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Hi all! So glad I found this site this afternoon! Here is my situation: My girlfriend had a kitten that was outside of her work for a couple mornings in a row. Being the animal lover she is (4 dogs, 1 cat) she decided to take grab her cat traveler. She spent the weekend at my house and brought the kitten with. She figures it's about 5-6 weeks old. The kitten is now at my house, because she thought it would be too terrifying for it with the four dogs. So I decided I'm going to keep him! It's my first cat ever, I've had dogs for years. I've been doing nothing but researching the last 48-72 hours and have found an overwhelming amount of information, varying opinions, lots of facts and myths. I'm going to make an appt for him/her to be brought into my vet for his first set of vaccines. How much should I expect to spend on those vaccines? $200 or so I heard? Definitely not going to get it de-clawed, even though he's going to be an inside cat. If I get a scratching post, or something similar, will I still need to trim it's front nails? I don't mind, was just curious. Seems like it's fairly simple, especially when you start when they're a kitten. For the past 5-6 days, he's been eating dry food and doesn't seem to have a problem with it, actually seems to love it! I've had water out and gave him a little milk from time to time, is that ok? He's been very good with the litter box, only place he's gone thus far. He's very affectionate, loves cuddling with me all the time! Very playful, and even a bit feisty sometimes! I love it! Also, I have an older Golden Retriever so I keep the kitten in my room 90% of the time, pretty much just keep him running around in there. I guess the reason I'm posting here is cause I'm looking for a little insight into what I need to do for the first 8-10 weeks, what I need to look out for, so on. My girlfriend hasn't been much of help, because she's always had barn cats growing up, and I would assume they didn't take great care of them, the way I want to. Thanks!

Welcome to the forums!


If he was homeless - he has prob fleas
That is one of the reasons rescuers usually do have their new protegÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]es isolated in a quarantene - often in the bathroom. Till they are vet checked up, and dewormed...

If he was only gone astray (and he probably is if he dont have fleas) he may have an owner who is seeking after him.
Set up Found signs in the neigboorhood....
(kittens dont have the sense of territory, thus they have very easy to got astray. This is one of the reasons why not to let kittens out, even if you are prepared to have your adult cats go outside at will).

I agree with you; best and safest is to have them as indoors.
Good he will get pal with the dog. Otherwise consider perhaps to get him a cat pal with time - most cats prefers to have a four-legged friend. (they do bond to their human anyway!)

Good dry food, if for kittens or if of very good mark, is ok. Although, good wet food is even better.

Milk? some cats are sensitive to milk, but not all. If he doenst have any problems, you may proceed.... Yours is perhaps one of those who do manage milk.
Otherwise, goat milk is safe and very nourishing.... Or simply, lactose-reduced milk (low-lactose milk).

200 bucks for a casual check up (which you of course should do) and shots is rather much. If it includes spaying - it is normal price.

But if depends of course what vets you do have around. If you are tight on money, you can almost surely find some cheaper vet too...

He is prob some week or two too young for vacciing, and spaying... The exact time talk with the vet.
But check up and deworming - necessary, as soon you can manage. After it you are the vets customers, so I hope you will get some rabate for next step...
Deworming this one time, as he is from outside, you will prob need to repeat it after some weeks. Later, if he is stricktly indoors, deworming after need. Ie, with any luck, you will never need to do it again.

Yes, scratch post is necessary - and clipping nails now and then too.
If he is shorthair, you prob dont never need bathe him - although it is wise you do train it anyway. You never know - someday it may be necessary. But in normal cases, cats are very clean animals, they washes themselves... A cat almost never smells.
Longhaired cats do need help, both with grooming and bathing now and then.

If he is shorthair, you dont need to groom much. Although taking over with a brush now and then is good. especielly at periods when they shed much hair.

I think it was the questions which arose.
Please return if you have any other questions!


Good luck!

Thanks for the quick reply! Well I emailed my vet office (the one I bring my Golden too), and this is the response I got back.
Thank-you for contacting the Coon Rapids Pet Hospital about your kitty. Here are our prices and policies:
•\t1st / 2nd kitten: PRC and exam $56
•\t3rd kitten: PRC, Rabies and exam: $75
•\tFeline Leukemia #1 and #2: $27 each. 1st one is done at second kitten visit if this is going to be an outdoor cat. Otherwise, vaccine is not needed at this time.
The price for a spay (female cat) is $228.03 (includes tax). That surgery includes: pre-anesthetic bloodwork, IV catheter, overnight stay and pain medications here and to go home. We do have the laser available for an additional $58. it takes the place of the scalpel blade for all the cutting. Healing time is faster and it seems to be less painful for the pet.

