I am getting a kitten tomorrow. I have some questions.

mordred

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The only other animal in my house is a Yorkshire Terrier. She's not aggressive at all and pretty friendly with other dogs, but she's never seen a cat before to my knowledge.

My question was, when choosing a kitten, what are some tips on finding one who won't turn out to be naturally aggressive? I've done a lot of lurking on this site, just never registered before so I know a bit about cat care, just not picking one out.

Thanks for your help
 

salemwitchchild

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You can take your dog with you and see how they interact. That could help you narrow down the personalities a bit.
 

white cat lover

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There is no way to tell what a kitten's purr-sonality will be when it grows up. You can do everything in your power to make a kitten not aggressive & it could very well turn out that way.
If you want a cat with a sure purr-sonlity adopt an older kitty, perhaps around a year.

The reason you cannot guarantee their purr-sonlity is because they do a lot of developing when they are with their mother, 6-12 weeks of age. If they are taken from their mother too soon, that affects them. As does their environment.

I don't suppose that made any sense, did it?
 

goldenkitty45

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You can't predict a kitten's personality. But it helps if the kitten was exposed to other animals (dogs, etc.) at a young age.

How old is this kitten? And the best advice is to be sure to keep the nails clipped short! Do it once or twice a week as necessary. Slowly introduce the two pets. Keep the dog on leash at first. Expect hissing, back arching, growling, etc.

Do not leave them alone till they are older and can be trusted together.
 
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mordred

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Okay. I picked my kitten. He is pure white and has a great personality. I named him Loki. Problem is he's been sleeping on my bed for a couple hours and I went over to look at him when I noticed black specks in his fur and on further inspection ... fleas. The kitten was going to the vet tomorrow to get looked at anyway. We got her for free from a friend of my mom's who had the cats outside.

Anyway, is this a potential health risk? I've never had a kitten so I don't know how dangerous it is or is not. I guess I'll find out at the vet tomorrow, but if anyone has anything to tell me now, I'd appreciate it.

In response to GoldenKitty45: The kitten is just over 8 weeks old. I introduced him to my dog today and they both looked at eachother and then my dog got bored and ran off >.> No hostility on either end.
 

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If there are lots of fleas yes it can be a problem. It can cause Lyme disease and anemia. Your vet will be able to assist you with getting rid of them. For now I wouldn't have him on your bed though.
 

goldenkitty45

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Yes you will have to treat the cat and the dog and the house now if the kitten has fleas.

That's why its important to isolate a new pet and have them checked out before turning them loose in the house.

8 weeks is on the young side - ideal age to adopt is 10-12 weeks as they need to learn important social/behavior lessons from mom/siblings.
 
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mordred

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Thank you all for your help. Loki and Katie (the dog) have both been treated and I washed the comforter and sheets that were on my bed, vacuumed the top of my bed, and vacuumed the floor. I hope that will take care of the problem... I'll probably do some more vacuuming tomorrow.

I wasn't aware of the ideal age to adopt was 10-12 weeks. The people we adopted the kitten from seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about cats... Well, I guess it's probably too late to worry about that now. I'll keep it in mind if I decide to get another kitten.

So far Loki has been very sweet and playful, but not in a clawing and biting type of way. He's been good in just biting and scratching his toys and scratching post and not us.

Thanks again for your help.
 

white cat lover

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Well, I demand pictures!
White kitten...OMG....another TCS white kitten!
(PM me if you need help figuring out how to post pics
)
 
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mordred

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I'd get some pictures right now, but he's sleeping and I don't want to wake him up. I'll try to get some pictures of him tomorrow morning and post them here later. He's really cute


Just some short updates: The vet said not to worry too much about a flea infestation in my house since the kitten was only here for one day and was only running around for maybe one hour total. He slept a lot of the first day, but today he's been a lot more active and energetic. Still though, I'm going to vacuum my bedroom and bed one more time, as well as the couch and recliners, the other two places he was most often.

Also, Katie keeps trying to eat Loki's food. They still haven't so much as looked at eachother even though they've been in the same room all day, but Katie gets jealous of Loki and tries to get your attention when you play with him even though I've given both pretty much equal affection to try to keep jealousy from happening. Will this just take a few days to wear off, or do I need to do something else to get them to at least acknowledge eachother when they aren't competing for affection?
 

goldenkitty45

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While you can treat the kitten for fleas - be sure to pick up a good flea comb and use it after the kitten is home.

As far as the food - you'll have to put the cat's food up higher cause its too much protein for the dog and vice versa. Cat shouldn't be eating the dog's food.

Do you free feed them or scheduled meals - if free feed, you'd better start both of them on a scheduled time for feeding or you will have problems.

Yeah pics - wanna see kitty
 
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mordred

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The cat is on scheduled meals and the dog is free fed. Pics coming sometime soon.
 
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mordred

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Sorry for the quality. They were taken with my cell phone. These were taken today after he was chasing his toy for like 30 minutes and was settling down XD

Here they are:








For size comparison with a Mountain Dew bottle

 
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mordred

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His eyes are blue.
 
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mordred

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I'm really not sure. Since I haven't had a cat since I was a little kid, I'm not sure how they react to sounds. However, when the front door is opening a few times he has run off quickly, but I didn't really think to pay attention whether it was when the key was unlocking it or it was actually opening.
 

goldenkitty45

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Do the key test or whistle test. You get behind him and shake keys - but be sure he cannot see you and what you are doing. Observe his reaction to the sound.

Or blow a whistle and see if he reacts.


And you'd better start scheduling meals for the dog. Cats should not be snacking long term on dog food!
 
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