I am getting a kitty, finally

bakearama

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I am getting a kitty. She is about four weeks old, and just started testing out solid food and litterboxes. I named her Jainy after a song by my favorite band. I don't know what breed it is. She is the most adorable little thing I ever saw, three more weeks is too long to wait to take her home. Does anyone have any good tips on stuff to get and how to get to know her personality better. I have been doing my homework so I know all the basic information about kittens and cats that I think I need but I would love tips if you have them.
 

krazy kat2

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I know you are excited about getting your kitty, but if at all possible, she will be better off if she could stay with her mom and littermates for a few more weeks. She is very young and has not had time for her mom to teach her things she will need to know to be a well adjusted kitty. Most breeders like to keep them until 12 weeks, but many people let them go at 8.
If it is just not possible, you will be able to get lots of good advice here. It has been a long time since I had a kitten around, so I will leave the kitten rearing advice to the others. Congrats on your new addition!
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by bakearama

I am getting a kitty. She is about four weeks old, and just started testing out solid food and litterboxes. I named her Jainy after a song by my favorite band. I don't know what breed it is. She is the most adorable little thing I ever saw, three more weeks is too long to wait to take her home. Does anyone have any good tips on stuff to get and how to get to know her personality better. I have been doing my homework so I know all the basic information about kittens and cats that I think I need but I would love tips if you have them.
Look at the top of the page to the right of The Cat Site logo, you will find information boxes. Click on Cat Care and you will find plenty of information about how to take care of your new kitty for a long time! And Welcome to TCS!
 

chromodactyl

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kitten really should stay with its mum its just a baby and needs her love warmth,milk and her "cat" advice.Be patient wait it out you will have a much happier grounded kitten-plus in the meantime you could occupy yrself with buying toys,necessities,reading up on kitten care.
 

alleygirl

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Congrats on the new kitty! It really should stay with the mama until a very minimum of 8 weeks. 10 or 12 weeks would be much better.
 

Asteria

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Aww, congrats, you must be really excited!
But I agree with the above that the age seems very young. 8 weeks and better, around 10 weeks, seems like a healthier age for a kitten to leave its mother. Along with weaning and eating solid food there comes a lot of things a kitten is still learning and developing and socializing while being with the mother and littermates.
 

bab-ush-niik

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Agreed with the above comments. Those last few weeks are when the mommy cat socializes the kittens. If you can, ask the person with the cat if they will keep ALL the kittens until 12 weeks. That way, they will all socialize together. I had a kitten at 7 weeks (Princess), and she never got along well with others for her entire life (she lived to 17). She also had weird behavior issues.

Trust me, you want to wait that extra month. It will be worth it. Maybe the owners of the mother cat will let you come by to visit her once a week? It really is important that she be with her mom and siblings until then though.
 

mybabyphx

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Yes, I will also agree with all of the other posts. Kitty is too young to come home with you, even in 3 weeks from now- she'll still be too young. She needs to learn how to live and the only one that can really teach her everything- is her mommy!

Check out the pregnant cats and kitten care threads. There will probably be info in there about kitties that could benefit you!



Welcome to TCS!
 

crazyforinfo

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Welcome to TCS! Congrats on the new kitty! You will find great advice here as you already have seen. Good luck!
 

minxie

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Hi there! Welcome to TCS! Its the perfect place to learn and share your experiences about Jainy. Good luck with settling her in when you eventually pick her up! Ideally, its best kitty stays with mum as long as possible as this helps with socialisation skills and also helps reduce the risk of annoying habits like scratching and biting when playing.

The kitten forum will be of great help to you no doubt. On the behaviour thread you will pick up tips about assessing the cats personality. A lot of it (I mean the cats personality) is based on the early months (weeks even) of the kittens life. It needs to be with its mother but be handled regularly and played with by humans. This will encourage kitty to be social, friendly, affectionate and not nervy.
 

coolcat

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Hola y bienvenido a TCS, ...Catulina
y Milky
te saludan!
!........

