Need help! New "mommy" to be

hello,
I have just adopted a 9 week (just about) kitten and will be picking him up on Saturday. I have soooo many nutrition questions. I don't know what I should be feeding him!! I have just spent the last couple of hours reading many of the threads here and my head is spinning. I am planning on (based on some things I have read) feeding him wet food in the morning before I go to work, and at night when I come home, and leave some dry food for him to have while I am away. Is there a "recipe" out there somewhere telling me what, when, and how much to feed him?!! I know so many things have been affected by the recall, so I am not sure what is truly safe. How much actual food should I be putting out at each feeding (both wet and dry)..do I give a whole can, or just certain amount of oz? Also, should the wet and dry come from different companies? Does it matter? What are the best foods??
He has been eating Royal Canin right now..plus something else mixed I think. I don't know if I should just keep this as his dry food, or transition to something better.....I want to make sure that I take care of my new baby!!

(this is just the nutrition questions....I have a whole bunch more about kitty litter and kitty litter boxes!!)

From what I've read, Royal Canin is a good quality food. And a kitten should be free fed his dry food, so it sounds like you've got the right idea

As far as litter boxes are concerned, I think most people here use a plain box, some are covered, like I have a Booda Dome box that I love. As far as litter goes, I am using a mix of Swheat Scoop and Arm and Hammer. There are a lot of different opinions on litter.

I am bumping your post up because there are people here who know a lot more about this stuff than I do. I hope this helps a little And Congratulations on becoming a new meowmy!!!

Ask all the questions you need to - it's great to be informed!! Congrats on your new addition for a start!

Now be aware that he is very young still, so he may not have spent enough time with his mother to teach him not to bite hard and things like that. So he could be a bit of a handful. I would recommend getting a second cat - kittens do SO much better in pairs, and believe it or not, 2 kittens are less trouble and work than 1! Your kitten will want to constantly play, and if you're not there to entertain him, he'll probably get a bit destructive. So seriously consider a playmate for him to make life easier for yourself!

As for food - make sure you get kitten food, and make sure you leave high quality dry out for him all day. All cat food will come with feeding guidelines, so have a look at that, and use that as a starting point. If you use a combination of wet and dry, obviously do less then recommended of each. I give my kitties Felidae wet and dry, and they love it, and have really nice glossy coats, and are very healthy and active.

Just start off giving your kitty a small amount of wet food when you give it to him, and if he scoffs it all down, maybe give him a little more next time. You'll soon figure out how much he *needs*. You can also ask his current owner how much he gets fed and what he's eating now - you may want to use what he's currently eating, then slowly transition over to whatever you want to feed him.

As for kitty litter - we have a deep covered litterbox just to cut down on mess You'd probably need to start with a less deep litter box though - he may not be able to get in and out of a big litterbox to start with Once again, find out what sort of litter he currently has, and use that, then start mixing in whatever you want to use until he's transitioned over. you don't too many sudden changes for him! We use Fresh Step indoor clumping litter, and it works well for us.

You'll also want to keep him confined to one room then slowly introduce him to the rest of the house. If you give him too much space too soon, he'll probably forget where his litterbox is, and have accidents. Then he'll smell his previous accidents, and keep trying to go there...

Sorry, this was longer than I meant it to be - my husband is away and I can't sleep, so I'm just passing time on here....

Originally Posted by sarahp

I would recommend getting a second cat - kittens do SO much better in pairs, and believe it or not, 2 kittens are less trouble and work than 1! Your kitten will want to constantly play, and if you're not there to entertain him, he'll probably get a bit destructive. So seriously consider a playmate for him to make life easier for yourself!

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I just want to add my two cents that getting 2 cats was the smartest thing I ever did. They are great company for each other.

I don't know anything about what to feed kittens, but I would recommend staying away from anything that has any glutens or anything processed. I (and my cats) like California Natural, but I'm not sure if that's suitable for kittens. Some foods are for all life stages. I'm feeding mine a combination of Cal Natural and Orijen, as well as wet foods 3 times a day, and they have beautiful, soft, shiny coats.

