Hello all....

Tink84

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I just wanted to say hello to you all. Im new to here. And also new to being a kitten patent to. I have a gorgeous new male ginger tom called Garfield. Hes 16 weeks old and crazy lol. We have had him 4 weeks and had a crazy stressful induction lol..... Basically my sister got him for us as i have wanted a kitten for ages (im used to dogs normally but work full time so isnt as practical as having a cat) so has been new to me. The first night we git him he came home and slept from 7pm till i got up at 8.30am. Next morning i got up with him he was snuggling on my lap when i noticed a flea crawling by his face an ears. I called up the vet and took him at 2pm she checked him an treated him. We foubd 30 dead fleas on him through the day! I had to treat the whole house as hed been up the stairs and landing on my seatees etc ive been so so paranoid my house will be infested so that was a xrazy few days if hoovering etc anyway hes been with us 4 wwks niw and settled right in. Is so cuddly and seems to have set his own little sleep-play-sleep routine where he sleeps at similar times each day! He tends to get tge crazies around 10-11pm runs an dives everywhere lol (after a 2hr sleep) but i love him so much already and am still learning everyday. Its been such an experience and the rest os yet to come when i let him out after hes neutered in 2 weeks. I dint want to let my baby out into the big bad world lol.

Anyway tats me and Garfield and i look forward to chatting to you all xx
 

talkingpeanut

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I just wanted to say hello to you all. Im new to here. And also new to being a kitten patent to. I have a gorgeous new male ginger tom called Garfield. Hes 16 weeks old and crazy lol. We have had him 4 weeks and had a crazy stressful induction lol..... Basically my sister got him for us as i have wanted a kitten for ages (im used to dogs normally but work full time so isnt as practical as having a cat) so has been new to me. The first night we git him he came home and slept from 7pm till i got up at 8.30am. Next morning i got up with him he was snuggling on my lap when i noticed a flea crawling by his face an ears. I called up the vet and took him at 2pm she checked him an treated him. We foubd 30 dead fleas on him through the day! I had to treat the whole house as hed been up the stairs and landing on my seatees etc ive been so so paranoid my house will be infested so that was a xrazy few days if hoovering etc anyway hes been with us 4 wwks niw and settled right in. Is so cuddly and seems to have set his own little sleep-play-sleep routine where he sleeps at similar times each day! He tends to get tge crazies around 10-11pm runs an dives everywhere lol (after a 2hr sleep) but i love him so much already and am still learning everyday. Its been such an experience and the rest os yet to come when i let him out after hes neutered in 2 weeks. I dint want to let my baby out into the big bad world lol.

Anyway tats me and Garfield and i look forward to chatting to you all xx
Welcome! You sound like you are a great kitty parent.

There is no reason that you have to let Garfield out at all. Many cats live completely happy lives inside. You just have to provide toys and to play with him, which I'm sure you'll be happy to do! Many people also walk their cats on a harness so they get outside time and stay safe. The lifespans of cats that go outside are dramatically shorter...

If you do let him out, I would wait until he is closer to one year old so he is mature enough. I would also be sure to supervise any time outside.

I'm glad to hear he's getting neutered! That will help you both to be happy together.
 

bodester413

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Hi Tink84. Welcome to the forum. Garfield sounds adorable. It sounds like he settled into your house nicely. My cat gets the crazies around the same time. You can almost set the clock by it. Same time almost every night. Cats are so fun to watch at that age. They go until they almost fall asleep standing up ....take a nap.....then start over....
 
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Tink84

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Thank you for your welcome and reply. He is adorable and has settled in well. Im glad to know its normal behaviour hes doing then. He does make me laugh dives up the back of the seatee and runs past my head lol. And again him too i can time like clock work x
 

hellomisskitty

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Welcome to TCS Tink84 Tink84 [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I'm glad you found TCS...we are always here with any questions or concerns you may have along the way.
Now, I personally love kitten photos and your Garfeild sounds darling. Do you have any photos you would like to share with us? [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 

di and bob

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What a precious little sweetheart! He is so very lucky to have found you, I pray he has a forever home and you have a wonderful companion for many. many, years!
 
