Bringing a new cat home, Lots of questions!

Hi,

My wife and I are bringing a new cat home on Saturday morning from the shelter. We are picker her up at 8:00 and have an early morning vet appointment to give her a quick check up on the way home. I am also taking Monday off so someone is always home the first few days she is getting used to her new environment.

Here are some of the questions I have.

1) The Cat's name is 'Cher' which my wife absolutely hates. She is a 7-8 month year old spayed little girl (she is so petite for her age)And has been at the shelter for about a month and a half. Would it be smart to change her name at this age or would it just confuse the crap out of her. Any advice would be appreciated.

Cat Picture>

http://www.petharbor.com/detail.asp?...LOCATION=STHAC



The poor baby only has 3 inches of tail she lost the rest of it.


2) Can anyone recommend any specific brand name citrus or phermone products that can be used on pieces of furniture we would like to keep her away from scratching? I would like opinions about products that some of you have had good success with as I know not every product works with every cat. ( I have already purchased a number of scratching devices both vertical and horizontal for the house for her to use and get acquainted with)

3) I had owned a persion angora mix for her entire life (19 years) and my wife has owned a number of dogs. We both work and my wife wants me to consider confining the cat to a specific room during the day when we are gone (Spare bedroom that is on the second floor and is about 21' x 14' ) I would have never dreamed of doing this to my original cat as she thought she owned the house and we were her pets. Does anyone else do this with their cat??? My guess is once she gets settled she will sleep most of this time anyway.

Any advice would be appreciated I know it will take some time for our new little baby to get adjusted and I just want to make it as smooth as possible for both her and my wife that seems to be worried that this little baby will do some damage.

Hi Stryyder-

Welcome to the board! Changing the cat's name is fine, it will not confuse her to much, she will more than likely fall into a name the first few days she is home with you.

In order to encourage her to use the scratching posts, place them near an open doorway, feed her right nearby and even sprinkle some catnip on them to encourage her to explore them. Most cats after eating love a good scratch.

Because you have a resident cat it would be a good idea to keep them separated right at first until they get used to each other's smells. You can swap smells by rubbing each of them with a towel, swapping bedding and feeding them with the combined scent towel underneath their food bowls.

A really good way to get them used to each other, is for you to keep Cher in one room with the door closed. Take two toys and a long piece of string, and securely tie a toy to each end of the string. Set one toy in one room, run the string underneath the door, shut the door. Now you have a toy in Cher's room and a toy for the other cat- once on cat begins to play and move the toy, the second cat joins in, and they play and sniff and bat each other through the crack.

Hissing and growling is normal posturing. Your warning signs will be a tucked tail, flattened ears, or narrowed eyes, that means that if you put these two together to quickly there will more likely be some blood shed-

I would also suggest you invest in a fairly new product by Farnum Pet called Comfort Zone, it is a plug-in that mists the room with phermones and is quite effective to tone down behavior problems.

Hi Styyder and welcome!

Congrats on adopting Cher!

i am pretty new here myself. Everyday is a learning process.

Personally, i don't confine my kitties, even when i am out running errands. However, when and if i am out, i leave them ample food, clean water, enough things to keep them amused in my absence: lots of toys, a tall tree (cats love elevation), and big window views (my kitties love to bird watch.) If i do travel, them come along in the Sherpa travel carriers.

Stryyder, here are 2 links with tips and recommendations as to bringing a new kitty home:

Some basics here:
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11767

i like the tips they recommended here:
http://new.mypetstop.com/NR/exeres/3...n=Relationship

Personally, i only changed my Venus' name when she first arrived. She was named Vanilla initially. She was only 4 months old, and is deaf. i read from somewhere that a cat must be named the right name, or it will ignore your attempts to call it forever after. However, even cats that seem to love their name do the same thing, so it could just be a general cat trait. :LOL:


For your second concern, Stryyder, i would keep your kitty amused with lots of toys. There are a lot in the market out there. Some of my kitty favorites are: furry mice, miniature soft animals toys for cats (bees, round mice, etc.), catnip toys, toys with bells, puzzle toys, balls of different types (my furbabies love balls), etc. The list is endless.

i bought a penthouse/tree to keep my kitties occupied, and they love it! Yes, i feel scatch posts, scratch pads and sisal roped scratch posts are really helpful to divert their attention from scratching furniture. i also fee that keeping my kitties' nails short helps.