A neuter (male cat) is $170.56 (includes tax). It includes everything that the spay does. The laser is not available for this surgery.


Like I said, those prices could be extremely high, and I would have no clue as I've never done this before! Those prices do seem extreme to me though. As far as deworming and the whole flea thing? Is that something I go through the vet for too, or is there a product I can buy for the fleas?

Welcome to TCS! And welcome to the world of loving kitties! DH used to HATE cats - until one adopted us. They have a way about them..... they worm their way straight into your heart. I love dogs too - but they are completely different animals! You'll find all those cute little messages to be so true.... (things like "Dogs have owners, cats have staff," and "Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you...." ).

As to your question - those are definitely expensive prices. I don't know if they're expensive for the area though, you know? We live in rural NJ, and a regular neuter with all you mentioned (not the laser) is $90 and a regular spay is ... $120. Wait - that doesn't include the pre-anesthetic blood work. That is $40 (done just to make sure there's no reaction to the anesthetic. A regular full blood panel is around $170 I think. That, for some reason, is expensive out here).

Your kitten definitely needs to be treated with Revolution. There are a lot of anti-flea and tick and internal parasite meds. You should know that you should NEVER use over-the-counter meds by Hartz or Sargents or whatever - they do not work and may kill your cat. Revolution I think can now be purchased from places like Petsmart without a scrip, so I guess that's confusing - but Advantage and Revolution are not in the same class as flea collars or other treatments. Advantage only treats fleas. Both are topical (you put on the skin of the cat (spread the hair) between the shoulder blades), but Revolution also treats (the common) internal parasites. I would find out from the vet how old the kitten is before treatment, however, and make sure it's OK to use. I don't remember if there's an age thing on treatment with Revolution or not (we tend to work with older ferals). Revolution will kill fleas, flea eggs, ticks, and round worm (internal parasite). These are all very common in rescue cats.

Again, I don't know how old kitty needs to be for vaccinations, but if he's seven weeks old or 2 pounds or more, it is safe to neuter him (or spay her). Some vets won't do it because they're not used to working on such small animals, but the research is out there and it does not affect the cat (other than in beneficial ways) long term. If your vet wants to wait until four months (when they teethe) or six months (standard), it's OK.

I don't recommend any vaccinations other than the regular rabies (required by most states) and distemper. There was a problem with sarcomas developing at the site of the rabies injection over time, so there is now a new vaccine for it called PureVax that is safer. It requires an annual booster shot (the old one was every three years after the first year follow-up), but it safer for your cat long term. Distemper is given twice - the follow-up will be three weeks after the first one. We give distemper vaccinations the first year, and then after that the only vaccine we give to our indoor-only cats is the rabies. We work with ferals outside, so we're just careful about bringing anything in with us.

Don't let the vet talk you into the Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) vaccines. FIV has several strains, and it's effective in TX and other areas in the South. I don't know about MN, but as you're not going to be working with ferals and your cat will be indoor only, there is just no need for either. Also, there is absolutely no point in testing for FIV before the cat is six months old. If mom was infected with FIV, the kitten will have antibodies from the milk and test positive, but this does not mean kitty is infected with the virus. So don't bother with that test. We do test for FeLV. If he/she is positive, it is not necessarily a death sentence, and shouldn't be. It just means that if you adopt any other cats, it's best if they've got FeLV. In fact, many kitties with FeLV need homes.

As to the rest, I'm going to share stuff I'd wish I'd known when we rescued our first kitty.

Cats can get bored easily with their toys. You don't have to keep providing new ones. Circulate them weekly.

Kittens have a LOT of energy and need a lot of attention, they're just like little children. You have to use up as much energy as you can, and you have to teach them what's right and what's not OK. It is just as important (if not more important) to praise them for being good, and for playing right, as it is that they learn the word "no." To say "no" to a cat, blow a short, sharp puff of air right in his face and say "no" firmly but not loudly. They'll learn "no," and they understand that puff. Humans don't hiss well.

Your kitten will start teething around four months old. They become very bitey at this stage. It is best, if from the very beginning, you teach your kitty that humans are not toys. Do not play with your hands, your fingers, your arms, your feet - just don't. I know it's fun, but when those adult teeth are coming in, it is not nearly as cute. DH still sometimes plays with his hands, and always ends up getting hurt with a sharp claw if I haven't clipped recently. Human limbs are not toys! The best chew toy during this phase are plastic bendy straws. Have lots on hand, scatter them everywhere, and when kitty goes to bite you, hand him a straw. Praise the heck out of him for using them.

