We are a family of 3.
There's me, DH, and our DS (5y/o).
We've always wanted a cat. So decided yesterday that it was time to get one.
My friends cat has just given birth to 4 kittens. Two of them are spoken for - there were two sisters left, she offered me. We immediately said Yes.
We are due to pick them up Mid - May.
We're so excited. I have a few Q though.
Can I bring them back in the same cat carrier?
Will they be OK travelling 5 hours in a car back to our home?
We intend on having them as house cats, is that something we can choose?
Get them Neutered or not?
Can both share the same litter trays?
Can they share food trays/drink trays?
Any other advice tips, throw this way?
Sorry if I sound stupid. I just want to make sure they're both happy and looked after to absolute full potential.
Thank you.
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The litter tray
Tips on how to look after kittens?
MrsPeeWee · 15/04/2013 20:12
One carrier will be fine. Make sure they have food and water, and stop a couple of times to let them use the litter tray. (Stop somewhere quiet, if you can, not at the roadside.) Some cats adjust better to being housecats than others, you'll just have to find out which you have! Definitely get them neutered, there's no two ways on that. You can try having them share a litter tray and feeding bowls, again, they might accept this, they might not, and only time will tell.
Have fun! 
Same carrier - yes.
5 hrs - should be fine though some kittens get car sick! Have water
House cats - some cats take to this. Others will try at every opportunity to escape. If you're by a main road, keep them in.
Neutered - yes yes YES
Trays - have 2 when they get a little bigger
Food - allow a bowl a face and let them decide which is for which.
Make sure you don't leave your washing machine/tumble dryer door open - a horrible way to die 
and make sure you've not got any little gaps in floorboards etc. They will go in and they will get stuck.
Saw your previous thread op - hope your new kittens and you are happy together.
See if your friend will keep them with Mum a little longer? Hard though it may be for you, they'll only be a max of 6 weeks old by my calculations and it's better for kits if they can stay with their Mum for a good few weeks longer when they're that age. They'll be better trained (eating, washing, litter tray etc) and more socialized if they can spend that bit more time with her - say until 10-12 weeks old.
Remember in any case that they'll need to start their vaccination schedule at about 8/9 weeks and also be wormed and likely de-flead. (Most kittens have worms at an early age.) You could start finding a good vet near you for future use and get the kittens registered early on. Your vet will advise you on any necessary treatments and their timing.
Thank you Cozies.
She won't have them any longer, unfortunately. We asked her why she's giving them new homes so early. Apparently, she can't handle kittens and her girl had 4 - another reason they should be neutered, I think?
Its a shame. I would of preferred our kits coming to us a lot more prepared. But Hey Ho.
How much will it cost us to get each kit vaccinated, de-flead, wormed etc? Not that it's a problem, just like to be prepared and have estimates laid on the table.
A small tip. As they'll be coming to you real young, ask your friend for a small amount of (clean) litter from the tray they'll hopefully have been using. It may be clean but it will still have some odour on it to their sensitive noses. Sprinkle that on the top of their new litter tray in your house so that they can home in on it.
Oh I could fall into a big rant about cat neutering but it isn't your cat so I wont. your friend may get a shock if her girl ever needed a c section etc. No I will not fall into that
I cat I mentioned in an earlier post was 5/6 weeks when I got her from a backyard breeder, I didn't even know what this was or know of this term at the time, like you I was just excited.
Anyhoo, you might want to decide where they will sleep from day one too, pre cat breeding I had 3 moggies and let them sleep in my bedroom, they often woke me running around the divan bed by their claws and on my head chewing my hair. 
We will need pictures of them of course!
Haha - of course.
I really need names.
DS is coming out with the most daft names. (Stanley, Peter, bum) have I mentioned they're female. 
One of the kittens is black with grey stripes (?) I'm almost certain she's a tabby, but can't make out whether she definitely has stripes or not because of the camera angle.
The other kitty is white with dots of ginger and black on parts of her fur. They're beautiful.
Any suggestions welcome. 
Just to warn you, at 6 weeks they really are babies still, I've known kittens who still weren't eating solids dependably at that age. I'd consider buying a bottle and some kitten formula and topping up their solid food intake with that for a couple of weeks just to ensure they're getting enough nutrition.
They may be fine and not need it, most kittens are confidant with solids by 6 weeks but it's no harm to be prepared in case they aren't.
I'd confine them to one room initially, somewhere quiet and warm, preferably with a solid floor as they're unlikely to be properly litter trained so young.
Give them lots of affection and cuddles, they'll be very confused and nervous for a few days but they should relax and adjust fairly quickly.
As your friend doesn't appear to have much concern for her cats wellbeing I'd imagine the mother cat is unvaccinated so there's a chance they may have cat flu. If they show any signs of watering eyes, puffiness or lethargy get them straight to a vet, pneumonia can kill within hours at that age but the vet can give them an antibiotic injection and eye drops.
Definitely neuter at 4/5 months, even if they're house cats. Although whether they agree to be housecats depends on temperament. Some cats have no interest in going out, others can't be kept in.
Most kittens taken very young tend to be quite needy and many will suck on your clothes when being cuddled, even into adulthood, as a result. They do make very affectionate pets though, just be warned... You'll be mommy in their eyes, have patience
Good luck, we need pics!
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Hmm I'm not sure you will need feeding equipment tbh at this age even a nice bit of coley in kitten milk, they should be eating solids around 4/5 weeks, I would like Cozie said get some litter and you get the same litter as they do confuse easily at this age, well at 4 weeks some of mine were pooing in dry food and eating litter.
Are they weaned onto food do you know? Surely she wouldn't give them if they weren't, I would find this out most definitely. If they aren't weaned they could be crapping everywhere too and you don't want that.
Names hmm, I have had many names, ok, (not all these were mine some were kitten I did paper work for) bonnie, cassie, poppy, mitsy, misty, sascha, holly, tilly, petal, mishca, tara, I had a tabby when younger (stripes) she was a mitsy, I'm sure they were more bizarre ones but my paperwork is upstairs, actually looking at those, some are girls names.
So when are you getting them? 
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