One thing you wish you had known...

So...I absolutely cannot wait to get my new kitten (June 11!!) but I am starting to get nervous. I want to do everything right! What is one thing that you wish you had known before you got your cat(s) - or one thing you'd do differently now? I thought this would make for an interesting and thought-provoking discussion (and great advice for me, to boot!)

I would have saved up money because now that he's old I'm racking up vet bills.

There were two kittens left looking for homes and I said I'd take the female (Shasta -RB). If I'd known then the benefits of a multi-cat households, for both humans and cats, I'd have taken both.

I would have been absolutely dedicated to getting each kitten accustomed to being bathed, manicured, and pilled. Right from the start, I would have gone through all those motions on a daily basis.

But I didn't know I should. So now we have six cats who cannot be bathed, will not have their nails trimmed, and are impossible to give medication to.

Don't get me wrong -- they're all wonderful kitties, and we'd be lost without them! But they flip instantly into total panic mode if they perceive that we have any grooming or pilling efforts in mind.

Don't let that happen to you!

I would have taken Stormy to the Vet when she would drool sometimes and throw up. Maybe she would have lived if i knew she was that sick. I wish I could go back and change that. It was end stage Crf at age 5. I saw Stripe to that but didnt see that in Stormy. June 11 s Meekos Bday I wish I had known Male Cats can get blocked and die. Frisky and Henry were out=r first Cats and he died because we didnt know he was that Sick. I wish I ahd Pics.

I wish I had been more informed about what declawing entailed so I could have explained it to my parents and we wouldn't have had Mitten declawed. I cried when he came home with feet bandaged.

He didn't have the effects most declawed cats have, but still would not have done it.

I vowed to never declaw another cat!

lol, i don't have anything to add... because i still have 4 more weeks until i get my kittens... but congratulations on the kittens! lol, i had the same question about getting my kittens! Good luck!

kitten=blood & blue jeans=body amour.

yep found that out the hard way

my old thread hehe
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...en%3Dblood

Honestly, I wish I had known about TCS before I got my first kitten! That would have saved a LOT of problems. I also wish I would have known that there is NO way to completely kitten proof a house. You can try, but they are still going to find their way into places they aren't supposed to go (I once closed the fridge door with Harley in there...and didn't realize it until I heard a muffled meow about an hour later! Apparently, he took a quick nap ).

I also almost stranged my first kitten (Jasper) because I had a table cloth with a wide embroiered (?) edge...you know the kind with the wide loops. Jasper thought it was his "toy" and while I was making dinner one night he got himself wrapped up in it and I found him dangling with his neck wrapped tight in one of the loops! How he did it, I don't know, but there went a very beautiful table cloth.

Warning: they will do things and get into things and you will feel like a terrible mommy, but that is a cat being a cat. Hence why they have 9 lives.

You will do fine. It will just be an...ummm...experience. There is a reason why we are all so glad when our kitties get out of their "kitten" phase! Have fun!

That cats are like babies.
I have had two cats singe their whiskers off sniffing candles.
One cat broke her paw getting it caught in a slightly open drawer.
One cat has fallen downstairs.
Two have fallen in the bath numerous times, and been fished out by its occupants.
One has fallen in the toilet.
One got stuck up a tree (a leyland cyprus )
Two managed to drop an expensive necklace through a crack in the floorboards, where is was found a year later using a torch.
One ran up a computer monitor and ruined it.
I'm sure there are other things I've forgotten. In our house we aim for Mad-Eye Moody's 'constant vigilance'.
I think we're just grateful they still have all 4 limbs.

I wish I had known that using the flea products you buy at the store (as opposed to get from the vet) can be deadly and are never good.

I used them on Zissou and then was in the vet's a few days later crying because he told me all the things he'd seen happen as a result.

I can't say I've got anything I wish I'd known - I've had cats all my life and I work with them now. I already had a veyr good knowledge base when it comes to their care and they're both very good when it comes to grooming and pilling. Bootie can be a little bit difficult from time to time because her balance is bad, but we "cat-proofed" the home as best we could and then just took it from there. It was almost like preparing to have a new baby in the house until we could find out her needs. We couldn't really do anything else u ntil we saw how she reacted in her new home environment!

I wish I would have known that a yearly checkup is not enough -- a lot of vets recommend every six months. Now that my boys are getting older (they'll be 7 in June), you bet I'll be a lot more diligent.

I also agree with getting them used to grooming when they're young.

Getting used to good grooming habits as babies is a must.

I wish I had known what a feral cat was, let alone how to socialize one. Ophelia was/is and while she LOVES her daddy, she's not as fond of me because of mistakes I made with her.

I wish I had known how awful declawing is, and that it is NOT a routine surgery to remove the nail beds (I guess the vet tech thought "nail bed" and "bone" meant the same thing). I almost lost my baby boy, and I may never forgive myself for putting him through that.

I wish I had known how much patience kittens require. They are babies, and that's something that's so easy to forget. They need constant attention and direction, or they'll find it themselves (which usually means trouble! LOL)

I wish I had known that they would 100% consume my heart and home. They run it, I just live there, feed them, give them water, play with them, and get paid by being allowed to love them. It's a pretty good arrangement.

I have a lot of cats aging all at once in my household. I've forgotten some of the "wish I knews" from when they were kittens.

I wish I had discovered the benefits of a good quality food and not trusted my vet to understand cat nutrician.

I wish that I had gotten all of my cats more used to eating wet food as part of the daily routine. It makes it soooooooo much easier when they are older and you need to slip in medications.

I wish I had understood the need for geriatric profiles starting at around 9-10 years of age. It's a great baseline to understand if they get medical problems later in life.

I wish I would have known that Purina Kitten Chow was not the only food made for kittens.

I wish I would have known how affectionate and fun cats can be. I was a die-hard dog person. Pan is the first cat I have ever owned. I wish I would have gotten a cat a long time ago.

I mostly wish I did not buy a new couch and loveseat three months before I brought Pan home.