(about to be) New owner of a kitten

I'm not really a cat fan, I always figured I'd get a dog one day, they're always loving and 'needy', whereas my limited experience with cats is that they're standoffish, 'snobby'. In fact, 48 hours ago I could have said in all honesty I had never once in my life even considered owning a cat.

That changed yesterday, while at a friends house, someone else I knew brought over a kitten they'd just adopted that same day. It was cute, affectionate, friendly, basically the opposite of every other cat I've had any experience with. I was pretty drunk as well, but the next morning (ie. today), I woke up still wanting to own my own cat.

By noon, during my lunch break I headed out to the local RSPCA, and paid for the adoption of another kitten, from the same litter as my friends kitten. I couldn't take it back to work, so I said I'd pick it up the next day, which I'll be doing in the morning.

My main problem is that I've never had a pet before, nevermind a cat, so I know zilch about cat care, and I don't think my tiny apartment has been made cat-safe to either protect my furniture and other possessions from the cat, or protecting my cat from all the dangers that could be lurking in my apartment. So what I'm doing now is reading up online trying to get as much info as I can before tomorrow morning. After work I went past a petstore where the sales assistant recommended me a litter box and some kind of crystal litter. I don't think I've ever seen a litter box before today, and am only now learning how they work.

I guess with my little story out of the way, I should get down to some of the questions I'm hoping some kind and experienced cat-owners here can help me with, as well as any miscellaneous advice that you can think would help:

(btw, just to mention, this kitten is about 4-5 weeks old)

1) litter box stuff...how much should I put in this litter box? It's a fairly big one, I'm guessing the saleslady was just pushing the most expensive of everything I was asking about at me ie. from the litter box, toys, food etc. Either way, I have what I hope is a good litter box, if the kitten can actually climb in. Not sure how much litter to put in it, or what to do with it. The lady says I should dump the entire litter box contents down the toilet every day, which sounds pretty expensive. At that rate my 7 litre bag of litter will struggly to last a week, and I don't want to be spending 40 bucks a month just on litter.

2) How do I train the cat to use the litter box? I'm hoping it would have been trained by the RSPCA, I'll find out tomorrow when I collect it. Even if it has been trained, it wouldn't have seen my litter box. How can I let it know (and enforce) that it should be using this new litter box and not poop or piss anywhere else?

3) how much food should I put out for the cat? I don't want it to overeat, and I don't know if cats know to stop when theyve had enough or they keep going like me at a buffet ie. beyond all reasonable limits. A co-worker today told me not to give it any milk, as they get diarrhoea, but I thought cats were supposed to love milk?

4) As a guy living on my own, I have lots of crap all over my apartment. It would definitely be a risk for a kid, but I don't know if cats are the same, do their kittens try and swallow everything and risk choking?

I have so many other questions but I thought I'd start with some basics that might hopefully get me through the first day tomorrow!

Thanks all

I'm sure more experienced people will chime in, but I thought I'd answer some of your questions.

1) I put in a lot of litter for my cat because she seems to like a lot in. I put about 2" in, but most people seem to recommend an inch or so. Your kitten is probably already trained to use the box if it's been at the SPCA, but s/he will most likely be pretty scared the first few days and may have some accidents. If you can, set her/his stuff up in the bathroom and keep her/him in there for a few days so you can observe whether or not s/he's using the box consistently. Check the bag of litter you have too, it will say on there whether it's flushable or not. If it's not, don't flush it. You only have to pick out the bits of poop and the urine clumps every day. After about a week or two, empty all of the litter and refill with fresh litter. Every once in awhile you'll want to actually sanitize the box. The kitten may also not be used to crystal litter, so I would check with the SPCA and find out what kind of litter they are using and buy a small bag of it. Fill the box up mostly with the new litter, then put a bit of the old litter on top. If that doesn't work, there is also litter designed specifically to attract cats/kittens.

If you want to change litters at some point, it seems to be recommended to avoid clay litters. I use Feline Fresh - it's a clumping litter made from wood and is flushable. I keep the UPCs, they often have coupons come out where you send in those UPCs for a free bag of litter.

2) See above.

3) The side of the bag will give you a good idea of how much food to feed. Follow it, if you notice that your cat is starting to get a bit chunky then cut down a bit on the food. Your vet can also tell you have many kCals you should be feeding and you can then check the bag and figure it out. I've always portioned the dry food out for the day and set it out to let them graze (if they don't gorge themselves), I also offer at least one wet meal a day. Remember to cut back the kibble if you're feeding wet as well. Some cats/kittens are good at self regulating, others (like mine) will eat all the food you put out right away. A water fountain for the cat is a good investment, it seems to get them to drink more.

4) I know what you mean about all the stuff around your apartment. I live with my boyfriend and he is constantly leaving small things around that our dogs and cat can get into. Anything breakable that you don't want broken needs to be put away. Don't just put it up high, cats love to be up high and will find a way to get up there. I also recommend getting those things for your cabinets that keep babies from opening them. Our cat LOVES to go into our cabinets and knock things out. Pick up anything that the kitten could potentially eat (fit in it's mouth) and observe for the rest. Keep an eye out for electrical cords, some like to chew on them.

A bit of unsolicited advice - make sure you get the kitten to a vet within a few days after adoption. Also look into pet insurance, or set a bit of money away each week/month for potential emergencies. Your kitten may take a few days to settle in, so keep that in mind when you first bring it home. It may not be like it was at the shelter.

