Picking up Kitten tomorrow - help!

[andshewillbeloved]

I know nothing about kittens.

She's 8 weeks old. I have a toddler. Will they be ok together?

What do I need to buy?

[thecatneuterer]

No, it's not ideal. Toddlers can and do kill kittens. Also eight weeks is really still too young to leave mum. Ten weeks is better. If you do go ahead with getting it then the kitten must NEVER be left alone with the toddler.

Also kittens get very, very distressed when removed from both mum and litter mates. If you have to have young kittens then a pair is better.

But really you would be better off, if you want a cat, to get a rescue adult that is proven to be good with children.

Do you know about neutering? Vaccinations? Have you thought about insurance? Why are you getting an animal if you know nothing about them? The very least you should do first is some serious research and then not get it.

[Soubriquet]

why get a kitten if you know nothing about them?

[Purplehonesty]

You need a litter tray and litter
Food bowls
Food (find out what she is already eating)
A bed - put it somewhere out of toddler reach so she can feel secure
Wormer if that hasn't been done already
A few wee toys (altho tin foil rolled into a ball works well)

We had a kitten and a 4yo but I made sure they weren't left alone together and told dd she wasn't allowed to lift the cat. She didn't really listen to that part tho so teach your toddler to be gentle with her.

Our kitten was 12 weeks so a bit bigger and less likely to be squished by over enthusiastic cuddles.

Hope you enjoy her

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

I agree with TCN, you would be much better (if you have to have a cat) getting an adult rescue cat. There are cats crying out for a home so there's no need to encourage breeding. Poor kitten, I hope you learn something about them pretty quick before it ends up as another unwanted cat in a rescue.

[TheCakes]

Ozzy was only eight weeks when we brought him home. In hindsight I'd have left him with his mum a couple more weeks, but he's settled. The first night was hard. He cried and cried, and hid, but he liked me picking him up and cuddling him.
I was very torn as to whether to let him hide and cry, or catch him and comfort him.
I slept downstairs with him because I felt he was too little and delicate to come in our bed, which is where he sleeps now.
He's a proper softy.
Find out if yours likes kitten milk. Our lady gave us some formula to bring home with him. She said to wean him off it after a week but he loves his milk, so still has it at eight months.
You'll need to confine him/her to one room at first, with a litter tray and a bed. Put a hot water bottle in the bed, wrapped in a towel.
Probably won't eat much at first, but get a supply of the food he's eating now and gradually change to what you want to feed.
Kittens are lovely, but they are demanding! You need to play with him/her a lot and provide plenty of toys. And don't be surprised at being bitten, scratched or pounced on. Ozzy still does this!
HTH

[TheCakes]

Oh and book into the vets next week for jabs, flea and worm treatment. Don't let him/her out until neutered at around 5 months.

[StarryIllusion]

He should be with his mother for another 2 weeks yet. Is this from a backyard breeder? And I would never have a kitten and toddler. Toddlers can easily kill kittens and kittens have extremely sharp little claws that can easily take out an eye if the child is being too rough or annoying them. Accident waiting to happen imo.

[Hellmouth]

Is this a joke? You're getting a kitten without doing any research? I think you should delay this and get your arse into gear!

[Wolfiefan]

He's very young. What makes you want a kitten? They are biting and scratching monsters. Your toddler or the kitten could end up getting injured.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Ours cried all night at 17 weeks old.

Do you have to take it at 8 weeks?. I'm more worried about your toddler hurting it & it won't be strong enough to get away.

They can't be left unsupervised and the phrase of the day in your house for the next few weeks will be "gently, gently, no don't do that!"

[andshewillbeloved]

I've had cats before but the youngest was around 6 months old so what I meant is that I have no experience with young kittens. I have experience with cats in general but it's been a while.

I know about vaccinations and neutering etc.

[Wolfiefan]

So what makes you want a kitten and a toddler together?

[Soubriquet]

I got my current cat when I had two toddlers...

It was bloody hard. I had to stop the kitten from biting them and stop them from picking her up. They don't pick her up because I was very vigilant and made it clear to dh that they were never to be alone in the room.

She's now a year old and plenty old enough to out of the way

[thecatneuterer]

Well at least you know about cats. That's something. A toddler and a small kitten is an extremely bad idea. You would be much better with an adult.

And if you really are adamant that you are going to get it regardless, then at least wait another two and preferably four weeks to give it longer with it's mother and to give it time to at least get a bit bigger to give it a better chance against your toddler.

[andshewillbeloved]

Decided against it. Waiting til I'm more prepared and will go to a local rescue

[Wolfiefan]

Thanks for the update OP. I love our two kitties but both my school age kids were in tears at times over having their feet attacked and being scratched and bitten. It didn't last long but it was a horrid stage.
Definitely rescue is the way to go. Perhaps wait until your toddler is old enough to not chase or pull tails etc. We had a 2 year old and 18 month old. Mum and son. They were young enough to be playful but not scratching and biting.

[thecatneuterer]

I'm so, so happy to hear that. Rescue is always the way to go. And one of my first ever rescue calls was to pick up a kitten that had been killed by a toddler (we thought it might still be alive - we don't generally go out for dead cats) and I can't tell you how much that upset me.

[andshewillbeloved]

That's absolutely awful

I hope the kitten finds a good home because I didn't like the look of the guy (on fb) who the kitten was with. This is partly why I wanted to take it on.

[Vinorosso74]

OP am pleased you've decided to wait and go to a rescue. There will always be a suitable cat in a rescue and rescue places will want the whole household to meet the cat before adopting it.

[thecatneuterer]

I understand how very tempting it is to 'save' kittens from people on Gumtree and Facebook and the like. If you pay for them though you are only making the problem worse - it means they will carry on breeding their mother cat. Even if you take them as being 'free to a good home' that still makes the people think that it's ok not to bother neutering the mother as there are always people who want the kittens. It's only when they end up being stuck with kittens that they may decide to do something about it.

It's really only ok to take kittens off people's hand if you can also persuade them to let you neuter the mum cat at the same time. Rescues are full of kittens in kitten season. All those kittens, and of course the adult cat they have there, need saving too.