Regarding your last concern, here are some tips about confining a kitty:
http://www.hsus.org/ace/13961
In addition, the following extract is from Petalia.com:



How do I ensure my cat is happy in its enclosure?

Cats need elevation rather than length. They are superior creatures and enjoy looking down on their world from lofty heights. A Fantastic Feline Fun Park should therefore be at least two metres high and have a minimum floor area of 2.5 square metres.

Resting areas are important and you should provide several at different levels. These can be hammock beds attached to the walls of the enclosure, perhaps made from shade cloth, or can be wooden shelves covered with pieces of carpet. If you can spare it, cats love wool to sleep on and adore sheepskin. They will particularly like to sleep on your black woollen dinner suit or evening gown, but this might be going a bit far. You will find carpeted climbing, sleeping, scratching and resting units in most pet shops.

You can further satisfy your catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s need for exploration by making an ‘arboreal aerobic areaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]. Do this by placing a thick, branched tree trunk against one corner of the enclosure. Choose one with vertically striated bark to stimulate claw sharpening. Strategically placed branches will help your cat use the tree as a climbing frame. Arrange it so that it spans across to the sleeping hammocks. Add some carpet to the trunk to help your cat to learn that the trunk is a scratching post. (Some cats prefer using carpet to bark).

Confining cats to play parks, such as those described above is becoming more commonplace. Thankfully, there are a variety of ways of going about this task to make the job easier of that is the way in which you would like to manage your manipulative moggy.


Cheers!

I wanted to thank everyone for you posts and information over the last few days.

I just brought our new baby home yesterday and she is doing pretty good. She took a while but began exploring after a few hours and we had a good play period for about an hour last night.

She slept in our bed 'guarding' us all last night and we woke up to a nice cuddly petting time this morning. I was happy to see that lastnight she used the small litter box I put in the master bath last night and she buried nicely.

I am concerned however though becuase she hasn't eaten yet. She has taken water and has eaten pounce treats as rewards for good play but she hasn't touched the food in the bowl. I made sure it was the same brand the shelter was using and she knows where it is because she does go back to that room to take water. I even had some play time in the room and gave her some pounce in the food bowl but she wouldn't touch it.

We did bring her to the vet yesterday before we brought her home and she did get a rabies booster and advantage for possible fleas. Would this affect her??

Any suggestions on what to do next? Should I try some wet food or tuna in the bowl to get her eating??

Hi Stryyder

I'm so happy your new baby is adjusting well... she must be so happy to be out of the shelter and into a loving home.

As for her not eating... I wouldn't suggest tuna unless she won't eat anything else... it has high levels of mercury in it that's not safe for kitties. Trying some wet food, or some wet food mixed in with her kibble might stimulate her appetite. I hope she starts eating soon! Did you decide to keep Cher as her name or rename her?

try putting the food on a saucer and not in a bowl and see if that makes a difference (sometimes it does) or even putting it on the floor. Boil a chicken and shred the meat and dribble the juice over it and see if she will eat that? Also if you give her wet food, warm it in the microwave a few seconds to heat it up (but not to hot)

Good luck!

Oh, how lovely! A big welcome indeed for CHer!!

Cats can be finicky eaters -- i know, i have one -- Daisy!

i have given Daisy, on a trial and error basis, many times of foods. So far, she likes Fancy Feast's flake stuff (fish and shrimp especially) and grilled chicken.

Also, she likes Wellness dried foods.

As for Venus, she probably enjoys the foods i give her at home than at the shelter.

Don't panic as yet.. buy small cans in varieties, and try out several types. cats can be finicky eaters, at least some cats.. but i love them the same.


Cheers!

Take care, i guess i better get offline now. i can't helped but to welcome Cher to your home!

It seems my Wife who has zero cat experience has figured it out. She simply had fed the little girl the kibbles and she almost immediately started eating on her own.

My Wife the avowed dog person has become complete infatuated with our little girl which we are renaming Dune. Here are some pictures of our little girl for you guys to enjoy!

1st hour home


2nd hour home


Sleepy head


She even started using the scratching post the first time we brought it to play time and this morning she use it all on her own!! We are so proud of her.

I love her she is cute! I also love how she trusts you enough to come out of hiding quickly. In that basket, she is cuter than the Easter Bunny!

Awww, she's so sweet! And Dune is a cute name for her.

Very sweet, Stryyder!!

Dune is so sweet and lovely!!

It is a nice feeling being a parent, huh? i for one, am enjoying kitty parenthood! :


Cheers to Dune, and cheers to kitty parenthood!