Hi everyone; my name is Sandra and I have 3 kittens Frick, Frack, and Smudge. I've never owned a cat before because I'm allergic to them. About 2 weeks ago my sister came home with 2 three month old kittens. Apparently this guy had 3 cats who weren't spayed and they all ended up pregnant, and he ended up with 25 kittens. Now I have 2 dogs already and was a little worried about how they would react. Frick and Frack hid for the first 2 days. Not surprised its a new home for them and they were probably a little scared and stressed. After a week with Frick and Frack I asked my sister to take me to see the kittens to pick one myself. I was thinking well if im going to live with cats i might as well pick one as well. Only one cat paid any attention to me and i came homw with Smudge. An example of animal picks human. As I said before I don't know anything about cats. So I decided to jump on google and see what I could find. I found this site because of a raw food thread. It is such a headache because there are so many commercial raw food products on the market. So now I'm trying to figure out how to raise kittens. What kind of snacks they should get, food, toys, scratching post, beds, litter. Smudge uses the litter box no problems there. Frick and Frack think everything in the house is a litter box including bedding. So I'm here to learn what I can, and would appreciate any and all advice. Thanks.
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New cat owner
- Thread starter sanmar
- Start Date
Over time it goes away, at least it did for me, for the most part.
It's kind of like homeopathic medicine. "Like treats like." So over time, the more exposure, the more your body becomes accustom to it. I've heard it takes anywhere from 6-8 wks. I don't remember how long it took me. I used to sneeze a few times in a row, then be all stuffed up for a while, but now, I can have him in my face, loving him up, & I'm fine. Once & a while there will be an occasional sneeze or two, but not to often.
I guess you could say love out ruled allergies in my case, & I'm so glad, because I love him soooo much!!!!
I also brushed him a lot to help w/ shedding around the house, & allergies.
You have defiantly found the right site for cats, & especially if you are going to feed raw, as you mentioned. You will find lots of support here,
There are some really wonderful people here!!!
Best of luck, & can't wait to see pictures of your little one!
Hey there! I'm new here too. But not new to cats. 
I had cat allergies when I was a child. But I had cats all my life -- loved them too much not to. At 24, I no longer have allergies.
So as long as your allergy is not too severe, you may find that you acclimate over time. If you still have niggling problems with allergies, you can try things like kitty wipes meant to help remove dander and using a HEPA filter on your vacuum.
A lot of this stuff is subjective. What kind of toys? Ones they like. What kind of scratching post? One they like.
But there's non-headache-y ways to help figure that out. You don't need to start out buying stuff, necessarily. If kitty likes a ball of tin foil, go for sparkly things that crinkle. If kitty likes string sailing over the floor, go for wands with dangly stuff on them. If kitty like a toilet paper tube, get toys that roll. Give them a piece of cardboard to try their nails on. Give them a carpet square. Give them a piece of wood. See what they like.
As far as food, yeah, there's a lot of debate on that. I've recently started feeding my kitty frozen raw food by Nature's Variety and Primal. I like those because it's treated for bacteria without chemicals, and every batch is tested. Your mileage may vary. There's lots of good resources out there (and here, as I'm finding).
In any case, I'd recommend having something in their diet that's moist (i.e. anything that's not kibble). Kitties aren't driven to drink tons of water. They're programmed to get their water from their food. An all-kibble diet tends to encourage low-grade dehydration, which may cause kidney and urinary problems down the line. Wet food, freeze dried, and raw will all fit that bill. I don't feed dry food at all, personally.
Your average kitty likes clay clumping litter than has a fine consistency. Your kitty may vary. Also, consider getting more than one litter box as long as you have more than one cat. The issue may be that Smudge has "claimed" that box, and the other cats don't feel at liberty to use it. There may be a larger "territorial" issue going on as well, and they're marking things to say "mine!" Consider cat trees and elevated spots they can designate as theirs without having to pee on them to let everyone know.
Be sure to have lots of fun, in the midst of all this experimentation.
I had cat allergies when I was a child. But I had cats all my life -- loved them too much not to. At 24, I no longer have allergies.
