Lots of questions, only 1 thread

1- I have never really played with a cat before so if I go to the local shelter will they let me play with one of their kittens and show me how to hold her and everything?

The workers at the shelter should help you, but they may be very busy. Ask specifically for help. But, basically, when you pick up a cat, you should support it under the chest with one hand and under the hind feet with another. This will be secure, and the cat won't be afraid of falling. Kitten play is easy; pull string across the floor, throw a ball of wadded up paper, or watch the kitten play with its imagination.

2- I am starting off my kitten in one room with a bed, toys, food and a litter box. But I want to eventually spread those things throughout the house (litter box to the laundry room and basement, bed to my room and food to the kitchen). How do I do this without the cat getting confused?

Don't move anything suddenly. A kitten is like an infant; it has very little spatial knowledge. But once the litter box has been used, the kitten will be able to find it by smell, if it's not too far away. Toys and bed? A kitten toy is whatever it comes across, and a bed is anywhere it decides to lie down. Don't expect it to love any bed you buy for it; it's likely to prefer a box with a towel in it.

3- Should I get my cat spayed at 8 weeks or just wait?


Follow your vet's advice. Some will do it as soon as the kitten weighs 2 pounds. Some will want to wait a little longer. At any rate, have it done by 16 weeks (4 months); kittens that age can go into heat, and drive you crazy.

4- It will be a house cat only, so does it need all the shots like rabies and distemper even though it won't be outside?

Rabies is required by most states/towns. Your vet can advise you on the others, but distemper is considered a "ubiquitous" virus, which you could bring in on your clothes, shoes, etc.

5- How can you tell when the cat is happy?

When it's purring, softly closing its eyes, cuddling with you, etc., its happy.

6- How do you know when the cat wants to play?

When it's awake, as a kitten.

7- I was told that to litter box train a kitten that you just place it in the litter box and digs its paws around a little bit. Is that true?

Mainly. If it's at least 8 weeks old, put it in a small room (preferably tile floor) with its food, water, and litter box. The odds are good that it will use the litter box from the very first, with no encouragement from you.

8- How well do those "No Scratch" sprays work?


I've never seen them work. Others may have different experiences.

9- What are good cat treats for kittens?

They may not be interested in them. Our ZZ kitten doesn't eat them, but he'll eat almost any people food. Punkin is not interested. Flambe, Sterling, and Ella would kill for them.

Most kittens are also not interested in catnip until they're about 6 months old.

10- Scratch mats, 1 post scratching post or 3 post scratching posts (or a combination)?

We've had really good luck with the Turbo Scratcher. A "cat tree" is a great investment; it provides height (security) for a cat, a place to sleep, and a place to scratch.

It would be best to start a kitten off on a hard floor. Towels and blankets can confuse the kitty into going potty there instead of in the litterbox, and it's best to get good litter habits started right away. I usually keep young kittens in the spare bathroom when I can't watch them.

Litterbox in the laundry room is really not a good idea, as the kitty can get startled with the W/D machine noise and get traumatized, creating litterbox problems. I know it is probably something you don't want to hear, but it really does happen, so if you can, choose another location... It will save you heartache in the future.

Until a kitten is about 4-5 months old, it's best to keep the litter box relatively close. Just like children that are learning to use the toilet, kittens don't always realize their bladder is full until they can't get to the litter box in time.

We kept our litter box in the laundry room when we had just one or two cats. Not enough room for four boxes in there, though. And yes, I've seen them come out of there pretty fast when the washer starts running water in.

I have never used them but I imagine you can desensitized a kitten to them like nail trims. But I am not sure it is possible .

***Please note I added the pink part***

One thing to remember when playing with a kitten: do not let him use your hands or feet as 'toys'. If he starts biting or scratching, stop playing, say a very stict 'NO' and direct his attention elsewhere. Try to use some kind of toy instead of your hand. It will be very hard to train a grown cat out of biting habit if he's allowed to do so while growing up.

Kittens usually get their adult teeth around 5 months of age. Before that you can prepare him to teeth cleaning by just rubbing his gums and teeth a bit with your finger, or at least get him used to let you handle his mouth a bit. When he gets his adult teeth, you can start brushing them with a tiny tooth brush and add cat toothpaste (I can't remember if they have some age restriction, some brands do). How often is really up to how often the cat tolerates and ho often he needs it to be done. Some do it everyday, some once a week.

Trimming the nails is quite easy and fast if the kitten gets used to having his paws being handled. You can just touch the paws as much as possible so he gets used to it.
When trimming, I take my cats to my lap, back against my tummy, if they start to wiggle I don't let them go until they've calmed down so they don't learn that they can just leave by giving me hard time. Now they know that if they just sit still, it'll be over in less than a minute. Press the toes so the nails come out and use a nail clipper to clip just the sharpest tip out. They sell pet nail clippers at pet stores. (I think it's easiest to trim kitten's claws when they're all tired after a rough play).

