New to Cats, trying to save a life

Originally Posted by AddieBee

Wow - he's come leaps and bounds! Frankly I don't know how your wife can resist him!

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Well, he's in there right now sleeping on her lap. That's when she likes him best. Or when he's doing something silly, (but non destructive).

Hmm, maybe you can hint what you'd like for Father's Day?

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We'll see what happens, I don't usually get my Fathers day wishes. But he did go in the litter box twice today on his own. Then was meticulous in making sure things were covered up.

Well He's not liking the KMR II.
What other milk can I give him. I mixed some nonfat milk and he took to that pretty well. But now at 7 weeks what is safe?
Should I go back to KMR?
He isn't taking water in a bowl. Mostly because he sticks his nose in it.

By 7 weeks you should be able to get him on solid food instead of KMR. I got my first kitten at 7-1/2 weeks and she was eating dry food and drinking water without any problems. Of course she should have still been with her mother, but I didn't know that at the time.

He eats canned food no problem. And dry food if I feed it to him. My concern is if I take him off KMR he won't get enough liquids. What can I give him to drink besides water. Once I get him drinking from the bowl, then we can probably move to water.

I know someone more experienced with how to introduce him to water will come along to help you, but I just wanted to give you my - if the kitty is on wet food, he is getting almost all water he will need... He will need very little more, and that part I will leave it to the experts.

well, I've held off giving him a bottle. It's tough on the parents... But finally he's over there lapping at the milk I set out. Net phase will be moving him to water. He's still eating any and all canned food I put out and will eat dry out of my hand. I'm also going to try to drop back to 2 times a day for wet and all day availability for dry. It seems if I leave him alone he'll finally just do what's right.

I'm still shocked how easy it was to train him to go in the litter box.

Favorite toy. A velcro strap for my cables. He just loves that thing...

My wife says if I can get him to high 5 on demand, we'll be rich and we can keep him. I say we'll be rich if we keep him either way..

You can always mix a little warm water into his wet food for added moisture.

That's a great suggestion, I've added water and milk to a few kernels of dry food, and so far it seems to get him to lap it up. I haven't given him a bottle today. Two wet feedings, and he's been munching on the dry without my help.

My next issue is chewing or biting. He seems to want to bite everything. Especially my hands. I don't let him, but that doesn't seem to stop him. I'll give him a light swat, but am looking for other ways to modify his behavior.

Hiss at him, tell him No firmly, put him down and ignore him.
He'll soon get the message that nomming on humans is not good.

In my experience, a lot of them go through that bitting stage when they are young.

My orange tom (neutered, indoor cat) Taz was a good example, might be kind of amusing as a kitten but he is now 20 pound, the size of a typical Maine Coon Cat, bitting would not be good at that size

We never played with him by fighting with our hands.

Any time he started to bite, he got set down and ignored, since he craved attention, and still does, he did put 2 + 2 together eventually and the behaviour stopped in time.

There's a special place in my heart and thoughts for ANYONE that takes in strays and orphans, especially those that are too young and need the extra care! Bless you for the love you give him!

I find cardboard boxes to be my best solution to chewing kittens. All they need is one little flap and they chew on it until they are satisfied. Usually I frown upon them eating anything non-food, but even the tiny pieces that don't end up on the floor are only ink-free, unbleached paper products that basically get digested.

You've done such a great job with this little guy!

Bless you and your family, Dan!!! You are doing a wonderful thing. This kitten was very close to newborn when found. I hope that by now -- June 17th -- this kitten is getting big, is healthy and has been to see the vet for initial checkup and "kitten shots". I also hope that you are keeping this little angel, because you are a very kind person and that is what this kitten desperately needs. You'll never regret it if you adopt this kitten, I guarantee that! Having a cat companion is the most wonderful and rewarding thing in life, I believe. May (s)he live a long, healthy, happy, LOVED life with you!

Happy Birthday Tiger!

8 Weeks old today (or thereabouts)




He's doing great. Eating wet and dry food. Drinking water as much as needed. Playing and climbing all over the place. He weighs just under 2 pounds. Kinda hard to get a weight from this squirmer. Today we were out on the patio and he came out to explore a bit. He hasn't had any accidents lately, very tidy covering up his bits, ( a bit obsessive about it.) He likes the litter box a bit too much, sometimes just lays in it. Sometimes playing it it. When that happens, I put it out of reach. I just need to remember to put it back in reach before it's too late.

I tried to get pictures, but had to resort to movies, he wouldn't sit still.

Originally Posted by Claydust

In my experience, a lot of them go through that bitting stage when they are young.

My orange tom (neutered, indoor cat) Taz was a good example, might be kind of amusing as a kitten but he is now 20 pound, the size of a typical Maine Coon Cat, bitting would not be good at that size

We never played with him by fighting with our hands.

Any time he started to bite, he got set down and ignored, since he craved attention, and still does, he did put 2 + 2 together eventually and the behaviour stopped in time.

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We're working on the biting. When he's playing, that's when he bites. Normally it doesn't hurt, so I don't think about it. When he bites down, I'm hissing, saying "NO" and putting him down. I hate being the hard nose, I'm just a softy. But I can't have him biting my wife, or it's all over.

Originally Posted by SamhainBorn

I find cardboard boxes to be my best solution to chewing kittens. All they need is one little flap and they chew on it until they are satisfied. Usually I frown upon them eating anything non-food, but even the tiny pieces that don't end up on the floor are only ink-free, unbleached paper products that basically get digested.

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I folded a couple flaps down for him to chew on, it gets a work out. He tends to play in his box as much as he sleeps in it. He climbs up the walls and chews and scratches. Works for me..

Thats all good news, sounds like the right approach to biting, IMHO.

Funny about the difficulty with getting still pictures at that age, I can relate; that will change with time. Our's make good "still life" shots, now.

This is quite a long thread, tried to keep up with it, so sorry if this has been covered, has anyone reccomended drinking straws as a chew toy? They dont eat them, just chew and shred them. My cat likes the bendy ones, she goes a bit silly at the sound of that first bend of a new bendy straw.

Oh my Gosh! Your little one is soo cute! It's been so long since I've ben one..I remember when you had just found him (at that time her... )

Originally Posted by Trillcat

This is quite a long thread, tried to keep up with it, so sorry if this has been covered, has anyone reccomended drinking straws as a chew toy? They dont eat them, just chew and shred them. My cat likes the bendy ones, she goes a bit silly at the sound of that first bend of a new bendy straw.

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I gave him a bendy straw yesterday. I didn't think he was playing with it. It was shredded this morning. The best toys are the simplest. One is a wristband, another a Velcro tie wrap for cables.

Happy Fathers day everyone!

Oh, he is so cute - I'm sorry, I forget if he's had his first 'formal' vet visit yet, but you must take some of the before and after photos with you to the office - I just know the staff will want to see them!