Barn kitten :)

I work and own a horse at our show barn and we always have kitten available. I had been asking for quite some time for one. However, my parents weren't too interested(my mom loves animals, but she knows my dad wouldn't be to pleased). However, my grandmother came down and shes been having some problems w/ the shiz zhu we rescued for her. We said we would take her and give her to one of my mom's patients(shes an human and animal chiropractor). I decided to bring her home for my grandmother and she decided we could keep it for the weekend and see how things go.

My parents are away, and my mom knows exactly what to do w/ barn kittens,etc. However, I sorta wanted to keep it a suprise..

What are your suggestions? What do I do know? he plays around like crazy, and he eats a tun(he was a fairly underweight). What should I do this weekend? I've checked him for ticks,etc. and he seems fine. What about other things? I am unaware of what to do. I've always had cats that came from friends who were up to date on shots,etc.

So, what should I do now?

You'll have to take him to the vet and get him fixed and all his shots updated, especially if he's going to be an outdoor cat. He'll probably need dewormed as well.

Just curious, but what do you mean by "My mom knows exactly what to do with barn kittens?" I am just curious.

So what color is he? Is he tame and used to people? You'll have to take a picture and show us.

Hey!

my mom used to be a vet tech, and worked in vets office for many years. on top of that, shes been an animal and human chiropractor for over 20 years. She used to bring home all sorts of cats and dogs before I was born. Once, I popped out, she stopped. We've had and have many animal now, it's just been almost 2 years since we've had a cat. So, since my mom is gone until sunday, I am alittle nervous on what to do..

He is VERY tame. hes going to be an indoor cat. hes been playing all day. Absolutely loves it. We've got all sorts of fun things for him(alot of stairs, toys, hiding spaces). he really enjoys it. He LOVES is sleep though. Hes def. a youngin'/teenage boy. you try to wake him up and he sorta opens, then rolls over, closes his eyes, and falls back asleep. you have to actually lift him up so hes sitting to keep him awake. But, once hes away..hes a motor! haha.

Our farm had a horse show last sunday and those darn kittens were carried around all the little children around the show. Poor things. They hadn't had any time to lay and rest. He is VERY sweet and quiet. he knows that if hes not allowed somewhere, then thats that. Hes really good with the dogs as well. At the barn where he came, they had 2 dogs. So, he got plenty of attention by the animals.

He makes me laugh all the time. quite the character. I've never met a kitty that ENJOYS playing in their litter box. He jumps in and swishes all the litter in it. However, he hasn't gone yet. and I'm not sure how to tell him that "Thats were to go pee". everytime I see him pee or look like hes going to go the bathroom, I put him in the litter box, but he just hops out. I've never really trained a cat to go in the litter box before.. They've always been trained. Last time we had a kitten, I was about 10..so, I didn't really understand.

here are a few pictures of the little devil. The Shi Zhu and him are chasing each other around. However, he thinks the dog is a bit rediculous! haha.

While we were at the barn. It was before we decided to take him home.



Also at the barn. what a cutie .



At home sitting on "HIS" chair. haha.

^^ It is really unbelievable how much those pictures look EXACTLY like our kitten Paddy, except Paddy is a tortie.

Hes adorable.

Awl! Way too cute!

Congrats on your new addition... I think he can wait a couple days until your mom gets home. Then you can take him to the vet. If he has worms, he could pass them to your doggie, but that's only if the other doggie comes into contact with your kitty's poo.

I'm not very experienced in training cats to use the litter box, so I am not sure what to tell you there... but I am sure someone on here will have plenty of good tips! I do know that there is a brand of litter called Cat Attract (or something like that), and I have heard good things about it.

Best wishes... have you named him yet?

Originally Posted by blackkitty

I work and own a horse at our show barn and we always have kitten available.:

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Welcome to TCS....I believe your kitten questions have been addressed, however I wanted to offer up to you the possibility of having the cats that live in the barn fixed so that there aren't continuously kittens that need to be placed. There are lots of groups that work with people to humanely catch and spay/neuter outdoor cats so they won't have litter after litter of kittens. I know the show barn does not belong to you...but if you could pass along this information, then perhaps the cats will also get a rest from having kittens:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html

http://www.alleycat.org/visitor.html

Katie

Thanks everyone for the help.
I had a long, pretty much sleepless night. Kitten decided he would run around the room all night playing with things . Around 5 o'clock, kitty decided to wake me up and let me know it was time to get up! I still had another 2 hours to sleep. We ended up sleeping beside each other. he was crawling all over me, but eventually settled and curled up around my neck. I wish I had had a camera. But, who wants to see Me in the morning all grunged up. haha.

Anyhow, He still hadn't gone to the bathroom, so I decided to see if he would go outside. Sure enough, he woddled outside(huge tummy from last nights food) and he went to the bathroom. If we keep him, he has to be INDOORS. We lost one of our most amazing cats outdoors. So, I dun wanna lose another one .

I have a feeling he might want to write a message to you guys. Hes sitting here watching my finger go and finds it very interesting . Cute.

Hes alot more settled today and seems be playing and aweful lot. However, hes a bit cranky. hes hissing at the dogs and seemed to playing agressively w/ me a bit. I was a bit worried. I hope it's just because hes playing. He seemed to just be sorta..in a mood. Hopefully, he'll settle down and go to sleep. I have a feeling hes going to be a bit of a devil . ohhh boy. lol.

I'll post more pixxx in a few days.

He will be neutured. We have our male neutured at our barn, but there are alot of stray males that come and mate w/ our females. In the winter, we are hoping to spray them all. But, we've got about 10 cats right now, so Its aweful hard to pay for all of them.

Thanks guys!

The next time you take him outside to potty, just bring one piece of poopy inside, and put it right on top of the litter in his litterbox. He will most likely get the message loud and clear. Another option would be to put some regular soil on top of the litter.

Once he uses the box, for the first few weeks, try to always keep some poo in there. Obviously you will scoop it, but leave one piece so he knows it is the potty spot.

He will need to see the vet for worm and earmite checks, and his first vaccinations. Then he needs to be neutered as soon as possible, too, so he will make a good companion for your Grandma. Bless her for taking him on!

And ask at the barn about their plans to spay/neuter. Just because they get a lot of people there and can adopt out their kittens, doesn't mean they should be allowing them to reproduce. They can check with area vets, some give discounts for barn animals, or if you have a lot of pets.

Originally Posted by blackkitty

We have our male neutured at our barn, but there are alot of stray males that come and mate w/ our females. In the winter, we are hoping to spray them all. But, we've got about 10 cats right now, so Its aweful hard to pay for all of them.

Thanks guys!

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It's good to know your male is neutered...but yes, if you can spay your females that will help because once they are spayed they won't have litter after litter and also they won't draw intact males. If you need a low cost clinic in your state, let me know.

Katie