Hi everyone 
My boyfriend and I have just been approved by a rescue to adopt a new kitten!
We are both experienced cat owners, but neither of us have had a kitten since we were kids, and I was hoping for a kind of list of "things to expose your kitten to!" or some resources and tips for raising a friendly, well-adjusted kitten. Just want to make sure I don't miss out on things I could be doing now that will help him be the best kitty he can be later.
Anyways, here's what I'm thinking so far as far as things to expose him to/teach him when he's still a kitten:
- hold him lots of course
- handle his paws/teach him to let me trim his nails
- touch teeth and ears now so I can brush his teeth/clean his ears when he's older, if needed
- take him for car rides
- teach him to walk on a harness/leash
- get him used to a collar
I also plan to teach him tricks (sit, stay, etc) and how to use the people toilet, but that kind of stuff can wait until he's a little older.
Things I'm not sure about:
- should I teach him to "perch" on my shoulder? He seems to like shoulders now, and I think it would be neat, but I'm concerned about having an adult kitty with claws on my shoulder. Thoughts?
- should I take him around to public places? If so, suggestions for where? ie pet events, parks, etc.
- should I meal feed or free feed? I know meal feeding is supposed to be better, but my mom's cats are free-fed and aren't unhealthy (just slightly pudgy) and all the cats I know that are meal-fed are very food obsessed and spend their whole day begging for or trying to steal food. I'm a little torn. :\\
Inappropriate behaviors I'd like to prevent now:
- jumping on counters! My childhood kitties never even attempted this, but a cat that we cat-sat for 6 months was TERRIBLE! No food or anything that had touched food (even just rice) could be left out, even in a sealed zippy bag - she'd rip it open. We taught her to stay OUT of the kitchen, and she knew she wasn't allowed in there, but this didn't stop her from jumping up and stealing food/licking dishes when we weren't looking. Any advice to make sure our new kitty doesn't end up like this?
-scratching furniture! I intend to get a nice, tall, sturdy scratching post, tape up the furniture corners when the kitty first moves in, and keep the kitty's nails trimmed nicely, but this hasn't deterred previous cats from scratching up my sofas (I think I have amazingly scratchable sofas) Any other advice would be appreciated...my current sofas are already destroyed but it'd be nice to know new ones could be kept nice for a while.
Thanks in advance for any tips/resources/advice! _^..^_
~Azura
My boyfriend and I have just been approved by a rescue to adopt a new kitten!
We are both experienced cat owners, but neither of us have had a kitten since we were kids, and I was hoping for a kind of list of "things to expose your kitten to!" or some resources and tips for raising a friendly, well-adjusted kitten. Just want to make sure I don't miss out on things I could be doing now that will help him be the best kitty he can be later. Anyways, here's what I'm thinking so far as far as things to expose him to/teach him when he's still a kitten:
- hold him lots of course
- handle his paws/teach him to let me trim his nails
- touch teeth and ears now so I can brush his teeth/clean his ears when he's older, if needed
- take him for car rides
- teach him to walk on a harness/leash
- get him used to a collar
I also plan to teach him tricks (sit, stay, etc) and how to use the people toilet, but that kind of stuff can wait until he's a little older.
Things I'm not sure about:
- should I teach him to "perch" on my shoulder? He seems to like shoulders now, and I think it would be neat, but I'm concerned about having an adult kitty with claws on my shoulder. Thoughts?
- should I take him around to public places? If so, suggestions for where? ie pet events, parks, etc.
- should I meal feed or free feed? I know meal feeding is supposed to be better, but my mom's cats are free-fed and aren't unhealthy (just slightly pudgy) and all the cats I know that are meal-fed are very food obsessed and spend their whole day begging for or trying to steal food. I'm a little torn. :\\
Inappropriate behaviors I'd like to prevent now:
- jumping on counters! My childhood kitties never even attempted this, but a cat that we cat-sat for 6 months was TERRIBLE! No food or anything that had touched food (even just rice) could be left out, even in a sealed zippy bag - she'd rip it open. We taught her to stay OUT of the kitchen, and she knew she wasn't allowed in there, but this didn't stop her from jumping up and stealing food/licking dishes when we weren't looking. Any advice to make sure our new kitty doesn't end up like this?
-scratching furniture! I intend to get a nice, tall, sturdy scratching post, tape up the furniture corners when the kitty first moves in, and keep the kitty's nails trimmed nicely, but this hasn't deterred previous cats from scratching up my sofas (I think I have amazingly scratchable sofas) Any other advice would be appreciated...my current sofas are already destroyed but it'd be nice to know new ones could be kept nice for a while.
Thanks in advance for any tips/resources/advice! _^..^_
~Azura
I suppose it depends! I think a compromise is an auto-timed feeder - that way they come to know that it's available at intervals throughout the day and don't become obsessed, but also can't gorge past satiety. Just some thoughts!
