We were decieved!!!

the right thing. This little one deserves someone who will take care and love it. Please give back to the original owner.

I have thoroughly read this thread and it had me thinking very long and hard. I had a long talk with my husband and the first thing to do was to get rid of his brother from our life since he has a very bad attitude about Avalon. Please don't refer to him as my BIL since I never have and never will call him that after 17 years of marriage. He was my husband's best man in our wedding and he didn't even have the decency to give us a wedding present.

My husband agreed that Avalon is growing into a real beauty and should be treated properly. I need more tips on how to appropriately discipline a kitty so they don't live in fear and yet they don't have behavior issues. Avalon is good with the litter box and never hisses. She just cries when she wants attention and I give her that. She is a very lovable kitty and she sleeps in our bed at my feet every night. I cherish this. I want to make her some catnip toys in fact. I love her. She no longer follows the cleaning lady around.

I have to take the time and will take the time to read the nutrition section of this forum. I want what is best for Avalon. I love her.

I want to thank everyone for "educating" me on kitties since this is my first.

We are trying to sell the bird now.

I have to let you know that I was NEVER a cat person. In fact, I didn't like cats. Only dogs. Well, Long story short. I have a small horse farm, and met a lady who had feral cats to rehome. I said OK..bring 2 of them out. All I have to do if give food and clean water. I could do that. Well, they are now so spoiled, and I have adopted 2 more for the barn. Yes they are all spayed and nutered and just big babies. THen I found 2 small kittens in the barn. Took them to the vet and it turned out they were 5 mo. old. We thought maybe 8 wks old max. Gave one to my daughter, and had the other one spayed and ear tipped to send back to the barn. No way...she now lives inside with us. Then i figured she needed a friends and took in another rescue. I didn't know much about cats when I started, and I'm learning every day. The one thing I know. I love them all more and more every day. They make me giddy with happiness. Go figure. I just finished bottle feeding a stray that was only about 2-3 wks old. Gave her back to the people that found her as they really wanted her. After all the time of getting up every few hrs to feed her and all, I was happy to give her back. I like my slightly older girls (they are both now abut 7 mo. old, and still just as silly as anything). We can always learn, and the group here have been wonderful with explaining a lot to me.

Mary

My husband is also a dog person but he is learning to love Avalon. All he has to do is get to know her better.

I am going to take her for her first bath and claw trimming this Friday. I wanted it sooner but the cat groomer is on vacation AGAIN!!!!!

Originally Posted by tweetykiss

My husband is also a dog person but he is learning to love Avalon. All he has to do is get to know her better.

I am going to take her for her first bath and claw trimming this Friday. I wanted it sooner but the cat groomer is on vacation AGAIN!!!!!

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I know it is scary but my suggestion is go to the vet and have the vet show you how to clip her claws... oh and baths IMHO are for truly icky stuff like oil or poo all over body

Sounds like things are improving. I highly recommend you keep reading on cat and kitten care and development in books, articles on the net and, of course, TCS (we are a good bunch of people and there are a lot of knowledgeable people in here - breeders, etc.) with tons of experience.

Don't hesitate to ask questions - better to do that then be frustrated, etc.

Originally Posted by tweetykiss

I have thoroughly read this thread and it had me thinking very long and hard. I had a long talk with my husband and the first thing to do was to get rid of his brother from our life since he has a very bad attitude about Avalon. Please don't refer to him as my BIL since I never have and never will call him that after 17 years of marriage. He was my husband's best man in our wedding and he didn't even have the decency to give us a wedding present.

My husband agreed that Avalon is growing into a real beauty and should be treated properly. I need more tips on how to appropriately discipline a kitty so they don't live in fear and yet they don't have behavior issues. Avalon is good with the litter box and never hisses. She just cries when she wants attention and I give her that. She is a very lovable kitty and she sleeps in our bed at my feet every night. I cherish this. I want to make her some catnip toys in fact. I love her. She no longer follows the cleaning lady around.

I have to take the time and will take the time to read the nutrition section of this forum. I want what is best for Avalon. I love her.

I want to thank everyone for "educating" me on kitties since this is my first.

We are trying to sell the bird now.

Click to expand...

This sounds really good! In general, it's a good idea for anyone considering a pet to do a lot of reading before they get one... that way you know what to expect and if the care is something you can handle. For example, in addition to cats, my boyfriend and I have a hermit crab and two turtles. Before we brought the hermit crab and turtles home, we bought books about them and made sure that we would have enough time and other resources to care for them properly.

