Urgent! I've got great news, but I need to act kinda quickly!!!

OK, so the breeder said Luna isn't sick, so I can bring her home if I want (for those of you who have read my other two threads about this), which is totally great! I'm so excited!

I wasn't expecting to bring her home til next weekend at the earliest, though, so I don't have everything I need for her yet! I'm going out to the store to do that right away! I also need to "kitten proof" my house. Any suggestions? I don't have any house plants, just so you know.

Any help you can give me to quickly get ready for her would be greatly appreciated! I'm going to go take stock of what I have for her right now, and consult the list I had made up of what I need for her. I'll post again when I have that figured out, if I need any advice on brands, etc. PS -- Are covered litter boxes or uncovered litter boxes better? Thanks again!

This suggestion is for babyproofing, but it should work for kittens too. Get down to their level and crawl through your house on your hands and knees lookng at everything, crawling through everything. Push on things, pull on things, brush up against everything. You should be able to find anything dangerous. Also, use the babyproofing hooks on lower cabinets. One of my cats is able to open cabinets.

At first, its best to continue to use the brands the breeder uses. Then you can switch to something you prefer, if you want to change. That applies to food, and also to the brand of litter. And probably to the style of litter pan.

As for kitten proofing your home, there are many very experienced kitty "owners" here who will give you the best advice. I would think that Luna will be very confused at first, and it would be best to keep her in a small enclosed place until she gets used to you. Then you can gradually introduce her to the rest of her new home a little at a time. You just need to keep her food dishes and her litter box as far apart as possible.

Good luck! Its exciting, isn't it!!!

Yep, except instead of your knees, lay down on your stomach in each room and just look around. A kitten can get into the smallest spaces (as can a cat) spaces under heaters, behind refrigerators and stoves need to be plugged. Cleaners need to be put up out of reach and you need to provide a safe place the kitten can go- cat condos are the best, because it allows them to exercise, scratch and play all at the same time, also gets them off the floor (where they feel vulnerable) and up higher where they feel secure.

I like the Litter Maid the best, but it's expensive(electric). Next, I like the covered ones. There are several plug in deodorizers especially for outlets by litter boxes also. Nil-odor is a graat name, if you can find it. You'll need litter, of course, at least 2 or three dishes (water, wet, dry kitten food (if she's young), some toys for independent use and interactive. There are very reasonable kitty beds available, but the kitten will be happy to sleep with you. Electric litter boxes require scoopable litter; regular boxed use either. You want a minimum of dust. Ask for paper bags when you can get them; they're safer, and kittens and cats love them! Just open them on the floor! Catnip is inexpensive, of course. Get the necessities first!

A kitty scratching post with a condo is great to have (at least get the scratching post right way!) canned and dry food. There are also products for keeping kitty off of furniture (citrus odor.) I recommend museum gel to hold your delicate collectibles down so kitty can't knock them over accidentallly. If you can't afford everything at once, (Who can? We all buy extras!)choose the essentials and add the rest when you can.

Coat electrical cords with bitter orange or lemon to keep kittens from electrocuting themselves, and don't leave long drapery cords hanging. The kitten could strangle herself. There are many other suggestions but you're in a hurry, I know. Cats are very susceptible to anything toxic, so don't put down (or pick up any that are already out) ant killers or any other toxic chemicals. Keep cleaning products away-just as you would for children.

Wow!!! You are getting Luna home!!! That is so exciting!!!
As for kitty litter, I like Ever Clean, except for the scented one. I also like covered litterbox a lot more than open, and that way the kittys get a litle privacy. (I don´t know Litter mate though, we don´t have that in Iceland, so I don´t have comparism to that).
As for food I use Royal Canin, I have also used Iams and liked that, but Pollýanna is very very sensitive with the stomack and Royal Canin seems to be what she feel best about. Of course you will slowly change from what the breeder is using, with food and litter.

And as for precautions, when Pollýanna was a kitten, she chewed cords(luckily mostly the phonecord), so I would put some bad taste on the coards. When Feykirófa was a kitten, she would crowl anywhere (I still lose her, and then find her much later in the bathroom cupboard that was open just long enough for me to get my toothbruch!!!) But what affected me the most, was that my dad (he is a carpender) had just made new wardrope for me, and the doors were not there yet, and Feykirófa kept crawling up my skirts and dresses, which did not make some of them look nice!! So be sure your clothes are out of reach.

Otherwise I have nothing to add to previous posters.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

I just made sure that mine couldnt get into the cabinets, and made sure he couldnt pull anything off on him and watched him and made sure he couldnt get to the electical cords and made sure the toilet lid was closed in case he tried to jump up on it and didnt want him to fall in.

Oh, Almost forgot. Congratulations! I know you and Luna will be soo happy, Im really happy for you!

Whew! I just got back from Petsmart! I'm not all done shopping, but here's what I got: a jumbo size covered litter box, kitty litter (the same kind the breeder uses), a litter scooper, and litter box liners, cat food bowls (two metal ones and two ceramic ones), a feather toy/wand thingy, mouse toys with catnip in them, a catnip pillow, puff balls that have catnip in the bag with them, and a cool purple ball that jingles.

The fact that the sides of the litter box are about 8 inches high shouldn't cause a problem for her to get in the box, should it? She's 3 months old, I would think she could hop into it . . . and input on this, anyone? Thanks.

