Newbie with new kitten :)

Hi everybody! I've had kittens/cats in the household growing up and as a vet tech I'm familiar with cat and kitten health, but this is still my first cat I'm taking in in my adult life on my own so I figure I'll have questions and wanted to be a part of a knowledgable forum such as this

My friend, who is also a tech and works at a different clinic than me, recently took in a surrendered 3 day old kitten. She has experience fostering and nursing kittens so she's in charge of the little guy until he's eating on his own. He's now 2 weeks old and starting to open his eyes. I say he, she thinks it's a he, but he's so young and she admits she's not that great at sexing until they get a bit older, so for now we are calling it a he.

I'm madly in love with the little furball already. We have two other cats, both young, in the house who will eventually be able to hang out w the little guy, but even so I'm concerned about the fact that he's an "only child". I've read to be very careful in engaging in appropriate play as a kitten so they can grow up to be good kitty citizens, and I'm hoping having two young cats in the house will also help teach him. What else can I do as he gets older to help him be a well rounded kitty, seeing as he doesn't have mom or brothers and sisters to teach him.

Thanks in advance! I'm looking forward to learning from everyone here

Another quick question... In terms of toys... I have a lab, sweetest dog, he's very good with cats... But being a lab he also eats toys if they are too small so I'm having trouble coming up with toys that the kitten can have that the dog won't be able to swallow. Any ideas? Of course when kitten is young they will only be supervised together but eventually I'd like them to have access to the same areas. So I'm just planning ahead thanks again!

He sounds like a little sweetie! :heart2:

Welcome to the site.

Have you checked out some of the different areas of the foum?

Behavior is a good area for helping the new kitten gets along with other cats -

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/5/behavior

There's another area just for Pregnant Cats and Kittens -

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/36/pregnant-cats-and-kitten-care

Care and Grooming is a good spot to ask about toys -

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/6/care-grooming

You'll find a lot of stickied threads to good articles at the top of each.

We do like pictures here also.

Welcome to TCS

Welcome to The Cat Site!

Your new kitten sounds adorable. I've never had a dog, but some toys that were really popular when my cats were kittens were ping pong balls. They make a great racket when chased up and down a wooden hallway, would they be too small and tempting for your dog?

I also had some soft toys stuffed with cat nip that the cats loved to chew and wrestle with. Something like a Kong Kickeroo. Your dog would probably chew it too, but that's what they're for.