I hope you will go back to feeding your kitty twice a day, though. She is still a kitten, and she needs to food to grow. Make sure your learn the difference between a fat cat and a big cat. Some cats are genetically bigger than others (just like some humans are taller than others... but that doesn't mean they're fat!). Healthy cats are happy cats. Your kitty will love you for the good care.

Ever think about fostering kittens? U don't want a cat u want a cute little baby that won't grow up. If you foster you can have them as babies and give them to someone who will appreciate them.

Most cats are nothing like dogs and it does take time & effort to win their trust and love. Once you have that trust and love though it is worth every bit of the effort. Kittens are crazy. I know they are cute, but I think sometimes when people have never had a cat before it is more work than they realize. It sounds like if you educate yourself & spend a little extra time with your kitty, you will have a long wonderful relationship. I think of cats as the type of animal that needs a gentle hand, and a big open heart. I also think that some cats are especially sensitive and need extra paitients and a gentle soul. I know my Isaac can still be that way. I've had him from the time he was about 3 months old, and the only way I can think to describe him is very sensitive.

Originally Posted by calismom

Ever think about fostering kittens? U don't want a cat u want a cute little baby that won't grow up. If you foster you can have them as babies and give them to someone who will appreciate them.

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Around here only experienced cat owners are allowed to be fosters, especially to kittens. Fostering requires understanding and tolerance for normal cat behavior and the experience to know what normal is. The OP has admitted to not having that experience. Maybe in a few years though ...

Originally Posted by tweetykiss

I have thoroughly read this thread and it had me thinking very long and hard. I had a long talk with my husband and the first thing to do was to get rid of his brother from our life since he has a very bad attitude about Avalon. Please don't refer to him as my BIL since I never have and never will call him that after 17 years of marriage. He was my husband's best man in our wedding and he didn't even have the decency to give us a wedding present.

My husband agreed that Avalon is growing into a real beauty and should be treated properly. I need more tips on how to appropriately discipline a kitty so they don't live in fear and yet they don't have behavior issues. Avalon is good with the litter box and never hisses. She just cries when she wants attention and I give her that. She is a very lovable kitty and she sleeps in our bed at my feet every night. I cherish this. I want to make her some catnip toys in fact. I love her. She no longer follows the cleaning lady around.

I have to take the time and will take the time to read the nutrition section of this forum. I want what is best for Avalon. I love her.

I want to thank everyone for "educating" me on kitties since this is my first.

We are trying to sell the bird now.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by tweetykiss

My husband is also a dog person but he is learning to love Avalon. All he has to do is get to know her better.

I am going to take her for her first bath and claw trimming this Friday. I wanted it sooner but the cat groomer is on vacation AGAIN!!!!!

Click to expand...

I'm so glad you want to do the right thing for Avalon, and that your husband is "learning" to love her. I hope he will stop inappropriately disciplining her.

From a nutritional standpoint, there are many different qualities of food to offer her. Whatever you can afford, she should have kitten food (high protein), and she really should be allowed to just free feed on dry food. Whether or not you choose to supplement her diet with wet food is up to you, but she will stop crying for food if she is allowed to eat many small meals a day. Cats' digestive systems are designed to eat many small meals frequently throughout the day (in the wild without access to garbage, cats feed on things like snakes, field mice, and birds, for example!).

I am disappointed to see that you still plan to let her have a litter: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=198055

Originally Posted by tweetykiss

I only have one right now since I just got Avalon in Feb. when she was still a baby. This is my first one so I want to start slow with this. When she has her litter, we want to keep one for sure and maybe another one. We have people who will take the others. Then we are having her spayed.

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Sadly, this is not what is best for her. As a "domestic short hair" calico, she is not breeding quality (for blood lines). If allowed outside to mate with any male, who knows what could happen to her or what disease she could contract? Just FYI, it is an official position of this site (Forum Rules: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15184) that:

2. Please make sure to spay and neuter your cats. Unless you are a professional breeder and your cat is part of a professional breeding program, please educate yourself to the importance of spaying and neutering by the time your cat is 4-6 months old. If you take care of a feral colony, please make sure to do so responsibly by practicing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) protocols within the colony. By spaying and neutering, you enhance a cat's quality of life and improve their longterm health. You are also proving your love for cats because in acting as a responsible pet owner/caregiver you are minimizing the problem of cat overpopulation.

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I know you plan to have her spayed after her first litter, but realistically, that misses the point by one litter.