(Translate: Hi and Welcome to TCS, Catulina and Milky say hello to you!!!...
)
 

dawnofsierra

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Welcome, to you and Jainy!
Four weeks old is extremely young for a kitten to be away from her mother. She's still in need of certain special care. How about if we move Jainy's and your celebratory thread to our kitten forum so that our special kitten experts can share their tips with you
 

goldenkitty45

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The IDEAL time to adopt a new kittens is 10-12 weeks old. NOT 7 or 8 weeks old. Kittens need to stay with mom/siblings for as long as possible to learn how to socialize with other cats, dogs, etc. ; to play and learn interaction with siblings and to be mentally and physically ready to leave.

If younger then 10 weeks old, you can wind up with behavior problems more then if you left them for a few more weeks.

With pedigree cats, breeders will not let them leave till 3-4 months old. My rex kittens were not even wanting to eat solid food till 6-7 weeks old, and they were NO where near ready to leave home before 4 months old. I taught them house manners, they got to socialize with everyone (animal and people) and by the time the were in the new homes, they were very outgoing and well-mannered kittens.

PLEASE wait till your kitten is 10-12 weeks old if you really want the best for them.
 

msgoody2shoes

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I got my cat Clawsie when she was 8 weeks old and she is now 13 and has always been a very odd cat. She has known me since I was 4 and am now 17 and yet she is laying on a pillow on a bed by my desk and can't fall asleep for more than 30 seconds because any noise will make her open her eyes and look around. She has never played with the two other cats and has probably spent 80% of her life sleeping. If you make any sudden movements around her she gets nervous and the only way to get her near you is to be very still and talk in a very gentle, soothing voice.

Let me tell you it gets pretty irritating after 13 years of this. I love her to death but I know she is like this because she was taken away from her mother just too early. Every single member of my family is a cat person and always has been so there really is no other reason for her to be like this. It really is in your best interests to keep your kitten with mama as long as possible because you must realize getting a cat is a responsibility that may last up to 20 years and you want to do everything you can to ensure it is the best possible years you can hope for.
 

keisha

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Congratz on finally getting a kitty!
Yep, if you can wait to get her that would be wonderful. Have you ever heard the saying: some things are worth the wait ?? I think that applies to this.

If you can, buy a nice soft blanket for your kitty, and giveit to t he breeder (not sure if its a breeder or not but..) for your cat. If the mama cats sent an the the other babies scent geets on there, it will be easier for her because it will smell like home. My friends did that for their kitten and it made the transition from the two houses much easier.

For supplies I would get:
-A litter box (I would also get airfreshners, because even if you clean yours everyday, it is gonna have a odor, i just put them by the box, and then it smells better.THe ones with the covers are nice, but some cats won't use them, I know Keisha wouldn't likeit.)
-Food (make sure its kitten food)
-A bed (some ca ts dont sleep on them, but if you encourage it when shes a kitten she might. still its a good thing to have. if y ou dont wnat to buy one a box o r laundry basket with blankets in it would work nicely)
-Food and Water dishes
-Toys -kittens LOVE toys-
-Cat scratcher (this really helps so she doesn't get your furniture)
Their is so much more stuff you can get for her, but thats basically the nesities there. So good luck!
 
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bakearama

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Thanks everyone for the help. I just want to say that I haven't taken her home yet. I still have to wait for several weeks. I really appreciate everyone's stories about new kitties. As soon as I can I will talk to the people who have her and her family to see if I can wait a few additional weeks to take her home.
 

minxie

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You have lots of time on your hands to read up about kitten care and get everything ready!
One toy I really recommend is a teaser (e.g. Da Bird)...Jainy will love it! Will you be microchipping her? What food will you be giving her? Her first vaccinations...these are all issues you can start thinking about...but you probably know that anyway lol.. Just trying to be helpful and think of all the 'kitten preparation' issues I had to think of. Also making your house a kitten safe place is important. Jainy will be getting into every place possible as a little adventurous kitten, if u let her. So just make sure everywhere is safe.


Thats great that you are not getting her too early. She will be a better and happier pet for it.

Cant wait to see pics once the little one is with you.
 
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