So as long as your allergy is not too severe, you may find that you acclimate over time. If you still have niggling problems with allergies, you can try things like kitty wipes meant to help remove dander and using a HEPA filter on your vacuum.
A lot of this stuff is subjective. What kind of toys? Ones they like. What kind of scratching post? One they like.
But there's non-headache-y ways to help figure that out. You don't need to start out buying stuff, necessarily. If kitty likes a ball of tin foil, go for sparkly things that crinkle. If kitty likes string sailing over the floor, go for wands with dangly stuff on them. If kitty like a toilet paper tube, get toys that roll. Give them a piece of cardboard to try their nails on. Give them a carpet square. Give them a piece of wood. See what they like.
As far as food, yeah, there's a lot of debate on that. I've recently started feeding my kitty frozen raw food by Nature's Variety and Primal. I like those because it's treated for bacteria without chemicals, and every batch is tested. Your mileage may vary. There's lots of good resources out there (and here, as I'm finding).
In any case, I'd recommend having something in their diet that's moist (i.e. anything that's not kibble). Kitties aren't driven to drink tons of water. They're programmed to get their water from their food. An all-kibble diet tends to encourage low-grade dehydration, which may cause kidney and urinary problems down the line. Wet food, freeze dried, and raw will all fit that bill. I don't feed dry food at all, personally.
Your average kitty likes clay clumping litter than has a fine consistency. Your kitty may vary. Also, consider getting more than one litter box as long as you have more than one cat. The issue may be that Smudge has "claimed" that box, and the other cats don't feel at liberty to use it. There may be a larger "territorial" issue going on as well, and they're marking things to say "mine!" Consider cat trees and elevated spots they can designate as theirs without having to pee on them to let everyone know.
Be sure to have lots of fun, in the midst of all this experimentation.
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For lots of great info written by a vet on feline nutrition and some related health issues, please go to www.catinfo.org.
Also, there's a lot of good general info on various cat topics in the Articles section on this site. Feel free to post any specific questions you may have. I find that a search will bring up tons of older threads on whatever you're interested in. I've learned a lot here!
Also, there's a lot of good general info on various cat topics in the Articles section on this site. Feel free to post any specific questions you may have. I find that a search will bring up tons of older threads on whatever you're interested in. I've learned a lot here!
Good advice Lilin! Maybe if I would have been able to have a kitty when I was younger, I could have gotten over the allergies sooner too.
I just never thought I could have one because of them. "I'm glad Angel came along & proved different." Now, at 43, "I'm in luv with my kitty!!"
I just never thought I could have one because of them. "I'm glad Angel came along & proved different." Now, at 43, "I'm in luv with my kitty!!"
I got lucky in a way. I was born into a household with a cat (and a dog that I was also allergic to, and a bird). When our old kitty passed away, my parents didn't get another cat initially because of my allergies. But I asked for one. They said, "You sure?" And I was all like, "UM, YEAH!"Good advice Lilin! Maybe if I would have been able to have a kitty when I was younger, I could have gotten over the allergies sooner too.
I just never thought I could have one because of them. "I'm glad Angel came along & proved different." Now, at 43, "I'm in luv with my kitty!!"
The first week with Pearl was rough. It got better after that, and I had symptoms less and less. And by the time I was 21 or 22, my allergies were gone. I haven't had any reaction at all to Pia, who I adopted recently, even though she probably has more dander than Pearl did (she was a Cornish Rex and Pia is a DSH).
Granted, my allergies were never severe. People with severe allergies may actually get worse, so you don't want to take the risk with that.
Lots of people live with animal allergies. Your love of the animal just has to outweigh your annoyance of being allergic.
And perhaps, you get lucky, and they just go away all together. But this might be one of those things where you have to be exposed young in order to completely get over it.
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Yes, I am glad I was one of the lucky ones to get over the allergies fairly quickly in comparison to others.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
I get some sneezing, but my main allergy reaction is itchy eyes, and whenever they scratch me the area swells and itches. As for the litter box I have 3 and plan on getting some more till they're trained. Thanks for the warm welcome.
So cute. :3
Good luck on your new kitty adventure!
Good luck on your new kitty adventure!