As to how to best discipline her,

1) there are definitely ways to appropriately say "no,"

2) Redirection is always best (redirect from what they shouldn't be doing to what they should be), and

3) Positive reinforcement is the BEST method of "training" cats.

When she is bitey (and she'll get more bitey when she's teething!), lean down, blow a short, sharp, puff of air directly in her face and say "no" firmly. Give her something appropriate to bite/chew on. For kittens, keeping LOTS of bendy straws around is a great idea. We scattered an entire box around the place - there was always a straw handy to give them to chew on. If she chews on it, praise her to high heaven. "WHAT a good kitty!" in a totally happy voice. BUT....if she continues to go after one of you, blow that short, sharp, puff of air in her face again - maybe two in a row - say "no" firmly, and put her in the bathroom for 3 - 5 minutes. Say nothing. When the time is up, don't look at her when you open the door, but open it and just walk away.

This is the same basic principle for everything when it comes to discipline. The short, sharp puff of air in her face gets her attention - she doesn't like it, it's like the human equivalent of a hiss. She quickly learns the meaning of the word "no" (as she associates it with the puff of air) - and she gets redirected to what is OK to do. She also learns that if she continues the unacceptable behavior, she gets isolated for a little while and then ignored.

They are like 2 year olds that way. They will test your limits - so it is SO IMPORTANT to train them that "bad" behavior gets little to no reaction (so they aren't "bad" just to get attention) - but redirecting them to what is OK - and if they do it - they get praised, so they learn what is right.

Make sure throughout the day to reinforce good behavior. Any time you see her scratching in the right places, praise her. Any time she's playing "nice," praise her, &etc.

Give her lots of vertical space. Having only shelves that are cluttered with breakable items is a recipe for disaster. Cats are 3-dimensional animals, and they need that space.

Tell hubby that cats are NOT like dogs. When reaching out to a cat, do it palm down, not palm up. Don't look her directly in the eyes - this is not a sign of dominance, it is a sign of aggression. If she rolls on her back during petting, do not assume she wants her belly rubbed. While she may love it, and some cats do, they can also easily become very overstimulated - and bite as a result. The cat should NOT be disciplined for biting when being overstimulated, they are simply communicating with you in a natural way.

...and importantly, remember - if she ever pees outside the box, it is most likely a health problem, and the very first thing you should do is get her to a vet. Only when she gets an all-clear from the vet should you then worry about what caused her to do that. Cats do NOT pee outside the box because they are mad at you. They do it because of fear or stress.

....there is a wealth of information available, and, of course, we are here to help with questions.

But please, please, please reconsider your decision to let her have a litter. Do what is best for Avalon. And you may not realize, but 71% of all cats that enter shelters are murdered (euthanized) every year. So a litter of ANY size means that those 3 - 7 kittens are 3 - 7 homes less that kittens of an unplanned pregnancy could have had.

Laurie

It's nice that you want to do the right thing for your cat, but I find purposely breeding a domestic short hair very offensive, as I'm sure a lot of people here do. I think someone here recommended you volunteer at an animal shelter. I agree. You should because I don't think you get it.

Thousands of cats die in shelters every year. Hundreds have died at my hands, covered in my tears. You may not understand how - but by breeding Avalon you kill shelter cats. Harsh? Yes. It's reality - I live it every day of my life. In fact, I'm killing someone Tuesday.

By allowing Avalon to have a litter - you increase her risks of pyometria, various reproductive cancers, mastitis, etc. Someone who breeds purebred Sphynx cats (a member of TCS) just lost their Queen. I remember a shelter kitty, guessed about 2 years old, went in to be spayed & it was discovered she had cancer - if she had been spayed it would've been prevented & she would've survived.

If you can't afford to spay/neuter all the kittens & get them fully vaccinated prior to placing them, how can you be sure the kittens won't be bred, therefore adding to insane overpopulation? Even if you can afford it - do you intend to risk her health?

Bottom line is - you won't find anyone here who will support you breeding a moggie. I've spent the past 5 years, and many have spent their lives, trying to stop overpopulation & needless death.

I have to agree with the others. Theres far too many cats and kittens in shelters to start with without having more added to the list. Just look at your local shelters and see how many they have.

When i first got Rosie from a pet shop, the owner said to let her have one litter of kittens then get her spayed. I wanted to scream Do you think i have stupid stamped on my forehead!!