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Tink84

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What a precious little sweetheart! He is so very lucky to have found you, I pray he has a forever home and you have a wonderful companion for many. many, years!
Thank you that was a lovely reply. He mist certainly has a forever home if hel stay an loves me :-)

Hes currently sleeping beside me as ive done his 2nd lot of flea treatment tonight 2.5hrs ago and not seen nothing on him dead as yet so i think it may be safe to say were rid of the little blighters so i wont treat him again for a while as hes a house cat at the min anyway! Xx
 

talkingpeanut

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Thank you that was a lovely reply. He mist certainly has a forever home if hel stay an loves me :-)

Hes currently sleeping beside me as ive done his 2nd lot of flea treatment tonight 2.5hrs ago and not seen nothing on him dead as yet so i think it may be safe to say were rid of the little blighters so i wont treat him again for a while as hes a house cat at the min anyway! Xx
Did you see my post #2? You don't have to let him outside at all. He can be perfectly content.
 

hellomisskitty

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Your Garfield is just as if not more adorable than I pictured [emoji]10084[/emoji]️ Thanks so much for showing him off to us [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 

kittylove53

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Welcome to you and Garfield. He is precious. You sound like a wonderful kitty mom. You will love this site and all the great people here.He is a bundle of kitty love,and you will have many wonderful years together.Send more pics and tales of his progress as he grows.
 
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Tink84

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Thank you for all your replies and comments irs been lovely connecting with you.
@talkingpeanut i did see your reply. I am unsure of what is best for him to be honest as hes quite lively and so i do feel he would benefit from being an outdoor cat its just me being too over protective of him lol and also trying to work out the practicality of it as my front door is pvc and my kitchen is a glass patio door so cant fit a cat flap and i work full time an my hubby works 3 /4 days a week so i cant leave the window open all day esp coming up to winter!! So i really don't know what to do. Hes still not really responding to his name either so thats a worry!

If im honest i have a 101 questions i want to ask but i don't want to bombard you all so im holding back lol.

Thanks so much for answering and your lovely replies xx
 

talkingpeanut

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Thank you for all your replies and comments irs been lovely connecting with you.
@talkingpeanut i did see your reply. I am unsure of what is best for him to be honest as hes quite lively and so i do feel he would benefit from being an outdoor cat its just me being too over protective of him lol and also trying to work out the practicality of it as my front door is pvc and my kitchen is a glass patio door so cant fit a cat flap and i work full time an my hubby works 3 /4 days a week so i cant leave the window open all day esp coming up to winter!! So i really don't know what to do. Hes still not really responding to his name either so thats a worry!

If im honest i have a 101 questions i want to ask but i don't want to bombard you all so im holding back lol.

Thanks so much for answering and your lovely replies xx
Please do ask your questions!

As I said, cats' lives are dramatically shortened by going outside. You are not needlessly worrying. All kittens are full of energy! That doesn't mean they won't grow out of it or need to go out.

What do you have for him inside to supplement him? Do you play with him?

You can also take him outside on a harness.

Letting him outside to entertain himself at a young age isn't a safe choice, especially without a way to get inside. Instead, enrich his environment!
 
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Tink84

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@talkingpeanut - i have 2 cardboard boxes one has a top of mine with my smell on the other to play in, a round thing with jingly balls which he can paw at an they go round an if he does it properly can get them out then chade them, a led ball which flashes when he rolls it, 2 fishing rods i play with him with, a scratching post with a toy on the top of feathers and a soft ball with string hanging, a soft toy flat ferret thing he chews its nose an rolls around with it and carries it abt lol, leather ball and rolled up paper balls .... is that the right kind of things? I really worry abt him getting bored.