Awww.............. I'm so glad you found TCS, we'll be able to help!

My hubby and I were the same way. Neither of us had ever had a cat, and we both wanted a dog, but our travel and work just made it impossible. Then a stray cat adopted us... and we were converts. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs... but I really love cats and have SO much respect for them! I call my cats my children... but really, I think of them more like roommates - like equals - and I just don't see dogs that way, never did.

First of all, 4-5 weeks is REALLY young. I know you don't think you're prepared for two, but you REALLY might want to consider bringing home two if you can. Kittens really ought to spend 12 weeks with their littermates and mum so they can "learn" everything they need to about caring for themselves, and proper "social behavior" from each other. Even 8-10 weeks is better. A 4-5 week old baby will be lonely and need a LOT of attention and take a lot of work. With two kittens, the work on you ends up actually being less, because they have each other to play with and use up all that kitten energy. Then you don't run into potential problems with kitty having ... behavior we consider "bad" because they're bored. They'll have a friend.

Kittens... this baby, if that young, is barely even weaned. You are likely going to have to clean up a little bit after it - both from eating and going to the bathroom. Often moving environments create stress, and if you feed the kitty a different food, it's likely to get diarrhea - and it's too little to clean itself up yet. (Think of this as the difference between adopting a baby that needs its diapers changed and a toddler that already knows to let you know she needs to go to the bathroom).

Kitties at this age should not have clumping litter. You'll need a smaller sized litter pan, because at this age they're not that coordinated and getting in and out could be a problem. In a few weeks or a month you'll be able to get a larger litter pan - but for a few months, it's best NOT to use clumping litter. Little kitties tend to try everything, and it's normal for them to eat some of it. Clumping litter... clumps, so it can be really dangerous for them to eat. They need non-clumping clay litter. For a kitten that little, you only need an inch or so at the bottom of the pan, or they just sink in or fling it everywhere.

When you bring kitty (kitties) home, your whole house does not need to be kitten-proof, because they should not have access to all of it. Whenever you bring a new cat/kitten home, it is really best to confine them to just one room. Cats - unlike dogs - are far more territorial than anything else. So they need a small space at first to make "their own" before you give them free run. Let them adjust to all the new sights, sounds, smells first.

I'll go find a few links to articles I expect you'll find helpful (quick reads).

Ummm..... interactive toys (feathers or mice at the end of ropes/strings) are GREAT for exercise and play, but NEVER leave them outside of a closet unattended. Too many cats eat the string, and then you find yourself rushing to the vet for emergency surgery. Cat's tongues feel rough when they lick you because they have lots and lots of what are actually little "hook" like things, all facing backward (designed to help them get meat off a bone) - and once something (especially a string) goes in their mouth, it's very hard to get it out.

If you have curtains, you may want to bind them up, or kitty will be climbing them...

I'm sure others will chime in. Now let me go find those links....

If you haven't noticed these links at the top of the forum, they are filled with short, helpful articles:

http://www.thecatsite.com/Cats/Cat_Care.html
http://www.thecatsite.com/Cats/Cat_Behavior.html
http://www.thecatsite.com/Cats/Cat_Health.html

Here's the article on bringing home a new kitty: http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/18/Br...a-New-Cat.html

OH! One last very important piece of information. With a baby that young, there will very likely be "accidents." Now - when the cat is older, if the cat goes to the bathroom outside of the box, it almost always is because of a medical reason, and it means they need to go to the vet. But a baby this small... just doesn't necessarily get to the box in time. To properly clean up cat pee or poop, you can't do it effectively with conventional cleaners. Their noses are much more sensitive than ours, and no conventional cleaner can break down the uric acid. Most pet stores will carry some type of enzyme cleaner. To work, you clean and blot up what you can. Then you SOAK the area with the enzyme cleaner. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then blot it up as much as possible. If it's a blanket or something, soak it with the enzyme cleaner, then add the enzyme cleaner to the wash like you would bleach.

To help kitty learn what is "right" and what is "wrong," you don't scold cats so much as you praise them for everything good. Praise kitty to high heaven for using the litter box! But as this baby is SO young, you'll have to act as replacement mom. Mom would teach baby by hissing at her or bopping her on the head. Do NOT bop your cat on the head. And people hisses just aren't the same as cat hisses. BUT... blowing a short, sharp puff of air direcly in his/her face then saying "no" firmly will do two things - he/she will definitely understand that puff of air in the face the same way they'd understand mom's hiss - and they also learn what the word "no" means.

Also - though it is tempting, PLEASE do not use your hands or feet as "toys!" It can be so hard to break this habit - and cats play with their mouths, and it's really just best not to encourage biting of any kind.

Welcome and congratulations on becoming a "cat person".
You have so much to look forward to....
including endless love and fun.

Your kitty will be with you for years. With luck, their average life span is about 16 years, sometimes much longer, so think long term.
If possible, become established with a vet asap.

I agree with the other replies, explore all of the forums here on our site....
Health, Nutrition and Behavior being 3 of the most important Forums for your situation.

Don't hesitate to start your own threads, with questions you might have, in any of our forums.
We are all, always learning how best to care for our cats and learn from each other.

One very important thing...
cat proof your place as though you were bringing home a baby who could jump 5 feet in the air.
Get down on your hands and knees, so that you have a view of your place just like your kitten will.
A little effort now, can save a lot of problems later.

Be sure to keep us updated.
Please make yourself at home.