Please, be a responsible owner and get Avalon spayed sooner rather than later, because the is what The Cat Site is all about, educating people, and because of this i need to show you Rule 2 of the sites rules when you signed up. If you need a full copy again please let me know

2. Please make sure to spay and neuter your cats. Unless you are a professional breeder and your cat is part of a professional breeding program, please educate yourself to the importance of spaying and neutering by the time your cat is 4-6 months old. If you take care of a feral colony, please make sure to do so responsibly by practicing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) protocols within the colony. By spaying and neutering, you enhance a cat's quality of life and improve their longterm health. You are also proving your love for cats because in acting as a responsible pet owner/caregiver you are minimizing the problem of cat overpopulation.

Originally Posted by mschauer

Around here only experienced cat owners are allowed to be fosters, especially to kittens. Fostering requires understanding and tolerance for normal cat behavior and the experience to know what normal is. The OP has admitted to not having that experience. Maybe in a few years though ...

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That's right I don't have the experience so I can only own the one cat. Then the poster you quoted is still posting I don't like cats when I make my post yesterday on how much I love Avalon and I will always love her and when she is grown.

Rosiemac, I didn't know there were rules here to spay and neuter our kitties to join this site. If it is safer for the kitty, I don't mind doing it, but I have people already who want the pick of the litter already. I also see threads on here about others whose cats have had kittens.

Many people who have kittens on this site picked up strays, foster pregnant cats, etc. Many of those people don't come on her ahead of time, read the rules/know our feelings, & then intentionally let their cat breed.

What happens if those homes back out? What happens to the kittens then? Are you sure the kittens won't be out there breeding also, only adding to overpopulation? Why can't the people who want kittens go to the shelter & adopt? I imagine everywhere else is as swamped with kittens as we are (we currently have approx. 50 kittens on top of 50 adults - our shelter cat capacity is 50).

Be prepared for kittens to die. Be prepared for great medical expenses (should she need a c-section - the kittens may not have milk to nurse so you would need to bottle feed them & a c-section costs around $500 here). My Margo, prior to me getting her, came into the shelter pregnant. She had 8 kittens. 4 survived to 8 weeks, they would be a year old now, but all have died due to genetic defects.

You will be hard pressed to find anyone here who will support you breeding Avalon - and adding to the overpopulation problem.

I think it can be difficult for some people who work in shelters (as I do) to give the message of the importance of spaying and neutering without being a little rude. There are other people here who had had litters. There are some good breeders here who truly breed to improve the breed. There are others who have taken in a foster female. Others may have had unspayed and neutered cats. I think what people are trying to do is explain to you how many unwanted animals there are in shelters. My recommendation to people who want to breed their house cat is to spend some time in a shelter. Meet some wonderful loving, sweet & playful cats. It's hard to bring more kittens into the world knowing how many are in need.

As far as health. Look into the importance of spaying female cats. It really is healthier for them. If she is spayed before her first heat her risk of mamory cancer will be almost zero. You are devoted to this little girl, so I know you want information to give her the best life possible. Take some time & do some research and you'll find spaying her really is in her best intrest.

Originally Posted by tweetykiss

My husband is also a dog person but he is learning to love Avalon. All he has to do is get to know her better.

I am going to take her for her first bath and claw trimming this Friday. I wanted it sooner but the cat groomer is on vacation AGAIN!!!!!

Click to expand...

Please get this kitten spayed as soon as possible. PLEASE do not let her get pregnant and have kittens, there are thousands of kittens/cats being killed every day because irresponsible cat owners don't spay and neuter their cats.

You know, I can empathize with wanting an offspring of your beloved pet. Often I wish that my Chloe - who is a an adorable mix, but definitely not a purebred - could have a kitten just like her so that when she passes I wouldn't be lonely for her.

Then I realize I could never replace Chloe and that even if I had a kitten that looked just like her she would never and could never be her. Each and every cat is special in their own and cannot be duplicated.

On top of that, just because a kitten may be hers, that kitten could be aggressive or lethargic or any number of things that are not my Chloe. And I realize that just because a kitten may share Chloe's genetic code there will never be any cat who could replace her.

Of course Chloe was spayed before 4 months, and I cherish every moment I have with her and all of her wonderful quirks and personality. I take photos and videos so I can remember her always in the far future when she finally crosses that bridge.

That's why I adopted two new kittens from a rescue who said they came from a stray mother. Because that's really my cat's legacy - adopting kittens who are already out there in the world and need a forever home.

And I think that many people here would backup my claim - that often in new kittens we see glimmers of our past pets crop up in the most surprising way.

So I can understand why you would want an offspring of Avalon, but with so many cats out there, I'm sure you could easily find a friend for her that would be as easily cherished and could be her adopted offspring as well.