I brush my cats' teeth every night with c.e.t. enzymatic veterinary toothpaste. It was not difficult to train them to accept it, kitten and adults alike. It helps cut down the time between professional cleanings really well.

Cleanings have to be done under anesthesia which is costly and risky, both. They are necessary, but the c.e.t. paste can help keep them to every few years.

Do not ever use human toothpaste on a cat, it is toxic to them.

Start now putting money away every week toward emergency vet bills. You may not need it, but if you do, you'll be glad it's there.

Just a for instance, Queen Eva, a kitten I rescued last August, has cost me over $1000 already.

It's easier to clip their nails when they're in a mellow mood. I always try to catch them as they're just chillin and calmly clip their nails. I don't make a whole production out of it, just laid back, clip clip, all done, pets.

You will want to immediately take your kitty to the vet, or as immediately as possible, and have it tested for all the "nasties". It will most likely need to be dewormed, have a de-flea treatment, and have a good check over. If it's not had any shots, and it's old enough, the vet will start it on its shots.

As for the litter box, we have one of ours in the laundry room and it doesn't seem to bother the kitties. We also have two in other areas of the house. When we had very young kittens, we used disposable aluminum pans (cake pan size) as litter boxes and had them all over the house so the kitty didn't have to go far to potty. When they have to go, they have to go NOW!

I wouldn't spay her right away. Have her vaccinated and de-wormed, and let her get a bit bigger before she's spayed. 12-14 weeks is the best age, IMO.

And, yes, all medical procedures can have side effects. But bad reactions are fairly rare, and the chances of an unvaccinated cat getting a disease is higher than the chances of a cat having a very bad reaction to a vaccine. Complications of being unspayed (pyometra, mammary tumors, etc.) are more likely to happen than complications from the anesthetic.

buffalo-mitch, since you live with your parents and are still in high school, one thing to consider is having insurance. I have for my three kitties - you will pay less than $20 a month, and it will cover all illnesses, emergencies, tests, surgeries, etc. It can save your kitties life in the case of a serious illness or emergency. It does not pay dental or wellness (vaccinations, warming, etc.) - it is a HUGE peace of mind, and it saved me many times. If it was not for it, I seriously don't know what it would be of me and my kitty... I have PetsBest - I highly recommend them.
As far as vaccinations, since your kitty is going to be inside only, you will not need FIV or FeLV vaccines. Ask them for Purevax vaccines - they do not have adjuvants, reducing the risk of carcinoma greatly. Also, tell then to give the vaccine on the leg, farther from the body as possible.
Get your kitty tested for FIV and FeLV as well....

One thing about cats they have their own individual personalities. They all like different things, have different habbits, likes and dislikes. It will take a couple of weeks to get to know your kitty after he/she settles in.

Don't spend a lot of money on toys at first, see what toys your cat prefers. The toy I universally recommend is the "fishing pole" kind that has a string attached and something at the end that is fun to chase. You can really give your kitty some exersize with that and not get scratched!

They can have different scratching preferences too. Some like carpet, some like the twine or sisal scratchers and some like cardboard. I think the posts with a toy at the top is good "bait" for a kitten to encourage the use of the scratcher.

Pet insurance is not bad but it might be just as useful to reserve the $30/month you will pay in premiums towards necessary vet expenses.

Yeah....... this if all goes well and the kitty follows your plan to get sick according to budget - not the case a lot of times. Bugsy has been with me for 2 1/2 years, I spent thousand on him already... $30 a month wouldn't get even close. In an emergency that doesn't cover the e-vet most of times - and that is saving the whole year! ($380 was one tiny emergency with Bugsy for a UTI/e-vet, for example)

I understand. I have vet insurance on two of my dogs but recently I had a $1700 claim when Milo was hospitalized for 3 days and insurance paid $340... hardly worth it given how much I have paid over 8 years of having insurance and they weren't there when I needed them.

There's two sides to the story for ya! Whatever works best for you!

I don't know what insurance you have... I can only speak for the one I have - which is Awesome. I have used it MANY times - MANY. With Bugsy, I can't even count how many. I have also used with Lucky and Hope too... Never, ever had one issue - they pay for everything, aside from the one time per incident deductible and 20%.
On that bill $1,700, I would have paid $460 and the insurance would paid the rest. Anyways,.... Based on my experience, I will never, ever ever miss a payment on their insurance. Because of it, Bugsy is alive.

I have insurance for both Calvin and Hobbes but Hobbes was ill before his insurance kicked in and so we have had to pay his echocardiodiogram since that would fall under the "pre-existing" thing and have used care credit card. He will need another echocardiogram and so another 500$. I think we've spend about 1200$ or so on Hobbes since we got him in February. So what I'm trying to say is that vet expenses can be - well - expensive and sudden. And with his asthma will be have some ongoing expenses and precuations that we will have to take, which has resulted in some changes in our lifestyle (mainly in the form of getting rid of allergens).

