Another new guy here with a question

I want to get a persian kitten. The thing i'm worried about is that i work in the day and do not return home until the evening. Would i be able to leave a kitten at home during the day? or am i asking for trouble.
If the answer is yes, then what age am i best purhchasing the cat at? I want to get it as young as possible so it gets used to me.

u could always get two... then they could keep each other company while u are at work...

Originally posted by curly-locks
u could always get two...

then they could keep each other company while u are at work...

Click to expand...

Yeah i know that is an option but with this being my first every cat i didn't want to jump into it. I also have four cavies so i was hoping they could keep it company (from within the confines of their cage of course). I live in an apartment you see so space is an issue.

hello, I just wanted to say welcome to the cat site - a lot of people know a lot about cats here and I am sure they will give you great advice! from what I have heard, persians are wonderful cats.

Thankyou for the welcome. I will make a note of introducing myself later on.

I raise persians. If you would like to talk e-mail me. I can give as much info as I can on ages of persians and temperment etc. etc.
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www.geocities.com/ceehorne76/cats
denise Russell

First, welcome to the site! This is a great place to get information, for the first time owner as well as old hacks.

I'm going to move this to the Behavior forum where our experts can advise you on what you need to do to prepare for a kitten. Most people do work that have cats, so it's certainly not a prerequisite to stay home all day. Just be sure to kitten-proof your home, basically prepare it for a toddler.

Hi and thanks. So you're saying that i can have a kitten and leave it at home during the day? What type of measures should i undertake?

Hey there persionman...

Welcome to the site. This is a great place for information.

I think the important thing with a kitten is if you are going to be away at work for any great part of the day, then be sure to give the kitty play time when you get home. This will a) allow bonding time with the kitten, and b)get kitty tired so that you will have uninterrupted sleep. *grin*


And even though it is your first cat, two kitties are just as hard/easy as one. If you have the money for the vet bills, then I highly recommend two kitties. But that is just my humble opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt, and should in no way be viewed as pressure .

Either way enjoy the new kitty!

One thought I had is that you should bring it home at the start of your weekend so it wouldn't be alone in a strange place right away. Keep it in one room to begin with so it's not so much new space to get used to right away. They also get used to where their litter box is that way. Enjoy!!

Thanks guys you are all soooo helpful. Just wanted to know of any measures i should take before a new kitten arrives in my apartment?

Welcome to the site! I'm going to guess that you've been more of a dog person, or probably only ever taken care of dogs before and not cats. As this question is mostly asked by puppy owners.

Cats, for the most part are much more independant than dogs. They can happily live alone, or in a group either with other cats are people. But dogs however, for the most part have to have that social pack to be happy.

When you get a kitten or cat, you should kitten proof your home, much like you would for if a walking toddler was around. Now cats can be distructive yes, but for the most part cats will not rip up your carpet, eat up your whole sofa while your gone at work because their bored. Most cats will just sleep when their bored, they sleep a lot more then your average dog.
So with that, make sure you get plunty of toys, interactive toys, scratching post and/or tall cat tree, with lots of fun purches.
You can also give them a window sill purch so they can be occupied with birds and people outside of the window all day while your gone and be perfectly contempt.

Cats don't suffer as much from seperation anxiety when it comes to their family going off to work or for a weekend pinic as some dogs do. (Though try telling that to Asim, he's got anxiety problems.)

Hop on over to a couple of these links to read the basic facts about cats and cat owning, so you can help to prepair yourself (or arm yourself) before kitten comes, and it may just be a lot easier for both of you, and give you more to enjoy eachother, instead of worrying.


Cat Fanciers : Caring for Cats



http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/

Info on cat and kitten health care

You can start with making sure any house plants you may have are not toxic.(maybe someone else here has a link to share) Electrical cords can be a danger, i try to keep mine tucked away behind objects. Mini blind cords that hang down, i keep mine tucked up,cats can strangle on them. Rocking chairs,rocker-gliders and reclining chairs that have moving part mechanisms, kittens like to go under there, I know of 2 kittens that were chrushed. One was fatal. Toilet bowl chemicals can be poisening to the cat who likes to play in water. House hold chemicals in general,cats lick their fur alot. any thing with small peices that can be swallowed should be put away. Or cat toys with long strings to get tangled it. Some cats like to chew plastic bags, not good for them.