 data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAkGBxITEhQUEhQUFRUXGBgYGBYXFBgXGBkaFxUYFxcaFxkYICggGholHBgVITEkKCosLi4uFyA0ODMsNygtLisBCgoKDg0OGxAQGywkICQsLDQ1Li43Ny8vLCwvLCwsNzc3LC8sLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLP/AABEIAOEA4QMBIgACEQEDEQH/xAAcAAEAAQUBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwEEBQYIAwL/xABCEAACAQIEAggDBgQEBAcAAAABAgADEQQSITEFQQYHEyJRYXGBMpGhFCNCYrHBUtHh8BUzcoIWQ3OSF1Njk7LC8f/EABkBAQADAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAwQCBf/EACcRAQACAgIBAwQCAwAAAAAAAAABAgMREiExBBNBIlGBoXGRI2Hh/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCcYiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiIGg9Y/SWpQdaFJihK9ozDexYqBflsx+UjhOlOIVrYfiFSm2tlLrWUltxlqhhpNp67uG56uFe5VCtRahGlwjIyAn/c/zkY1aZqVOww4VEAGd1UaeJLf3eZLxPOZ224+PtxHH/stsxvWtxWg+V/s7jcHsWW/pZ5mMN1sY0i5oYQr/wBV1Ivt4yOuOYiixWlRU1GQZcwPh4W3/SeeF6O1WHeITy1J+W0n3Z4xNp059qOcxWNpSp9cjC2fD0PVcSR9DT/eZTB9cODP+cjUxa91YVPaws30kVf4XhqIHaG5/M1r+NgJathMEwLByAOQe30P7TmM0/G/6d2wR9oj8pybrW4QDb7T8qVUj5hbS3rdb/Choj1ahOgC0KguTtq4USAsViaGopURb+JidtOV/XeW1BCxuEZhf8Kn5A6zRFp1tlmkROo7dHf+JWDW3aipSDXtnyA2W1yVDEgTZOB8coYtC9B8yq2RtLEMAGsfZlPvOXUfDf8AMSsDtYtt58iNRJs6kaCjDV3pkmm1UAEk6lKSBiL+ZA/2mc0taZ1Lq9KxG4SRERLlJERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQERECMuvygxwFKouyV1Df6XR11/wB/Zj3kMjGL2S0qNwz2DaW3OuvOdEdaGBFbhmIVr2ULU0/9N1c+1gZzomGSniFzEZB3+9yt6+evtKr8d6n+V+LlrcfwvsNVGEJSogJ3Dra5HgQdtp847pC7C1MBfAnVvYbCfXSKm1SpSVBdirfK41vLnB9EGIBqVMp8FF9vEn+Uz7xai9/LRPu7mlPDXFHaPqwBJ1ZmIGg5mZzhvCsGCGq4hH/LfKPfmZkk6HUgdalXT/T4+kr/AMGUr/HU9O7/ACkXz45jUTMFPT5Inc1iVamK4bT1tSJ/Imf30EqvSjDCwCuANPgFt/WUrdDqZPcqOB4Gx+tpbf8ADSLuC3nmtKY9mfMzK7/NE9RELnG8bwtYj4bgFQChF82nPmdNpOnQfgYweCo0QCpC5nBN7O5zuL87Eke0hnoD0YWrxLD3UZKRNZhcm/ZjucrfGUPsZ0JNmCtYjddsfqLW3q2iIiaGYiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiBZcawwqYetTOz03X/uQj95zDXwK11DXyvlF+fmQR7n5TqqcxdLeCPhsViBRupFR7oLfCTmUgEakqQZTl8xK/DPUxMbhbdG3d6vaNqqLkBta4uOXoBNyo1QRpr/AFmrdHQBRW1tSSfn/wDkzGGxIBK+nKefn7tP+npYI1SGVnhjGqgjLtptY8+d9pb1Meqm1uWvl/WeiY5WsFOpNgvO55W5mURWV3KHyy1De9Qi/IWPlvLLEAjd3PuB+0yfGsPVw4zVlKrp3yRk15Ftgb6WM1TH8Uao6UMNZ6tRgq5ddWNh9fkJdTHeba0pyZaRG9pc6oOHnJWxTHRyKaelMnOfdiB/s85I4mM6N8JXC4ajh1N+zUAt/Ex7zsfNmLH3mTnqY68a6eTkvztMkRE7cEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQPLFUc6MtytwRcGxHmLSJOlPR41SXFxiE7hBOlQC4CknRSL6N7HTUTBNK6xK9CgqVqj5C7BPWwvmtv3bC/