post them no matter how silly they may sound!

I have heard that kittens need to be feed 2-3 times a day... is this a must? i only ask becuase me and my husband both work during the day. we were planing on for the first day or 2 put the kitten in the office with door shut with a dish of dry food with water in it, water, and litter. and after the first 2-3 days of that put him in the bath room with a baby/child gate in the door way so the cats an have some inter-action but yet, he cant roam the whole house. and then when we know for sure that he is using his litter box and that shadow will not pick on him then we will let him out.

Does that sound like it would work?

Shadow has been fixed but what is the likly hood that she will take him in as her kitten and act like his mom. (i dont care either way, but its nice to hear peoples stories)

What can i use as a kitten litter box. i was looking at the pet store and was not able to find anything that a 2 month old kitten could climb in to?

Now he is healthy (per vet) but does not have his shots yet. From what i have found on the internet i should not give him any shots or de-wormer tell he is at least 2-4 months old. Is this true? What does is the time line for shots? (i got shadow at 1 year old, and she had not had any shots or de-wormer. vet gave all at once, and then the next day did the spay)

My female cat is spayed. Do i have to get my male kitten fixed to? what is the benifit of having him "fixed" what is the Con's of not having him "fixed" Please keep in mind both of my cats will be 100% indoor at all times during their lifes

A kitten that age does need feeding 3 times per day, and if you can find a way to make most of his diet wet, that would probably be better for him, leaving him dry as a snack. If you cannot be there to do that then can you get an automatic cat feeder, that keeps food fresh and opens at set times during the day? I have used those with great success. Kittens need an awful lot of fuel! He will use a lot of energy too, so the more you can interact with him the better - I know how it is when you are at work, but try mnot to leave him alone more than you absolutely have to - he is still really too young to be away fromMom and siblings, but you know that.

Do get him fixed or you will have a frustrated and miserable cat who will fight to get out, and who will soon start spraying your home in an effort to mark his territory from other males and attract females. It will also protect him from some types of cancer later in life. Contrary to what you may hear, neutering will not make him lazy, fat or lethargic, as long as he is fed and played with appropriately.

Others will have lots of tips, especially on the introductions to your other cat.. Enjoy your new kitten.

About the feeding thing, I don't know if this is quite right, but my FI and I both work full-time jobs too, so we'd feed first thing in the morning, right when we get home (we tend to work 8-4 jobs so it's still fairly early) and then around 10-11 at night. The kits seemed to be fine, we managed to get them up to a healthy weight within a week (they came to us underweight, having been taken away from Mom too soon). I'm sure someone on here can tell you if it's right (sorry if it's not, but our HS said it would be fine) and we just left a bowl of dry food out all the time in their crate, fresh water, and did wet kitten food (along with administering their meds) the 3X a day. (though with 6 of them, we had to clean that litter box A TON).

now will he spray even though he is the only male in the house, and there are no stray males around. ? and i still need ideas on what to use for a litter box

It is possible he will still spray.

For a litter pan, you could buy a disposable roasting pan from the grocery and if it's still too high, just cut the sides down a bit.