Congratulations on becoming a cat mommy. You'll love it.

I've never had 2 cats at one time before now but I have to say I'd recommend it as well. To see Bijou and Mika together is enough to bring tears of pure joy to my eyes. They cuddle up together during the day and at night they sleep with their humans (us). They play and chase each other, share litter boxes, food and water. I've told our daughter that if she ever moves out that Mika must stay. Bijou and Mika would be so lonely now if they were separated.

As to a diet - I'd give the best quality wet food you can afford (and as you say you've been reading the threads here you probably have a good idea already from Sharky as to what foods are better quality) and also a good quality dry food. Your kitty will get better nutrition from better food and it will cost less in the long run as your new baby won't need to eat as much of the good stuff.

I'm so glad to see folks like you come to a site like this to learn what you can to make your partnership with your new kitty a successful one. I only wish I had done the same before we lost our Simba. If I had known then what I've learned here, I honestly don't believe we would have lost him.

And, finally, as you probably already know, we at TCS LOVE pictures.

Enjoy your new fur baby and we hope you stay around and join in with all us "regulars" and become a long-time member of this wonderful site.

Remember, no question is a dumb question if you don't know the answer. We're all here to help in whatever capacity we are able.

Thanks for the suggestions! Keep them coming!!!!

OH...btw...I just applied for another kitten!! Not from the same litter or shelter, though! My husband really wanted an orange tabby (he had one as a child) and I found one! They are both the same age..more or less...fingers crossed!! I may be bringing two babies home this weekend rather than one
!!!

I went out and bought some wet food. I got Wellness kitten formula, Merricks Southern Delight (I think), and NutroMax kitten, chicken and whitefish (I think). The kittens each come with a bag of Royal Canin, and I also bought a bag of Wellness Kitten dry food.

I can't wait to take pictures and post them.. I am still not sure what Kitty litter to get. Apparently, one is using Shaw's brand gravel, and the other is using scoopable something or other...I read about Nature's miracle and would like to try it, but have not read enough reviews yet.

That is such great news. You may have to introduce them slowly to each other but then again if you are bringing them into the home at the same time you may luck out and they'll bond immediately. Let's hope so, but if they don't just keep them separated and introduce them slowly.

As for kitty litter, we use World's Best Kitty Litter and although it is more expensive than some, I find it lasts longer as well so ends up costing about the same in the long term. It's also a better litter for kittens than a clay litter because they tend to like to taste-test the litter and since WBCL is made with corn, it won't hurt them if they eat a bit.

Good luck with your new kitty, and I think you are so wonderful to be so loving and so concerned!

I use a 50/50 mix of Nature's Miracle and World's Best Cat Litter. I haven't tried the WBCL by itself yet, but I like that it seems to form harder clumps than the Nature's Miracle alone did. But I really like the odor control of the NM, and the scent of it, so I may stick to the mixture.

RC is a good food, I like this for young kitties since it is small and softer thou the ingrediants are not as good as Wellness IMHO ..

Food comes down to a few things

What you want it to do ... ie coat , poop smell, high protein , UTI health

How much you can comfortabley spend ??

What the cat is willing to eat ... the greatest food does nothing if the cat wont eat ...

I would advise trying several brands of wet .... some mix drys( I do ) but I try not to for that in young kittys as if problems come up you have a harder time figureing it out...

I use chicken feed for litter and swheat scoop ... it works for me and my $$

Good on you for getting a second kitten, that's a great move Hope it all goes well!

Congratulations on your new kitty (or kitties! ).

Originally Posted by lucy315

hello,
He has been eating Royal Canin right now..plus something else mixed I think. I don't know if I should just keep this as his dry food, or transition to something better.....

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Try to find out exactly what he's eating now and stick to that to begin with. Once he's settled in and eating well you can consider switching him over to something else gradually. The same with litter - I'd stick with what he's using at the moment for a while and then consider other litters. Some cats have very specific preferences for litter while others will use whatever you put down.