Myriad of Questions about New Kitten...

[sixkitties]

Thanks for the reply. My kittens are outside in a huge "pen" now- it sounds inhumane, but they love it- it's more like a jungle gym for kitties, with a top on it so that nothing can get in to get them. When are they old enough to put outside though? I mean, to let them roam free at will? I don't want them to get eaten, and they can't be inside with our other two cats, and so a harness won't work either. I can't have them on a harness most of the day! Any other suggestions?
-Sixkitties

 

[lil_red]

They'll never be old enough to "roam at will" and be safe. Outside is dangerous even in the country. I live in the country and some of the dangers in my area include owls, coyotes, coy-dogs, fox, fisher cats, hawks, and bobcats. Hunting season is just starting so add guns as another danger.

You may want to consider rehoming them so they can stay inside where it is safe. Have you considered posting them on petfinder.org?

 

[crystal211]

Hi Jenk!

1. Tink has slept in our bed since the third night after we found her when she was 2 weeks old (she had bad flea problems at first, so we let her in after they were clear). When she was still too small to climb and jump, we'd take her to bed with us every night, and she'd sleep with us until the morning. Now we let her do what she wants, but she's still on our schedule. She comes and sleeps either by our legs (she loves laying between them) or up by our heads. This is actually nice because she's on our schedule and we don't have to worry about her during the night. Plus, she wakes us up when she's ready to eat breakfast.

The only problem is that she is the queen of our apartment and we have to move around her to get comfortable..she wouldn't have it any other way.

2. Tink has dry food available to her all day. We give her a pie-shaped slice of wet food in the morning and once around six for dinner. We use Iams kitten food, and if you buy one of the huge bags of dry food, it'll last you forever (we've been using it for about 3 months now). We buy the larger cans of Iams kitten food and put them in the refrigerator after first opened...they last about 3 or so days.

3. Since we had the flea problems at first, up until she was about 6 or 7 weeks old, Tink got a bath once a week to clean her up. It's been about a month since her last bath - we do spot cleaning if she needs it. Since she's mostly white, her fur is looking shabby and she will be getting a bath this weekend. She doesn't like it, but my boyfriend and I do it together and she has to deal with it.

We wrap her in a towel afterwards and rub her dry, and she usually goes to sleep on after, so I'm guessing she's pretty forgiving.

4. We have a collar that she wears a lot, and we just bought a harness for her a few weeks ago. She has not yet used it because she's a bit small for it (although now she'll probably fit). It seems as if you'd have more of a hold on her if you have her on a leash. When I drive to Cleveland to visit my family, she is allowed out in the car because she doesn't like her carrier that much. We use the leash to move her between the car and the house, and she doesn't have too much of a problem. I do prefer the harness over the collar, though, because when I use the collar I worry about choking her.

Hope all of our opinions help...just take the feedback and make your own decisions to fit your lifestyle.

 

[meezer_mama]

I have some of those kitty nests and they are used for naps, but only when they are under a table or something. I think they feel more secure that way. If the nest is out in the open, it is not slept in.

At night, my two big cats will sleep all night with me. The kittens tend to stay in the living room where they can wake up and romp around. Be prepared for that at first! Rocket was waking me up at 230 and 430 every night. Playing before bedtime is a good idea!

Also, I think you mentioned you had dogs. You'll want to put kitty's food in a safe place. Cat food has a higher amount of protein (and kitten food is even higher), and it is not real healthy for your dog to eat it. Of course, they will love it.

Good luck with your new baby! let us know how it goes!

 

[gems mum]

I live in the UK and it seems that things are done a bit differently here.

1. Sleeping arrangements: Does kitty sleep in your bed or in his/ her own kitty bed? (If kitty sleeps with you, do you have any major problems as a result?)
Gem never sleeps with us at night, she is shut in the kitchen with her litter tray. We bought her a lovely wicker basket type bed (which has a detatchable door for vet visits) but she prefers to sleep on a kitchen chair! She does sneak up on our bed if she can - we said that she wouldn't be alowed (hubbys alergies) but we "forget" to tell her off!

2. Do you feed your kitty separate meals, or do you leave dry food out all day? (My hubby and I work full-time, so I'm guessing leaving out dry food is our best option.)
Gem has half a tin of food in the evening, and biscuits in the morning.

3. Do you regularly bathe your cat(s)? (And do they secretly hate you for it?)
I have never bathed her, and probably won't unless it is absolutely necessary. I do remember when I was a teenager that one of mums cats went missing for a while and when she returned it was obvious that she had visited the pig farm across the fields - she had a bath then but she HATED it!!! Gem is an out/in cat but we treat her with flea drops on the back of her neck every month so no problem there.

4. Is/ Are your cat(s) harnessed trained or not?
Gem can come and go as she pleases, although we have to open the door for her. When we first got her (from a home) she would not go potty at all for the first 24 hours, nothing at all. As you can imagine we were a bit worried! I went and bought a cat harness/lead and took her out and she peed for ages, poor thing. Since then she has been OK, I think she was so used to going outside to potty that she didn't want to use a tray indoors. We did take her out to explore the garden a few times before we let her out alone, but don't use it any more. She didn't seem to mind it too much, but it was definately a case of her leading us!

Hope I have helped a bit!