Wet food, though more expensive, is better for your cat. Male cats in particular can have problems with blockage of the urethra. This can kill them within 24-48 hours. If you ever see your cat pee outside of the box, MOST of the time it is a health problem and it means they need to go to the vet. Some cats definitely stress pee, but a health problem MUST be ruled out. One of our cats pees outside of the box when her teeth hurt. She has bad dental problems, and even with brushing her teeth (which she loves BTW), she has to go to the vet every six months for a dental cleaning.

Anyway, the point is, wet food helps keep the urine dilute. This is the goal. We have water fountains and water dishes out everywhere. We let the cats free feed on dry food, but we provide a wet meal in the morning and at night, and we mix a little warm water in with the wet food. The more water you can pump through your cat, the better for his long term health. We like the mix of wet and dry, because the dry is good for their teeth.

If I think of other stuff, I'll add. But those were the basics that jumped to mind.

And, of course, TCS is here for any and all questions you have along the way!

BTW - we do love pictures.

Thanks SO much for that awesome reply back! I just returned home after purchasing some wet kitty food. I'm going to leave the dry food out for him and give him a wet meal every morning and night. As far as the vaccine prices, I don't know why that place was extremely high. I contacted another place, and it's going to be $34 for the Distemper (3-way), and a fecal test is $24. That should be done right, to check for worms, right? Also going to have him checked for fleas obviously. Our play time is quite frequent, so there are no no worries there! Here's the little bugger:

Oh right! Scratching! Yes, trimming the front claws is a good idea. We got them used to having their claws clipped by doing one at a time. When they were sleeping, we'd do it quick, just one claw. Some cats are fine being handled and having them all done at once - ours weren't LOL. We did one claw a day and just kept going around - until they got used to it. We also had a treat ready. Clip claw, give treat. It took us a couple of months on most of them to be able to just get all of them in one go. At that point you probably don't even need to bother with the treat.

But do provide a number of different types of scratchers. Your kitty is young enough he probably won't use them much yet, but as he grows older, he will. They LOVE to stretch and scratch when they wake up, so having stuff to scratch on near where they like to sleep really helps save the furniture. Some love vertical scratching - some love horizontal scratching. We provide lots of both. They love cardboard, sisal, the carpet on the cat trees... remember to praise the heck out of your kitty any time he's scratching on stuff he's supposed to scratch.

If it becomes any kind of issue down the road, we can help there too. But since your little guy is so young, you can teach him straight off the bat what's OK and what's not OK to scratch.

Also, I don't know how "into" it you're going to get... but cats do live in a 3D world, and they LOVE to go vertical. Providing good space that's "up" is great fun! Check this out: Kitty Wall!

You can also make a cat... tower/condo/tree for very cheap. Here's a current thread in the pictures forum: Our new cat tree for $16!

And plastic bags are dangerous. There's a thread going on in the behavior forum right now about whether or not it's safe to let cats play with plastic bags. CATS LOVE BAGS AND BOXES. There are probably not better toys for cats than paper bags and boxes! When we had more space, we used to build elaborate 3D mazes out of boxes (taping them together and cutting holes in them). But we left plastic bags out once after putting groceries away, and Flowerbelle was playing in one, got her head caught in the handle, and FREAKED OUT. She ran around like a bat out of hell, and peed herself she got so scared before we caught her and got it off of her. we were terrified she was going to strangle herself before we got to her. So from that moment on, we never left a plastic bag out anywhere, ever. We also immediately cut the handles off of paper bags if they had any the minute we walked in the door (or fold them up and put them in a closet).

She also loves to tear paper. The only way to curb that one is not leave any paper out. Mail goes away, stacks of paper are not left out on desks, etc. Unfortunately, because cats ARE 3D, the only solution to some problems is simply denial of access. (Though DH used to love to go to work with chewed up papers and say, "My cat ate my homework." ).

Originally Posted by EGrant23

As far as deworming and the whole flea thing? Is that something I go through the vet for too, or is there a product I can buy for the fleas?

Click to expand...

In theory, you could buy it for yourself. We in Sweden usually do, as there are excellent dewormers to buy in common Pharmacias... Dewormers made by big wellknown medicine industries - essentielly same who also makes medicines for humans. They simply cant afford to leave bad products.
Of course, the vets do have some up their sleeve, if it would be necessary.


In other countries, though, they often sell dewormers in common shops, these so called Over The Count medicines.
And these are very uneven. Some are OK, but some are outright dangerous!
Not seldom because they are perhaps made for dogs, but sold for cats too...
Thus, we on these forums are always warning against all OTC dewormers.

Unless you do perfectly well know what you are doing. For example got a recomendation by your vet you do know is knowleable.

However, I had read they had began to sell OTC some of the medicines which till now were sold or prescibed only by vets.

