Kitten coming soon, what do we need and where to put it?

[FlippyNeck]

I'm getting a kitten in a few weeks time, he'll be about 13 weeks old when I bring him home. He's going to be the first cat I've owned (very excited). I'm intending for him to be an indoor cat. We have lots of space, and I've been thinking about what I need and where to put it.

Downstairs we have separate rooms, all quite a good size - kitchen, dining room, living room and a small cloakroom; bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, with two spare bedrooms. So with that in mind, where would you wise folks place food, litter tray, scratching post, bed (although DS is hoping that DKitten will sleep on his bed - I think I'm ok with that!), etc etc? I would prefer to keep DK out of the kitchen where possible, and the cloakroom has no natural light, so that's probably not a good spot.

So far my shopping list includes the items above, ceramic or metal food and water bowls, toys, grooming stuff, food, litter, worming stuff, carrier. I've noted a few of you recommend laser pens, so I'll get one too. We have old blankets and towels aplenty. Is there anything else I need or that you would recommend?

TIA!

Yes, a catflap and the outdoors once he's old enough.

I think that you need to employ a kitty Nanny to take care of your little ones needs, I'm fully qualified for the position
I'd get a little hot water bottle for his bed as he's going to used to sleeping end masse and maybe a ticking clock (sounds like a heart beat). I always use puppy pads around the litter tray as they miss sometimes. Mine like to drink away from their food so I have their bowls either side of the dining room. The litter tray is in the utility room I'd put it in your cloakroom. Toys climbing frames in any of the other rooms. Hide away precious ornaments especially from window ledges as they belong to cats. So jealous my baby is 8 so haven't had kitty cuddles for ages. Congratulations Flippy

It's hard to suggest where to put your kittens things with not knowing layout of your house etc but think carefully about where you put litter tray etc as cats are creatures of habit and don't like things being moved around so where you put litter tray particularly is where it will need to stay. Preferably don't put its food bowl etc right next to the litter tray either. It's nicer not to have to look at a litre tray constantly and cats do like privacy. With the scratching post and bed you could put those wherever you're hoping the cat will spend most of its time but it's likely it will find its own spots in the house that are most comfortable
Enjoy! Kittens are amazing!

Could the litter tray go in the cloakroom? I'm assuming you only pop in there so it wouldn't be in your face too much. Remember to keep the door open or put a cat flap in it.

I've always fed my cats in the kitchen - lino floor means spilt food and water can be cleaned up easily. If you don't want the cat in there then maybe the dining room? But put a mat underneath the bowls.

Bed and toys - living room? Your new slave driver will soon decide where he's going to spend his days, but you might as well start off in the same room. You'll probably be kicked off the sofa (and the beds) soon enough, so enjoy them whilst you still can!

Thank you ladybird, user and Dude - most helpful. Ladybird, come and kitty nanny any time!

User and Dude, I would prefer to put the tray in the cloakroom, I guess that would work if the door was open, and there'd be enough light for DKitten. Will it matter if food, tray and toys are all in separate rooms from the off though? I thought that it was recommended to keep everything in one room at first, or is that just for the first few days? I could get two litter trays and put one in the living room behind the door.

It's a new(ish) build house, so the layout isn't anything fancy - imagine a box split into quarters with the dining room in the top left, kitchen top right, living room bottom left, hall in the middle, and cloaks next to the kitchen - the bottom right is the garage, no access directly from the house.

I've got an old ticking clock and quite a few old wheat bags that I could warm up - bit worried about claws or biting a hot water bottle. I'll add mats and puppy pads to the list! I already know I am going to be under his gorgeous fuzzy paws!! Thanks again for the suggestions.

Both my cats have had the run of the house from the off. I did worry about keeping my current cat in one room when she arrived (as a kitten) because, due to the layout of the house, there was only one room I could have shut her in, and since that was my rabbit's safe room I wasn't going to shut a kitten up in there! As it was, I opened the box in the lounge and she came out, jumped onto, and along the back of, one sofa, jumped onto the other sofa and curled up, quite the thing! Within 5 mins she was home! (Friend came round ten mins later and couldn't believe I had literally just brought the kitten home - thought I must have had her a few days.)

The litter tray is by the front door (and was from the start) and I did pick her up and put her on it a few times to show (remind) her where it was, but each time she just gave me the look and ran off. Other than one attempt to use the rabbit's tray in the lounge (silly cat, it had hay in!) she used her tray every time.

Basically, I think it depends on the kitten (nervy or not) and household (quiet or not). If you do think you need a tray in the lounge I'm sure he'll soon learn where the other one is when the lounge one is moved (and will probably prefer the privacy anyway).

BTW you do know it's a rule that pictures are provided, don't you??? (stern look)

Thank you Dude. I don't think he's going to be nervy, and our house is pretty quiet - no other animals and only me and not very boisterous DS (9). I'm DKit to have the run of the house, apart from my bedroom because I have far too much stuff in there, and I'd prefer to keep him out of the kitchen if I'm not in there too. But I know he will rule the roost, so I'm not saying never to anything!

Here's a pic from when we visited him last week.

Awwwwww! He's a darling! I'm sure it won't be long before you're enjoying kitten snuggles in bed!

In that case you'd probably be ok just having one litter tray in the cloakroom. It's not as though he's going to have to avoid lots of young children or anything. But then again I do only have experience of my two so if someone else comes on and says otherwise go with them.

He really is a handsome lad. Thanks so much for the photo, wasn't expecting one so soon!!!!

