We are getting a kitten in October (beyond excited!). Any tips at all massively appreciated!!
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The litter tray
MoonlightandMusic ·
05/09/2017 22:26
Congratulations!
Tips, hmm:
Keep them in a small area at first, only gradually expand this as they become confident (could be anything from a couple of days to a week or so, depending on kitten)
Show them the litter tray first off
Get a scratching post to save your furniture
A stick with string and something fluffy tied to end works wonders, no need to shell out on toys (also good distraction from furniture)
Have a 'safe space' or two they can retreat into when they need to (could be a 'roofed' cat bed, or under a sofa or similar)
Oh, and, most important - start practicing sitting in uncomfortable positions for a long time - you will need this ability when the kitten falls asleep on you and you don't have the heart to move them. 
TonicAndTonic ·
06/09/2017 17:47
Lots of good advice here! With the scratching post, use dangled string to encourage the kitten to interact with the post until it gets the hang of using it. Some cats will happily use a litter tray more than once, but others won't, and a spares always useful! Remove any pot plants from kitty's reach, they get chewed/dug up/kicked over and quite a few common ones are poisonous.
Oh, and my girl kitten sprouted a fine pair of little furry balls not long after we got him!
SaDo12 ·
06/09/2017 22:16
TonicandTonic that happened the last time I had a kitten. My uncle promised it was a boy - we soon found out it was a little girl 
OP posts:
chemenger ·
11/09/2017 07:04
What you need for kittens - sturdy jeans for when they climb your legs to see why their food is taking so long, something to stand on to retrieve them from the top of the curtains, a bladder of steel for when they snuggle in under your chin purring just as you were about to go to the loo and patient friends for when you tell them all the funny things they do (that's what MNs for , we never tire of kitten tales and pictures). There is a ton of good advice on here when the kittens arrive (and often given more kindly than my snippy collar comment, sorry about that).
Nomoresunshine ·
12/09/2017 17:03
Practice sitting with a 
for an hour or two. .
Once she gets comfy on your legs it will be a sin to move her. . .
Olliver27 ·
12/09/2017 20:27
She's adorable
The most important thing is to have her microchipped when she's getting her vaccines, and neutered at 6 months old. Even if she's a house cat, accidents and escapes happen!
Covered litter trays make cat ownership so much easier, with a young kitten just sellotape the flap of the tray up for the first few days so she gets used to hopping in and out. Gently rubbing her front paws in the clean litter when you get her home will show her where the tray is, and that it's a nice place to dig (and therefore toilet).
Get her addicted to Dreamies from the start (not that it takes any effort) and you will have a cat who comes to you every time she hears the bag shake. And get a strong tin for the Dreamies, they will open packets without a second thought.
This is the favourite toy in our house at the moment. We had to get two of these because they kept fighting over the first one!
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