For example Revolution (you can google on it, Revolution, another may be Advantage...),
a spot on (one drop on the neck) which kill all outer parasites, like fleas, ear mites, and also many worms. (although not the broad worm = tape worm).

So IF you try to buy OTC, it depends what they have - and how much do you know.
If they have marks you do know are good - fine, buy. If not - dont buy. If you do hesitate - dont buy. Google on it at the very least.
Asking your vet is always safest, if it is a small animal (=cat) specialist.

Also with good mark dewormers. Look again on the package if it IS for cats, not dogs. The shop perhaps took in the wrong variation. You cant rely on the shops clerks...
Look also if it isnt too old...


The vet you talk about takes rather much. But as there are cheaper vets, it says itself some are not so cheap.... Although these here seem to give good value for that money.
Do I understand, it is a rather big clinic - a hospital? Hospitals tends to take more- smaller clinics may be the cheaper...
Try to look around...

What area are you in? Somebody here may surely look it up... I know LDG is good at finding these low cost clinics.


Another tip may be, if you do have some good shelter nearby, you can try and phone them, and ask if they can recommend some good but low cost vet. (it will prob be the same they themselves cooperate with).


Good luck, and much joy with your new furry household member!

OMG is he cute or what???????????????????

Does he have a name yet? Or are you not sure he's a he? (We thought all of the kittens in the first litter we encoutered were little girls because they were all just SO cute. It was a shock to find out four were boys and one was a girl. ). Of course the boys are VERY manly now!

Originally Posted by LDG

OMG is he cute or what???????????????????

Does he have a name yet? Or are you not sure he's a he? (We thought all of the kittens in the first litter we encoutered were little girls because they were all just SO cute. It was a shock to find out four were boys and one was a girl.

). Of course the boys are VERY manly now!

Click to expand...

Well, this being my first kitty and all, from what I've read online, I really think it's a boy. I hope so, cause it's going to be Kirby!

Yes, I'm happy to help search for a low cost clinic. The only problem with them is that they don't do the "vet checkup" kind of a thing. Of course, you can find a vet you like - you'll need one longer term - and use a clinic (if there is one around you) for the spay/neuter. You can send via PM your zip code and I'd be happy to see if there are any in your area. I don't know your financial situation, and I would look for another vet or at least compare prices - but if you can afford it, I do prefer giving vets the spay/neuter business and letting the clinics use their money for people and cats that really need it. But I am happy to help you find a low-cost clinic.

As to the fecal... that's just a judgment call. Giardia is something that usually needs to be sent out and is what would justify the cost of the fecal, because it doesn't turn up in the normal fecal float test. And I don't know if lung worm is common where you are - it wasn't here when we first started rescuing, but it is common now. We pay for the fecal in all our ferals, but that's to determine if they've got lung worm, because it is NOT treated by Revolution. It requires either a 10 day course of Panacur (PIA) or two shots of Ivermec (at 10 day intervals). This is a parasite cats get by eating slugs. The problem with the fecal is that it can turn up negative - but it doesn't mean they don't have internal parasites. Giardia, specifically, is one of those that a cat can have yet it doesn't turn up in the test.

We simply ASSUME that if a cat has been eating/living outside, it's got internal parasites, and we treat them for it. We pay for the fecal to see if they've got lung worm because it's a problem where we live. Giardia you can be pretty confident your cat does not have if kitty doesn't have diarrhea - though stress of moving inside and being on new food or switching foods can (and usually does) cause diarrhea for a little while. So the fecal... I'd find out if lung worm is a possibility/probability. If so, I'd pay for the fecal. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother, and just treat with Revolution.

Again - I do not know how old a cat has to be to use the Revolution. Someone else will, or I'm sure it can be looked up.

Stefan has a really good point. I will say that the vet that has saved the lives of two of our cats works at a vet practice that is very expensive (closer to the charges you mentioned, though the laser is $40 additional). They charge more for just about everything - but in the long run, it's been worth it, because he did save the lives of two of our cats, where other vets almost killed them. The most important thing is to find a vet you like and trust.

Update:
Kirby had his first vet. experience today. Everything with him checked out perfectly, and he couldn't have been more well behaved there.

Glad to hear all is well

Pics of Kirby! How far he has come, and how far I've come with my first ever kitten/cat!

Hi my name is Julie and I'm from University and Foley Area. Where did you end up taking your kitten and were you pleased with the visit? I just switched vets to Moundsview Animal Hospital and although they are very thorough they are kinda expensive. Its very clean and vets take all the time with you that you need. I also have been to All Pets on 57th and University. That has a smaller, more homey place. Probably cheaper and vet seemed ok.