Another new kitten thread.

[home.slice]

I'm thinking of getting a new kitten this week. It will be joining myself and my 2.5 year old male orange tabby at home.

Now my issue is that I leave Gremlin food 24/7. And I'm not sure how to go about feeding them. I've been told that the group of kittens I will most likely be adopting from are being fed wet food (my boy eats dry food and on special occasions gets wet food).

I'm not sure ow to go about regulating some sort of feeding.

ALSO as a second question.. i have a lot of wires around the house and I do my best to hide them when there is a new kitten around the block. Is there anything else i can do to discourage wire biting?

 

[musicteacher]

Feed them separately, in separate rooms. That way you can be sure your kitten gets his/her fill. You'll want to continue feeding the kitten the food that he's been eating, the exact same brand. Your current cat will most likely not let the kitten eat from his bowl. Feeding them separately will help the cats learn which bowl belongs to them as well. Since you will need to keep the kitten in one room and separate from your current cat for the first few days, then you can just continue feeding him in that room and leave Gremlin's bowl where it is. They should always have separate water bowl's as well.

About the wire biting, you simply have to make sure that the house is cat proofed as best as is possible. Covering/hiding wires is your best bet, but I believe there are also cat repelents on the market that taste bitter to the animal and will discourage future biting. You need to read the label though, to be sure that the product is safe for kittens. They also sell mats that are uncomfortable for the cat to walk on, which will discourage them from going to certain areas, but I don't use those myself as they look painful.

Good luck with your new baby!

 

[parryg]

My kitten Rocket had an unfortunate fondness for dangling electrical cords, esp. if I happened to be on the computer -- she managed to jump up, grab the cord and disconnect it once while I was on it. I was shopping for organizers from the Container Store online but found it cheaper to get wire loom (long, corrugated plastic tubes that hold a number of cords together) -- found one 5' piece of black wire loom at Home Depot for $3 and then discovered I could order it cheaper (and in more attractive colors) from cableorganizer.com. Rocket seemed to lose interest after the cords were encased in the loom, and even if she did chew on it now, it would take her a good long while to get to the dangerous part.

A friend also gave me a piece of pipe insulation that she uses for the same purpose, but it's pretty obtrusive. Would be great for any cords behind furniture.