kRItETGrOqzMT9KCaDPhxVWqrU2V2GRxYqN9vffnLB+Otm+6Bub62JJ9BJr4rh8NjqVPt8OtdCthWpuptfYgghvPQ+0jniHV3i8OWOHoVK6G5WohViBcgKVuDm25cxKbYYjvW2iuaZiK701ehh8ZUfuhy72AGYAk8rC8lbodwH7KA9Zu1xBHxbrTuNVTxbkX+Wm+N6MYc4Wn2tdGWs4tkKkNTX+EjcE7n2HKZrCcSNU2RWJ8Ap/u0tx113aI2rvPxWZbJ9o0/UePrLLofg8A2ODU6FJKgR3puqZM/eCOygaEDNYNbW7W0BJwXFeO4aijZ2XEuLg0KThkB2tXqC4VfFRc+W88erQ1m4sauKqKWei+RFFlBuMqoDqFVM4H9mL5K71tzFLa3pNcRE6VkREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREChnOnWb0nOI4nUp3+4pHsQOWZG+8bfm9x6KJ0VUawJOwF/lOQ8cgrVHelclmZmB5FmJzX8Cbzi+talZj3E7hd8TqvQVjTqurO4+Goy2W2vdBsbacp88P6WcQoBqVDFVlVnubHM2pFyGN2F7azCMDfvG5GnjtN14VTpILIVvYHcXN5Ta84q/ddWkZbfZh8N0i4i+ZRWqNU+LvIjFhzJLLe48SZsWGwNSqoarWq1AR3gzsRfn3b2t5WnvRVVqI5BBF1PhY2mQq0GBPZ2AY6m+3M6TJm9Ta2ojptxelrTue2Np4Ds9VGnwkfxKfLymU4Q1NatGqrH7qvSYAeGcBwW8LZtPCfCI4+Ig+gtLDHkU6THSwBfTcaXuZTjtPJZkpGtOiZWedG+Vb72H6T0ntPEIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiIFvjyOyqZjYZGufAZTecx/Zgg7oFjbYfrOk+kOHaphcRTU2Z6NVVPgWpsAfmZyjheLsq5GGYaWudV2+cozUtbw0envWs9r08EQnultTt+syY6OUQLlmUj8ea1tPOWVbiiIpKNdrWW3IkbnwtMG9Vm+Jmb1JPvYyqtcl/nS698VPEbblg8HiEGZaqVgBoHB105MDv63nuOO1xYvhKo8ctj6zUMHxKtSBFNyoPLQ2PlcGxmZwvSxgtqiZz/ABAhb+Fxa04vgtvxE/p1T1FfvMfteY7pSF/5FRT+ey/zmucT4nXrqRYhDcWUGx9Sd5navSykR3kYf9p/ee+Epvi0yrTymoclMMfiLiy5rDQE3EUrw74Fp59c3SOCv2aX3yrf1sLz3nwgsBPub3nkREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREC3x/+XU/0N/8TOOKlIqcrCxFhb2nX/SCtkwuIb+GlUPyQmc1ca4aKi5l+NR8wOUpyZYraIldjxTeszHw1rD0GdgEBLHlNs4b0cpjKzhmOXVGsVBO+2/OYfh9VKCioQe0OYBddgbG/gNJcP0pqaWRB6kn6yrL7luqeFuOMdO7+Ww4jgWHcHuBPzL3benI/KWdLojT3NRyPDQa+tpjT0rqckQHxuSPl/WfSdLn/FSUnycr+oNpTGP1ER1K6cnp5nuGfo8Lo0x3UTlrYE+5M9uArfiGEGcL98mUbfCcx9TYEe81et0lrVRlpU7N4g5rexAA9TMz1c8Gc8Swj1mJftb73tlRn+uW3hrFMdond5TfLE11SHSUrET0XmkREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREDWOsqqF4biczBQVC3P5nUfvILoNfVWDFdxe4I8frJp62gp4bVVzYM1Ib23qrYTnXB1zRq2v3TpoRsdAZlz05y1+nycI78bZc8J7bEOXuqAC1j+h+cv6PR+gq5SuYn8TfF9LWlpxjHugVaWjVDa41Php7mWlHglYEMaxVt795iD63lH1TXu2miYrFpiK7llKnRrDm9gy+jH97y1botTBN2qEeF18eekv24mKWUVnFyN7Hf0G0+v8VpE6VEN/zAfrK+eWPmXc48W+4hXDYRKa5VUAemvrvqf5y/6usatTiWG/LWqLqbaijUsfeYLiXGlTRSHc3Cqp1udibaAc569WqgcTwNIHv9oz1GA5ilUa37SzDSZncqs2SIjUeHTMRE9F5xERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERA0Trno5+Gsl7ZqtIfIlvl3ZAFLgFU3uUHuTeT31zVLYOlbniFv6ClVP8pFdB7jeY82W1bahsw4a2puWpVsa5NMMlmpEbXzaW0Pyl7X6Rt+Bbepv+kpgqxavUrEAKLrr5WAsfa