Fortunately, since we got out kitties from rescues, they were fixed and have some vaccines. Also since Calvin came from a good foster home, he was well socialized. Hobbes was from an overcrowded foster home and less so. Also I think one of the best decisions we ever took was to get Hobbes as a buddy for Calvin. If we had known better, we would have got another kitten when we got Calvin but we are glad that we got our special baby Hobbes (he would probably have been put down or died if his issues were not addressed). They play with each other and wrestle (be boys really) and have a known face if we are not home and they have a petsitter.

Calvin is really good about using scratch posts - he prefers the sisal verticals on his cat tree and then also the cardboard horizontal ones. Hobbes only likes the sisal and also carpet (which we've really not been able to stop him from doing). He has his favorite spots and so we've just put accent rugs there and that's helped save the carpet. So I guess 1 has to be a little creative. We have microfiber sofa set in our living room and they don't scratch those but sit on the back to look out of the window. I use a throw that catches any fur. Also we recently got leather sofa with reclining ends for our media room. When we went shopping we were looking for either microfiber or leather since their claws could get caught in the weave. We are also prepared for some scratches - guess that comes with pet ownership. But the thing we have to be careful about is that when we have the sofa on recline, the cats love to go and sit beneath the sofa in the gap. So we have to be extremely careful.

As to toys, they get bored easily and so we rotate toys. Da Bird is a huge hit and the laser pointer even so. Paper balls also do the trick.

Wish the OP all the best with his new friend.

Congratulations on your first kitty! Nala is a beautiful name.
She may fall asleep eventually but cats are generally nocturnal and get more active in the evening. That's why a good idea is often to tire them out before you go to bed. The good thing is, kittens (cats more so) sleep long hours and so, yes, she will fall asleep eventually. Also you should realize that she is in a strange place and may be a little nervous and stressed. Calvin stayed with us in our room and the first night was one of the only nights he slept/ stayed awake in bed with us. After that he has been sleeping at different places all over the house. WHen we got Hobbes he was kept in our guestroom but because he was ill, hubby and I took turns to sleep in that room at night. He would hide all day and then come out to be friends with us at night, after we turned off the lights. Now they know our schedule and though they are pretty active for a couple of hours after we go to bed, they settle down eventually.

There are tons of resources on this forum regarding introducing a kitty to a new household and am sure others will share their wisdom with you.

Yeye!!!! I am SO happy you got your kitten from the shelter instead - at the right age, and you saved a life Way to go!!!
Welcome home Nala!!! Congrats to you!!!
Kittens have TONS of energy, be ready to spend lots of time with her! Have fun, and please, please, post pictures!!

Congratulations! Don't be surprised if Nala makes a racket at night playing with anything she can get her little paws on till she tires herself out completely. It's a good idea to look for and remove anything she could hurt herself with or swallow.

These threads will help as far as posting pictures is concerned:
Posting a photo on TCS
How to Post Pictures

My 2 kittens are about 7ish weeks old and they sleep through the night in my bed....i know that is NOT normal, because all my other cats I have had as kittens did not do this, so I am thinking it is because we bottle fed these babies.
Anyway, I give them their last meal of the evening around 8pm, and play w/ them for about 30-40 minutes, letting them run around, giving them toys and finding ways to wear them out. They are VERY playful and half the time I just watch them play together. Around 9 I go to bed, and they usually jump up on the bed, run around for another 10-15 minutes then burrow under the covers with me. I wake up often through the night, and they are always still there.
I feed them again at 415am when I wake up. Sometimes around 1am they are hungry and wake me up so I can feed them. I leave dry food out if they want it but they would prefer canned food so I just let them wake me up when they want it.
Congrats on the new kitten!! What changed your mind from the barn kitty? Either way, awesome job adopting from a shelter !!!
Spend lots of time with her, play with her and be her best friend, and she will show you SO much love for life! A tip on "discipline"...don't smack the kitten when she does something wrong, even a swat. Keep a bottle w/ water in it and when she bites hands/feet, scratches or other things like that, spray her with water until she stops. Cats dont like it and it has saved me in disciplining my cats!

When we got both Hannah and Tumbles, we sequestered them in a room until they were comfortable with the sounds of our home and with us. We turned the lights off (with a nightlight on) and went to bed. When it was safe to release them from the room, we still put them back in the room at night and when we were gone during the day. When they graduated to being out 24/7 they had no problems sleeping through the night and not being active.

One thing we do is have a nice playtime before bed followed by a snack. Just a few crunchies or a small serving of wet food helps fill their tummies so they'll sleep through the night.