Have you considered adopting a adult cat who may have been a solitary cat in its passed? Get on the net and search shelters in your area, tell them you are interested in a persian. you will find one. My brother has 2 purebred persians that he got that way. One was free to a good home.

Yeah! Shelters are always looking for homes for cats who prefer or can only live by themselves. If your planning on just having this one cat for the span of its life, perhaps you should adopt an older one that needs a special home with no other pets.

Well i do have four guinea pigs, so i was worried about an older cat with them. My plan was the kitten would grow up with them and behave to an extent.

Persians are adorable - I have 2, had them both from kittens. They are quite happy, and infact prefer to live indoors. They are also quite sedentary so are happy to sleep/lounge around all day.

In terms of preparing your flat - this will go hand in hand with training. If your cat is trained not to jump on counters/tables etc there will be less problem with things getting knocked over. Training a kitten is a whole new thread.

However it's wise at first to put breakables away. Leave plenty of toys around for kitty to play with while yo uare out - less inclination to use your ornaments etc as toys. Litter tray and water need to be accessible at all times, food also, consider premium dry food, this can be left out without going smelly.

For a persian you will need cotton wool to wipe running eyes (normal in persians and a daily job), you'll also need a metal comb and a metal brush for grooming. Start young and your cat will get used to it. This is also a either daily or every 2 day task.

If you have any other questions, just drop me a PM.

One other thing - you'll need a good vacuum cleaner - persians have long thick fur and at shedding time this can quickly cover your house and its contents with a blanket of fur.

Good luck and have fun.

The best way to kitty proof your home is to lay down on your stomach in each room and look around your carefully. See any dangling electrical cords or cables? Measure the distance of the exposed cords and you can either buy PVC pipe and slip the cords inside, or take a slab of wood and electrical tape and tape the cords down to the board.

Do you see small areas like behind a heater, or back behind the entertainment centers where a kitty can hide? Plug those up. Can kitty get back behind the refrigerator? Is under the sink safe, are your cleaning agents and other chemicals safely put up?

In the bedroom if your dresser has just the smallest amount of space underneath it, plug that up as well. Let her or him get under the bed if they wish.

Buy a scratching post or cat condo right off. This way she can exercise and run up and down while you are at work. Put it by a window if you can, so she can look out and watch what is going on outside.

Leave music playing in the background while you are away at work. Classical music works best. Make sure you have all your houseplants checked out before she gets here- many common houseplants are toxic. here is a pretty comprehensive site for that:Amby's toxic plants

In your bathroom, just be sure the toilet lid is down, and there is nothing on the floor the kitty could get into and get in trouble. Vitamins that drop on the floor and you can't find, that type of stuff.

Provide her with plenty of toys, and when you get home from work, make it quality time with her by playing with her, grooming her, petting her etc...


Cats are very social animals, the only time they really like to be alone is when they hunt, or when they are ill. If you get a small kitten, she or he will miss the siblings and the mom, so if you can I would think about adopting two of them. I would also try the Persian Rescue Groups, because they have so many lovely cats that need homes, and yours sounds like a good home for their needs.


Good luck, whatever you decide.

Were you planning on having your guine pigs and cat play together?
What I mentioned before, I was thinking more along the lines of other cats and dogs living in your home.

I've never owned a guine don't know a single thing about them, but if they are anything like rodents such as mice and rats when it comes to cats, I would not recomend them playing together. Sure you might see cute buddy pairs on Animal Planet, but in most of real life, that wont happen, the cat will play too rough or just flat out try to kill the mouse/rat/bird/guine.
You can just keep the Guine's in cat proof cages, and then put the cat in another part of the house when you have the Guine's out for play time.

If someone knows if Guine's and cats can have a relationship please speak up.

I do currently have 3 cats and a ferret and they all play together just fine. They do not see Keiji as a meal or prey or a toy, 2 of them see him as some annoying and odd smelling kitten. The other one see's him as a friend!

welcom to TCS!!!