New Owner to adopted Kitten

sunflowers

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Hello all :)

I recently adopted a kitten from my local animal shelter. Her name is Lily and she is 7.5 weeks old. She was found near a vacant house all alone. I was a bit hesitant to get her at first since she was only 6 weeks old at the time, but the shelter workers said a safe home would reduce her chances of picking up diseases from all the other cats at the shelter.

I have to say. She fooled me with her sweet and mellow act at the shelter. I have had her for a week and her cat attitude is definitely showing. This kitten never sleeps and will bounce and play with anything she sees. She also likes to "talk" while she plays. She is doing great and eats like a monster. She is also a kitty litter pro. She loves her litter box. The only thing I have to work on is her playing. She can be very feisty and demanding. She doesn't like to settle down and thinks hands and feet are toys. I have been trying to redirect her attention with lots of cat toys but she is fast!

She also likes to do things her way. I have her setup in the bathroom at night. I gave her two cat beds and a kitty scratchier lounge. She prefers to sleep in the sink o_O

 

StefanZ

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Pretty little point you found!  She will probably be medium or longhaired...

If you think her playing is too much sometimes, you could perhaps  adopt another friendly cat.  So they would keep each other company.  Useful also if you have long working days or so.

Welcome and good luck!
 

margecat

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Sweet little Lily! She's a cutie-pie!  Welcome to TCS!
 

GemsGem

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Welcome to the site :wavey:

She is beautiful :rbheart:

I agree she will be either medium or longhaired :D
Her color and pattern would be classed as a tortie point ;)
 

ysabella

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Hi, Sunflowers, and welcome to TCS! 
I'm actually new to the site myself as I recently got a kitten, too, and I wanted to join a community of cat owners to get the best advice around.

Oh my gosh. Lily is absolutely gorgeous, Sunflowers! Do you have any more photos of her? I'd definitely love to see them.
 

mservant

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Hi there Sunflowers,  Lily is such a cute little furball and your photos of her are great. What a little character she looks like here, tee hee.   Hopefully she isn't going to grow in to a fur monster too soon with all that she's eating, but growing is good as we all want to hear tales of her thriving and developing her hunting and playing skills!  Kittens do grow fast though so take as many pictures as your can.
   

As you have adopted her young she will need a nice calm and consistent approach from you when she hunts your hands and feet, and when she bites too as she would normally get 'told' when her bite was too hard by her siblings.  If you haven't found the articles area of TCS yet, there are some good articles about playing with your kitten / cat, and understanding their behaviour so you can help avoid things like biting and scratching becoming habits for her.  Also tips for how to get the occasional few hours of sleep at night. 
  (If you're lucky)

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playtime-aggression

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-night-crazies

I am no expert on when cats' eyes change colour but I believe it can vary from breed to breed.  Lilly is still young and they may well still change but her eyes do look to be a very pretty blue. 
 
 
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sunflowers

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Thanks so much for the helpful links MServant. I am using the method in the first link you posted. Its going decently, but I have a feeling I will just have to be consistent to avoid bad habits and wait for her to outgrow it. From what I have seen, there is no quick fix, other than getting another kitten.

lol Luckily I have not had to deal with the cat night crazy. She has pretty much adjusted to my schedule and saves those crazies for the day time (which doesn't make them any less crazy). Its funny when I see her at night. I will sometimes get up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom (where she sleeps at night) and we will both look at each other sleepy eyed. I will look at her and think, "Awww, so cute and sleepy" and she will look at me as if she is thinking, "Food? No? Okay, I will just attack you in the morning for food."

And for just some cuteness. Here is Lily moving a toy bear I let her play with when I am watching. Poor bear lol

 

mservant

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  This picture needs a cuteness hazard alert!   I've just fallen head over heals in love with Lilly, this is just too much for me. 


Safe play time is definitely not a short lesson, and it does need consistency and patience, but well worth it in the end.  Even if kittens have siblings or other furry playmates they need the human lessons so they learn what is OK with silly humans that don't have fur.  

Lilly is still very young so you may find her energy levels go up before they go down and at some stage attempts at night crazies be on show. Mouse went through a phase where he just didn't want to go to bed so I had to go to bed, throw just about every toy he had out of the room for him to chase after and have a feather wand for him to run round at until he was panting and only then could I lay down and not get pounced on and my hands, feet and face chewed through the covers...  he learned though and as long as he got that play session he didn't do the chewing.   Now he just jumps up on the bed gives me my 'pawsage' and either curls up at my feet straight away or goes off to check there's no mice under the washing machine for a while and then comes up when he's ready. He only gets up when I do and wants cuddles before food so hopefully Lilly will be like Mouse.
   With Lilly having this little luvie bear / prey you will hopefully be spared too much pestering.
 
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sunflowers

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  This picture needs a cuteness hazard alert!   I've just fallen head over heals in love with Lilly, this is just too much for me. 


Safe play time is definitely not a short lesson, and it does need consistency and patience, but well worth it in the end.  Even if kittens have siblings or other furry playmates they need the human lessons so they learn what is OK with silly humans that don't have fur.  

Lilly is still very young so you may find her energy levels go up before they go down and at some stage attempts at night crazies be on show. Mouse went through a phase where he just didn't want to go to bed so I had to go to bed, throw just about every toy he had out of the room for him to chase after and have a feather wand for him to run round at until he was panting and only then could I lay down and not get pounced on and my hands, feet and face chewed through the covers...  he learned though and as long as he got that play session he didn't do the chewing.   Now he just jumps up on the bed gives me my 'pawsage' and either curls up at my feet straight away or goes off to check there's no mice under the washing machine for a while and then comes up when he's ready. He only gets up when I do and wants cuddles before food so hopefully Lilly will be like Mouse.
   With Lilly having this little luvie bear / prey you will hopefully be spared too much pestering.
lol why thank you! That picture is actually a screenshot from a small video clip I took of her.  In a few months I plan to compile all the videos into one of my favorite moments. I will be sure to ad that warning lol

I am happy to hear that she will most likely learn. Lily does seems to have the same cycle of affection time like Mouse. Her best times for a short cuddle is right before food (of course!) and after like 5 hours of play. She likes to do the purr and "pawsage" (such a cute term!) thing right before a meal.

Its funny, I do think she has some Siamese traits in her attitude. I have never heard a kitten/cat talk so much. She meows for food, attention, play, out of frustration, grumpiness, happiness and just randomly. My favorite part is her little trill. Even if that means she is most likely right about to attack my foot. Its her kitten battle cry.

By the way. Mouse is super lovely! I adore the coats on Russian Blues. Its so uniform, shinny, and smooth. The eyes always look so vivid as well.
 

mservant

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Wow, Lily certainly sounds like a chatter box! 
  My previous girl cats would almost have converstations with me, all the intonations in their chirrups and meows just like a person would have!  They got very loud in their pensioner years though and it got a bit embarassing as I'm sure all the neighbours and half the street could hear their chatter. 
  (They got a bit hard of hearing as well as loosing their sight).  Mouse is pretty quiet unless I'm stupid enough not to get his non-verbal communication - he pretty much points to what he wants by running from me to what it is he 'needs'.  LoL.  Mouse is super cute but Lily is definitely up there in competition with him.   My boy's eyes are actually quite a pale olive colour but in some lighting / photographs they show as a lovely and slightly brighter green.  He has a younger half sister who has the most amazing emerald eyes - and by all accounts she is even more of a pest than my boy is. 
 
 
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