Help picking out a kitty

Do you realize you responded to a question about litter caked paws?

Your post should be a post of it's own, maybe just in general.

The color of your kitty is not that important. I too love those orange kitties, and everytime I get a new one, I fall in love with a tabby or bicolor. I can't believe you have gone to all those places and have been able to walk away from all those darlings needing homes. If the look of your kitty is so important, find a breeder. In the meantime, pray that all those homeless kitties find loving homes where their people will love them regardless of age, sex, and color.

As for what to expect from a kitten...
Expect to be kept up at night, expect for some of your stuff to get ruined, expect to spend a lot of time playing, expect to spend a lot of money on food, toys, vet.
Expect the unexpected.

I think its great that you are taking the time to find the right kitty for you, thats very responsible Believe me, you'll know when you find the right one. Please keep trying the shelters in your area though, rather than a pet shop. Those kitties have been there a long time sometimes and need a good, loving home.

As for the color of the kitty, is there a reason why you'd like an orange kitty over any other colors? I have found that orange kitties are pretty laid back in general, but my black kitty Onyx is as mellow and as sweet as they come I think it would be a good idea to look for personality over color, but thats up to you.

I think its wonderful as well that you are prepared for the kitty even before you've gotten one. Make sure you get kitty a really good quality food when the time comes.

As for what to expect from a kitten, well, it varies with the cats personality. You'll need lots of patience, thats for sure, to teach her whats appropriate and what isn't. None of my kittens have ever ruined my furniture, nor kept me up at night, so I guess that too depends on the cat.

Anyways, you'll learn a lot about cat behavior by hanging around this site and asking specific questions, I know I have. Good luck in your Kitty Search keep us posted!

Oh yeah! Don't forget lots of kitty toys!!

Hi there, I did create a new thread for you.
My take on the whole thing First off, it is going to be fairly difficult to find a red female. Most reds are male. You may just want to consider a nice red boy. It is usually best to get them from a shelter because if it weren't for people like you, they would get euthanized. I would also try and contact any local no kill rescues and tell them what you are looking for. They can call you if they get a cat that fits your description. However, this does not ensure you will get the kitty of your dreams...lol. They come in ALL different personalities. Matter of fact they usually get thier true personalities at around 1 to 1.5 years. Then as they get into the 3 or 4 year mark, they tend to change a little more. It is very hard to tell when you get a kitten what you will end up with. If you have a serious expectation of what kind of personality you would like, I would look for an older cat.
If you do find a wee one. I would expect lots of running and playing. Cats by nature like to be up high, so you will find them trying to get on top of the fridge and counters quite a bit. It is recomended that you purchase some sort of kitty tree or perch if counters are off limits. You should make sure you have in the budget a trip to the vet at least once a year for routine vaccines and check ups. If you get a kitten that is not yet old enough to be spayed or neutered, I would also budget for this at about 5 or 6 months of age. Depending on where the kitten or cat has come from, they usually want to sleep all day and play at night. You should be prepared for lots of playtime right before bed so that you can try and get them into the routine of your sleeping hours. If you are going to feed dry food only, I would pick a good quality premium food to keep out at all times. If you plan on giving wet food, I would make sure it's a time that you can give it every day at the same time. If you do it early on weekdays, you will need to be prepared for a very early wakeup call on the weekends..LOL. Kittens are great, but they are like having small children in the house. You need to make sure everything harmful is put away in a safe place. Even swallowing a thread can do some serious damage.

Kittens are a bit of work!

I always wanted a little kitten, but the youngest I have had until recently was 9 months. Then this summer I got a 5 week old feral! Aagh!

We tease him and tell him we just might keep him if he keeps improving! LOL! Of course, I did choose him because he was jumping all over his cage and just cracking me up. He's a leaper.

I've never had a male animal at all until my little Spidey. I have to say, I might actually prefer the males. I had him neutered at about 7 weeks (the Humane Society will do it then, but only on referral from a shelter, as most don't do public vet work. They recommend this as the kitty doesn't remember it as well, and it is way before they develop any unwanted territorial behaviours.) The neutering procedure was a lot better than a spay. He recovered right away, and no stitches.

Spidey sure isn't what I pictured when I went to get one, and is the 'wrong' sex, but I am so glaad to have him! He is such a
cutie!

Well, my kitties really love those little furry mice, you can buy them in packs of four usually. They also love the wands with the feathers on the end. They like to play in empty cardboard boxes and paper bags.

I got a shallow storage tote that I use for a litterbox, its pretty big and it takes a lot of litter to fill it, but it works well for us.

I got an inexpensive large oval basket at the grocery store that is used to make large fruit baskets for my kitties to use as a bed. I put a very soft blanket in it and they love it I also attached a utility shelf underneath of the big window in my living room and made a cushion for it from polar fleece cloth. The kitties love their little 'window seat' and lie there staring outside for a good part of every day. Honestly though, my cats favorite place to sleep is on the back of the couch, they all line up along it

All of our kitties LOVE the little tinsel like fuzzy balls, the each even have their favorite colours. Now, don't buy them at the pet store, cuz they charge waaay to much for them. Go to Kmart or walmart in the craft section and you can get a bag of like 25 for the less than a bag of 6 from the pet store...

*smiles*
Ken

I can suggest that you contact local vets to ask if they adopt out any kittens. My local vet always has kittens to adopt out at a reasonable price with discounts on the spay or neuter. It is a little less expensive to neuter a cat, then it is to spay one - they may be a factor in getting a boy or a girl. Sometimes a kitten's fav things are the cheapest. Mine love empty boxes (make sure no staples) or paper bags (make sure that the handles are cut off so that their neck doesn't get caught). I have one white & orange boy who is a big sweety. He is the most affectionate and snugglely cat I have. I have found out of my 5 cats (2 girls, 3 boys) that the boys are the most affectionate.

One toy that Fitzy LOVES is this thing called Wooly Booly. It's a tight ball of wool with leather ears, nose and tail. He rolls around and pulls it all apart and this is the cool part--when you think the thing is beyond repair, you throw it in the washing machine and dryer and it comes out good as new--it costs a little bit more than conventional toys but my baby loves it and it'll last forever!

I think kittens are completely unpredictable. My first cat chased everything that moved and we had many scratches up our legs from having our toes, pants, skirts, housecoats and everything chased. My current cat (picture in Peachey Keen), was the perfect angel. He never once jumped on my legs or chased my clothing and has yet to bite me for the first time (he is going on 12 years old).

Both of my cata have economically satisfying choices of play toys. LOL Peachey likes grocery twist ties and toilet paper rolls. Isabel will play with anything small from plastic bread bag snaps to lint on the floor.

Toilet paper rolls are a hit here too

I am also a new kitten owner and also got my kitten for company. Two great books I've purchased are "Think Like a Cat" by Pam Johnson-Bennett and "Cat Be Good" by Annie Bruce. These have answered a lot of my questions. A toy that was recommended in "Think Like a Cat" is Cat Dancer and my kitten loves it. It is already her favorite toy!

Have you tried doing a search on www.petfinder.org ? You can search by area, type of animal you want, etc. Some of the shelters listed there include pictures of the animals with their descriptions, too.

That's how I've gotten all my kitties! I have to have short hairs as my boyfriend is allergic, and the site often has quite a bit of background and info on their personalities, depending on the shelter. Good luck!