5M9lwWHd86kEc1B0uedpMzT5hNYvr6Z8sdQq03JbEVKl9NFW5PvsBtL5sdhbhaWFzn8wvfbW2pnk+JwaMbUmex8e6deVzt7S64fxVycuHw9MHXkfqRYSbbnuIn+9Q4r1OpmP63L5pcNrsbJSXDKVsxG5Gtxf4rnw0mx9W/CKdDiuDOcsxapYWsP8irf6SwrVccFzZKJ0OgJv7a2vLnoXgzSx2FrOzvV7WkGJ2AqMEb0+K3nOK5J33MfhZbHGuon8ukYiJtYSIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiBH3XG4GHw4Nrmvp/wC1UuP0+UhTiuL7NWy6E6b8zzElLr9qlqeGpJ8YdquhsQFXJ/8AY/KQdWxL5yzqC35gf02mW2OLZNtdMk1x6/bzbFHsxT/De/8AIT5oOoN3BK87Gx9pdHFo5AcaeNgCp8LjcS9xzilTQKqsL7sL8uUsm2uteVcU3HLfhlsB0SpPr27BTYr3FvYjS52ntU6LPSa9CvY+JW1x4G38pr/Cq9G/3rVEI1BV2te/ILqsyNDGUbgvi6zEHu/GoFjzsNZRf3Inz+l1Pb14/b6xNbiFLVwXUflVhsOagES56NcYq18bhUWnYdvSvqTswIvpbeZAcTSopyOGXwB29RKdH66jGYYUmp9q1ejYXG/aKCSPS84pbc6mvay1ZiOrdOkpWUErPQecREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERARE88RVCKzNoFBJPkBcwOdeuTijni1YIzfd06VO1rgd3tCPTvg+80XEY520ZVPqCPrNs47x5WrVar/FVqM+UAEgE92/L4QB7S76H4HD4t8Q9VA4QUVUNcWzdqWNgbX0XXylNPrt4/LReOFdcvwjo/LylHY2AJJtJQ4lwLhiMVekVIts1QDXUWs2vhtLX/AOFHnUHpUfw8wfEfKXcVOredI8fEEqFsABztr7mZDhWGRhdjfQjKRbXkbzeU6McL0t21RjayiobkmwsO6BfX56S76VdDcNTwdWpRRlekO0B7R2vlK5g2YnS15zakzGol1FuM7tDRMN0eJ+N7egv+u8yOH4cuHenWpZs1EiqRvfsyH9tvrMIvEKgb4y1joCTY8hcC3ym2cDxFOqyqQuZgc6MLAAfFn8Bz3ma85K97acftXjUQ6XQ6Xn1MfwDECphqDgg5qSHTb4ReZCaoYpIiJIREQEREBERAREQEREBEoWE1HjvWPw/C3z1GYh+zKomYg630NtBY39PMQNviRfxHrbQBnoU1qU17FrlrNkqOVa6i9mUhb+GcTGYXrgqVEq0jRAqljTpVKbWTMT3C+fRRqBe515WMCYrygcHblvIL4/0+xVWzhnp069FqYp6ZVrUnzKdDnXMCAwOti29hNapdLsTQrGtRJYVaa06iMoK4gYYdn94N1YUtCVN7oTs1hGx0vQrq6hkIZTsQbg2Nj9ZonWN0sQcMxpoNdhloA+JqsEfL6L2mvipkXcL6xXwFWrTos9XCEq9INYNT7QrVqLc+GaouoOoE1XG8deqGGYhGqNVNMMSuYu5B110DkD+sJYgmw8Jt/QDia0BiTUvZhRKgXuxzOoyjnqwmoVzqNv38hCVypBJ20Fv73kxOiW/cX4qj4hmpkHIFvcfmyjXzzfTymPViSAuUsANM6nfbY7XAmnHE3JOs+Wqmxt/SRPa6uaawkXhnaKyGw0OaxK27rXJuTpbX6TfMa6VsPWpggipSqKCCD8SEAg7c5A/DOIKjMaoLAg6Akd7Wx0tb4mM3zhfS/CUEAUuRdjlAZmJJzG5NhcknnbedV6hXlvznbG8JwNDLTqZLtlDXJJ1IvttKcV4T2rZ1ORhre181tr6zw4JWYU0BU6C2pmeooSNx9d55dr2rfe3p1pS1IiYTJ1ZYjtOF4RjvkKt5MjsrDXwII9ptMj7qdxJOHr0Ta9Ore3gKihv1DH3kgz0KW5ViXmZK8bTBERO3BERAREQEREBERATA9Luka4Oi9QL2jKuc0wwzCnezVCN8i8yAbTM4mqEVmOwBO4G3mdB7yBennH6WOZTVpumQlVqMgQqr6MjPmKqLgMGIJGqkEEtAt+N9abtiadakWVStQVKbEvRcain3bghspyNoNQGAkf4riJKvS1Kiorr95msQLb7NoW185ZcSwjUnKtbkQQQVYHUFWGjDzFx5y0kJZqhxQ/Zmo63zad47OQzabEXXY+IO4nkmNCsD+HMCfG9hqD6qCPMTFXtKZoQzPE+N1KrZmYGxuNANtBcDy38TLP7e1817m9xfYXtew2ANhfxEs1lYS+6lS8rTYg6T4lDAqSfrf3n0rH+zKAaCLenzMIVgvpA1/smV7JrkBWuu4Cm49fCB4S6w2DdxdflcX5a23trKfYKmZlKMpUAsGGXKCQt2zWsLsN/GbvwXqv4licrClQVHTSp2iMgtoD90TdiBcHUG+tr6BiMNwLiK089Omz0wL3TLUsPPISV97TzpcUxZXKKYJ8QLH9bGdB9E+rahhClVqlR8QtvvFY0wbCxUhfiTyNxNqxfBsNV/zaFJz4tTU/qJVbHv4hdXLMfdF/UDQrIcaapvn7EnvXKsO1BB8yMvplkvzyw+HRFyoqovgoAHyE9ZZWJiO1VpiZ6IiJ0giIgIiICIiAiIgYvpMtP7NVNXNlVS11Yowy6gqy6g+kgjjvS3CNbOe0Lfiovd1CnQFqiK2a9+666HapYkSeukPDhiMNWom33iMouLi5GhtzsbTnDinVnjsJ2bYg0grH4kL1cp00KBbsdSbLm2MgahxitTaoxoB1pAnIHN2AOuouQDe50POWWU7yS+F9Wn2kKKP2pmv3q9Sh9nw6rzKiqM7+g8OV7jK9IuppqSq1CupzsqBGQ6sw0sS2lyCTva/gIEOsPGfJWbknV1xN3CLhahuSuYiyaHKSWOgt5+Gl5mV6lOK6aUBe+nbarrbXu2OmukCM56pRYgkKSBuQCQPXwk4cK6h7BTWxZVxYnsk0BvqBm302OnpNnwXU5w6mblsQ5uDdqttRbWygA3I2OkDmpqTWvlNv3l9w7gdasWCBe7qQaiKeeysQSe6dN/pOo8F0A4fTv9yjE2vdVW7A3DgIAFfldQL28ZmMNwTDIFC0aQy2ynICRbbvEX+sJQV0O6sKeLw61kqKx2a73Da3BXLYr3TYgnMGBGltdop9T9FQDlapvmXtgh1/8u6EAi50Nr8zJcVQNra7z6jSEVDqipnDOjCh2wdjSfswAEygItSwu5zKGJFic7DSZrhvV6vZUxiamasile1p6NrbZmuxGhuGvuSMt7Te4jQ1/AdDsHTtekKjAMueoAzZX1ZP+mST3PhF7AWmcoUERVRFVVUBVVQAoA0AAGgAnpEkIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiIFDAiJA8sT8Leh/SVq/h9R+hiIH1/f6T6iISRESUEREQlWIiEEREBERAREQEREBERAREQERED/2Q==  

I'd love to see some pictures too.

Thanks for the nice responses!!!

So I've got sad and happy news... on Saturday the kitten got very sick very fast and we took him to the vet and he passed away at the vet's.  We aren't really sure what was wrong (we have some educated guesses, but nothing conclusive), but young kittens can be problematic and it's unfortunately not uncommon to loose some. Poor guy RIP. 

The happy news is I'm still looking forward to welcoming a new kitty into my home, so I'm keeping an eye out for kittens that need homes in my area, it is kitten season after all!  So I'm very sad that the little guy has passed, but I'm still excited to provide a home for a kitty. I'll keep you guys posted.

I'm sorry to hear about the kitten @tjkobol  It is very tough to raise such a young kitten by hand, it's a shame he didn't make it.



We always lock the thread when a cat has passed away, as a sign of respect. If you would like to start a tribute thread to the kitten in our Crossing The Bridge forum please do so.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge

We'd love to hear about the new kitten when you adopt one, please come back and let us know all about him or her.