I still have to get some bad tasting stuff to put on the phone cords, etc. We have three computers here, and so we have quite a few cords. There's really nothing I can do about that, other than make them taste yucky so she'll leave them alone.

And she has a cat bed that I put in her carrier. I was thinking I'd leave the carrier sitting That way her carrier won't be so foreign to her when it's time to go to the vet. I already have a scratching post with a platform on top AND a cat tree. Plus, we have nice couches for her to sit on, and a big comfy chair and our beds . . . how many things do I need for her to sit on? Should I get another cat bed to put somewhere else?

Oh, and I'd like to thank everyone for their help!

Viva...you sound so excited! I must have missed it along the way, but when are you picking her up? Just curious!

OH...did you pick up some film for your camera or at least extra batteries? I'm sure you'll be snapping pix nonstop for the next month!

Actually, Shell, I recently bought a digital camera, so I'm all set! I just need a bigger memory card now, LOL!

Kitty sounds like she is all set up in her new home with all the loot you bought! Lucky kitty, and we want pics soon!!!!!

can't wait to see pics!! Sounds like you are pretty ready to go!

How exciting to pick her up early!! I was in your same shoes last October and I couldn't believe how tiny Nakita was (I picked her up at 14 weeks old). As you can see here, she was a little mouse!



When I brought Nakita home, I used the same food that the breeder fed her. I also bought a covered litter box and Nakita had no problems getting in and out.

I also left Nakita's carrier in her room and she really liked sleeping in it since it seemed safe and was a little hiding place for her. And I agree about the suggestion for the paper bags, cats love them!

When you bring her home, make sure the first thing you show her is her litter box and scratching post. I also isolated Nakita to one room of our house that had the least 'dangers', then gradually showed her the rest of the house.

Make sure you block off any holes, since the kitten will be able to fit into the smallest of spaces. Also be on the lookout for any small things (rubber bands, twist ties etc) that the cat can swallow. Nakita wanted to eat anything and everything that was on the floor at her level!

Good luck, you'll have so much fun!

I am going to get her tomorrow, around 10 or 11am, Eastern time. I don't think I'll sleep at all tonight, I'm so excited!!!!!! I promise to post pics ASAP! Oh, and I have two MORE questions . . . LOL:

1) I have a two bedroom apartment, and want to put the litter box in my bathroom, which connects to my bedroom. I shut my door when I sleep, but I want her in there with me at night, so I was thinking that would be the best place for it. Do I need to stick another one in the living room or something? I really can't think of anytime that she'd ever be locked OUT of my bedroom . . . I was thinking if it does become a problem, I can always get a second one later?

2) Similar, but in relation to food and water. I was thinking I'd put a water bowl in the bathroom, and keep dry food and water in the kitchen all the time? That way, she can eat at any point during the day, but will always have water available, even at night? And then I'd give her canned food once a day in the kitchen after I come home from work, since I need to be there to take it up after 30 min. Is that good?

At the time when I got Pollýanna, I was living at my parents house for some time. My room was on second floor and the litter box in the laundry room in the basement. At first I had this litterbox in my room, but then moved it to the basement. Before I went to bed, I would take Pollýanna there and put her in the litter box, and she peed! This was our rutine, and she never had an accident in my room. After a while I experimented on taking her down, putting her down outside the laundy room and tell her to go pee, and she did!
Later I thought she was old enough to know that the litter box wasn´t there at night, and stopped taking her down, and still, had no accidents. What I am trying to say, is that they learn our rutine and play along.

As for food, again when Pollýanna was a kitten, I gave her some dry food with boiling water when I had my breakfast, so she had warm, soft dry food, otherwise ahe only had dry food (except for the first few weeks that I feeded her 5 times a day, carefully measured meals from a recepi from an old Icelandic cat book, then I realized that people don´t do that anymore, there is kitten food on the market!)
"Wet" food was only as special treats, some tuna or some chicken perhaps or a can of catfood.
With Feykirófa and Pollýanna´s kittens last year, I did the same, started "wetting" their dry food and then reduced the "wet". With Pollýanna´s kittens I even didn´t wet the dry food at first, one of the kitten had started eating the kitten food, but the other didn´t at the same time, so getting wet dryfood helped him getting the hang of it. (That was actully a wery strange cat, he didn´t eat cat food, but ate EVERYTHING else - a part of a very nice knitted had I had just got for my son, 3 pacifyers (!), rubarb and other things that would fall on the floor...)

Sorry this is getting so long...It is 3 am, broad daylight and I cant get myself to go to bed, but still I am so tired! I also haven´t staightened up the mess in the kitchen after making the pizza tonight on a record time so that I could watch The Eurovision Song Contest...
And sorry again, this has absalutely nothing to do with Luna!

Again, good luck!

Oh, and the litter box thing.
When Pollyanna´s kittens started using the litter box, I took the lid off, also so she could supervise them. Then, whem they got the hang of it, I put the lid on, but kept the "door" out for a while longer, and then put the "door" in. It was so funny the first time they wanted to use the litter box after I put the door in, they came running, and then suddenly stopped just as they were thinking: Hmm, I´m sure this was the place where I pee, but its not there anymore...

Well, I'm leaving in less than an hour to go get her!!!

how exciting!!!!!!! I can't wait until she is home!!!