about to be the owner of a 8 week old kitten....

[kirmcc]

any advice would be much appreciated.

I was brought up with cats so used to them but never had to deal with a kitten before, I've read up on it from various websites but would really appreciate some real life advice. its already housetrained but i guess it will need to re-adjust being here, my main question is about food- some say just normal food, others say i need to get special kitten food, any advice with that?

thanks

[hiddenhome]

Make sure your kitten has a good view of its litter tray when in the room otherwise they can become disorientated and end up peeing on the carpet. I used to carry the tray around with me until they got their bearings and could find it in one location. Place the kitten into the tray and scratch its paws to and fro to let it know what it's supposed to do. Don't keep the tray too clean - cats rely on scent to get themselves around.

I used to take my kitten to bed each night and leave the litter tray on the floor next to the bed.

I did feed kitten food for the first few weeks, but then they started eating the adult food anyway, so I just gave up and let them have that. They had no problems as a result.

Get a safety collar and name disk.

Make sure you buy a kitty bed with a blanket.

Register at the vets and organise vaccinations etc. You can also get insurance for about £10/month.

I use a Feliway diffuser around my house and it's certainly helped to calm my cats down, so it might help your kitten settle in. It also helps stop random peeing/pooing on carpets etc.

Get some toys and then enjoy having your little kitty around

[kirmcc]

thanks, we've had no problem with the litter tray so far, shes been going to it and using it independently and she's eating well.

However, she doesn't seem to be drinking much water- is that normal? I bought some kitten milk and she lapped that up but apart from a little drink she had yesterday when she arrived, i've not seen her at her water.

[SockMunkee]

My kitten is 4 months old now, we got him when he was 9 weeks. He was litter trained when we got him, he drinks the house rabbits water and loves kitten milk.
We got pet insurance with Pets at Home, £3.50 a month and we got a £12 voucher.
He has toys everywhere and sleeps on my bed, his bed was a waste of money, he has never been in it.
He got all his vaccinations done, total cost was £40.

[MissAvellana]

Maybe try and put the tap on and see if she drinks from that, when my cat was little he loved playing in the sink and seemed to be more interested in drinking water that way!

[kirmcc]

still not having much luck with the water, she'll lick some of my finger and if I put some of her biscuits in the water she'll eat them soggy- she has had a wee sniff at her water bowl so that's progress I guess.

I took her into the bathroom and let the tap drip but she was scared of it.

I alos can't get over how high she can jump. all the kitten proofing i have done seems to be in vain as she can jump over or squeeze in a hole.

[DontCallMeBaby]

How high does she jump then? Mine couldn't make it onto the kitchen worksurfaces at that age, at least. :o They do it with ease now, unfortunately. However ... I had a nasty shock one night when I realised that one of them, in his kittenish attempts to jump onto the surface, had jumped up onto the cooker. He'd struggled to make it, and had managed to turn on the gas with his feet. I was about to go to bed, and had reluctantly decided I really SHOULD go and empty the washing machine - it was only because I did that I smelled the gas and turned it off. After that we took the knobs off the cooker until we were certain that they could jump easily onto the surfaces, if they insisted on doing such things, and they wouldn't jump onto the cooker anyway (it being rather uncomfortable on the feet).

[Rosietheriveter28]

Just wanted to add onto this thread as not worth starting a new one. About to get kittens at the weekend who are 6.5 weeks old. Apparently on mothers milk and ready brek (??!) From what I've read I can start weaning on to wet food but does anyone else have any experience of ones this young?

[DontCallMeBaby]

6.5 weeks is very young, too young to leave their mother surely? Though if they're being fed Ready Brek you may be doing them a favour!

[Rosietheriveter28]

I did wonder about whether to take them but when I heard the ready brek thing, I figured it may be a good idea. I think they will technically be 7 weeks when I pick them up, but yes, still earlier than preferred / normal.

[Marlinspike]

I'm joining in too!

I am about to get a kitten (possibly 2!!!) shortly - lost my poor old lady aged 22 in June, so I have completely forgotten about dealing with kittens!

A friend of a friend has a litter which will be ready to leave mum in a couple of weeks. I would love 2 sisters...would that work?

Any ideas for saving my furniture... I will get a scratching post; has anyone got ideas how I can encourage them to use this rather than the sofa?

Also - how's this for an idea. The only place we can fit a cat flap is a window that's about 2 foot off the ground. I was thinking of constructing some sort of ramp up to the cat flap. Do you think a cat would use that, or am I wasting my time?

So excited!!

[kirmcc]

my goodness kittens are hard work!

She can jump onto the window sill, takes full advantage of her claws and climbs up anything (including the wallpaper) to get to where she wants to go but shes lovely, very affectionate and loves sitting on my lap.

Shes still not drinking water though. Shes eating wet and dry cat food, and drinking the kitten milk but not interested in water but she doesn't appear to be dehydrated and still using her litter tray so I'm not too concerned.

If i can figure out how to add a photo, I'll put one up of her as shes too cute not to share.:)

[ripstheirthroatoutliveupstairs]

The only thing I would say to anyone getting a kitten is make sure they are spayed.
Our kittens are big boys now. They were castrated a couple of weeks ago and seem calmer. They were also chippped in case they stray. Unfortunately, they are such skinny boys, despite grazing on food all day, their collars with the discs on are too big.

[DontCallMeBaby]

Even if the collars fit, if they're quick release (which they should be), they can get lost. One cat lost his collar in our own drive, next to a neighbour's fishpond (she assured me they only have one fish and it was still there), and in another neighbour's garden. Both neighbours phoned to let us know they had the collar. The other cat has lost FIVE collars and we've never had one back. I am fairly sure he removes them on purpose and strongly suspect he buries them or drops them down wells or something.

[BendyBob]

I would def recommend getting a kitten microchipped.

[DontCallMeBaby]

Oh yes, ours are chipped, hence I'm not stressed about the collars - have given up on the one who loses them all the time. It means I can tell who's eating in the kitchen - just the noise of the food and the bowl means one cat, food, bowl plus ID tag chinking against the bowl means the other!

Their chips were put in at the same time they were neutered, and we had them done although we didn't intend to let them out at the time (which is another story) as it meant they would be identifiable if they escaped.

[Marlinspike]

Still waiting for my girlies....they will be 8 weeks next week, so possibly good to go. At what age can they be spayed?

[Fluffycloudland77]

Ready brek for an obligate carnivore???? WTF. Some people make no sense to me at all.

Cats get most of their water from food. Mine has a water fountain but I never see him use it.