As for the questions my main one is bedtime.....i have a routine where by i give him the last of his food at 11.30 when im going to bed and then he eats it as i put all the lights out an go up. He then dors what he does but he cries at the bedroom door at 5.30 am and hes done it today so i let him in (once he was quiet) and he was diving all over then sat we thought hed settled down for a nap so we started drifting off again and he bit my husbands hand!! So i chased him out the rooman he cried again mone stop so ive put him in the kitchen to calm down as my stairs are in my living room so cant lock hom in there or hed be up by our door again. I feel cruel but don't know what else to do.....how do i teach him to come and cuddle with us on the bed and also that 5.30am on a weekend is not acceptable wake up time.....i dont know why he does it either as in the week i don't get up until 7am! This is the issue im most stressed out about as it was only last night id sat saying to my husband that we could maybe start letting him come in our room at night (although I am scared of being hurt by him while sleeping like he did this morning for the first time too!)

My 2nd question if i may is about his litter tray....he likes to flick the litter stuff (cat san) out of hiss tray just for fun....i was thinking of getting a hooded litter tray but don't want to cofuse him and end up with him medsing else where in the house as hes been great with his litter tray! How should i introduce it to him?

Thank u for taking the time to answer my questions Xx
 
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Tink84

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Sorry for all the spelling mistakes i was typing quick lol xx
 

talkingpeanut

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@talkingpeanut - i have 2 cardboard boxes one has a top of mine with my smell on the other to play in, a round thing with jingly balls which he can paw at an they go round an if he does it properly can get them out then chade them, a led ball which flashes when he rolls it, 2 fishing rods i play with him with, a scratching post with a toy on the top of feathers and a soft ball with string hanging, a soft toy flat ferret thing he chews its nose an rolls around with it and carries it abt lol, leather ball and rolled up paper balls .... is that the right kind of things? I really worry abt him getting bored.

As for the questions my main one is bedtime.....i have a routine where by i give him the last of his food at 11.30 when im going to bed and then he eats it as i put all the lights out an go up. He then dors what he does but he cries at the bedroom door at 5.30 am and hes done it today so i let him in (once he was quiet) and he was diving all over then sat we thought hed settled down for a nap so we started drifting off again and he bit my husbands hand!! So i chased him out the rooman he cried again mone stop so ive put him in the kitchen to calm down as my stairs are in my living room so cant lock hom in there or hed be up by our door again. I feel cruel but don't know what else to do.....how do i teach him to come and cuddle with us on the bed and also that 5.30am on a weekend is not acceptable wake up time.....i dont know why he does it either as in the week i don't get up until 7am! This is the issue im most stressed out about as it was only last night id sat saying to my husband that we could maybe start letting him come in our room at night (although I am scared of being hurt by him while sleeping like he did this morning for the first time too!)

My 2nd question if i may is about his litter tray....he likes to flick the litter stuff (cat san) out of hiss tray just for fun....i was thinking of getting a hooded litter tray but don't want to cofuse him and end up with him medsing else where in the house as hes been great with his litter tray! How should i introduce it to him?

Thank u for taking the time to answer my questions Xx
Kittens are rowdy! That unfortunately make them a challenge, but it's also unsafe for them outside. You may have noticed that he has almost no common sense!

For food - kittens needs to eat as much as they want. Try leaving dry food down all the time and then feeding meals of wet food in addition.

For play - you want to make sure that you are playing with him and getting him truly tired 2-3 times a day. One of these times should be right before bed. Sand toys and lasers are great for interactive play.

For litter - a hooded box should be fine. You can also get a mat for right outside the box that will prevent some scatter. Cleaning up litter is part of owning a cat.

For biting - he doesn't mean anything by this and just wants to play. If he bites, immediately stop interacting and yelp. Don't hit or scold or continue playing. You want to teach that teeth or claws mean no more fun and that they hurt. Unfortunately, chasing him probably made him think you were playing and giving more attention.

So really, you have a normal kitten. He will eventually be a great cat. You just need to work with him through the kitten phase. Putting him outside and not dealing with him doesn't do anyone any favors.
 
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