Since you have made the bad decision to get only 1dcat you need to add sofa, curtains, carpets, to your list of new purchases. .

Have you considered a water fountain? We have one for CatBaby and she loves it. Keeping her food and water apart from each other seems to have improved her appetite.
Also, our vet does a great monthly subscription for flea and worming products, which includes her annual checkup and injections.

Your stern look did the trick Dude! It's not a great pic, just one from when we met him for the first time last week. He is an absolute sweetheart.

JohnLP (hope you don't mind the abbreviation), I shall look into those suggestions, thank you.

Is it really true in every case that a single kitten will be destructive? . I can't be the only person who has only got one? Getting a second one is just not possible at the moment.

ach, call me Jack, we're all friends here.
We only got one kitten, CatBaby is 2 now and hasn't destroyed very much at all. However, I'm a sahp and she and the toddler are currently developing the ability to open doors together...

My cat still loves foil crinkly balls for chasing from Zooplus, tunnels,a cat tower to play in and watch from a distance, of course lots of lovely wet kitten food from Zooplus.

Hi Op, congratulations on your new DKitten. He's scrumptious.

To be honest I think most kittens can be destructive - some more than others. I've had two curtain climbers and one terrible carpet scratcher (who still does it 5 years on!). Not everyone gets 2 kittens but it does help if they have playmate so they play with each other rather than having to go looking for trouble! 😀Will you be out much a lot?

Also, is he always going to be indoors? Personally I was always incredibly relieved when mine could go out and get rid of some of their energy but if you live near a busy road I get this may not be safe for you to do.

Can't remember if you had this on your list of things you will need but an absolute essential is pet insurance. Personally I think Petplan is the best but not the cheapest. Vet bills can be huge!!

Looking forward to seeing lots of kitten photos!

I kept my 2 kittens in the kitchen to start with as it has a wipeable floor. Litter tray is at one side and food bowls near the back patio doors. They have a giant cat tree in there too. They get the run of the house now though. I bought cat beds but threw them away recently as they never used them. They sleep on window sills, the couch, the computer chair, the bed, etc instead. We got ours at 8 weeks old and they never had an accident anywhere so never needed a big clean up job.

I get wormer and flea stuff from the vet so didn't buy it in advance. Got mine microchipped and neutered at just over 4 months old too. Insurance is with Tesco. Petplan was out my price range *wanted £30 per month pet cat!

And I don't have a cat flap but do let the cats out when I am in. They are 8 months old now

Is it really true in every case that a single kitten will be destructive?

No this is just not the case! I wish people wouldn't trot out "always get two" lines and put human emotions on cats. This cats protection leaflet is a good balanced view on having more then one and ho to make it work.

You do need to provide a good kitten environment and play with the kitten a lot since it won't have a play mate.

Cat tower to climb, lots of scratch pads/posts (depending if they like to be vertical or horizontal scratches) a tri tunnel, balls, puzzle toys, da bird feather toy for you to play with them, the cat track thing, laser pointer etc

At a couple of points I was like "wish I had two" when I was exhausted after work and just wanted to watch TV but instead was running round the house dragging a bit of string for the kitten... but I think we have a close bond as a result and he seems perfectly happy.

I didn't have any negative destructive behavior from my 'only'. Oh, he did go through a bit of a stage of trying to climb the curtains but the kittens I had as a child did that as well and there were 2 of them so twice the destruction!

Well it IS the law of the Litter Tray!

Mine wasn't that destructive as a kitten, the only thing she really killed were the wee orchids I was growing from seed, as they were in her way on the windowsill and easy to knock down. That, and using the sofa as a scratching post (despite having an official one too), but there wasn't too much damage.

Mind you, when she was shut indoors there was a rabbit to play with, and hens to watch out in the garden, so plenty to keep a young cat amused.

I did spend her first night sleeping on the sofa in the same room as her, much to DP's annoyance, but I reckoned it was her first night alone so she needed company. She was happy enough though, and I didn't get much sleep, due to the fact she spent a lot of the time running around the room leaping on and off of things (and knocking the orchids down), interspersed with throwing herself onto me and lying down, purring loudly.

Don't suppose you're in Glasgow, are you? You could have my cat fountain in you are, as my cat didn't use it.

Is it really true in every case that a single kitten will be destructive?

Nope! DCat came to us at 11 weeks old, he's now 3 and has never once climbed the curtains. The sofas are pretty much unscathed as well. We did have to play with him a lot when he was small- he did try and play fight us a fair bit, we had to keep that in check.

You can never have too many scratching posts - also make sure you use string or a 'fishing'rod' type toy and dangle it over the post to make the kitten grab it and get used to digging his claws in the scratching post. We spent a lot of time doing this - it really helps getting them scratching the post and not the furniture.

DCat stayed in the kitchen for a couple of weeks when he first came home, he was too little to be able to jump on the work surfaces and it made sense as the floor is wipe clean! Never had a problem moving the litter tray to a new location, you just have to do it in small stages so each time it's never out of sight from the previous location. Ours is now in the cloakroom, we just have to remember to keep the door open.

At a couple of points I was like "wish I had two" when I was exhausted after work and just wanted to watch TV but instead was running round the house dragging a bit of string for the kitten... but I think we have a close bond as a result and he seems perfectly happy.

Looking again at the thread, this pretty much sums it up for me too!

Thank you so much for the helpful advice and comments! How lovely you've been

It's good to hear about single kittens that have been ok. I am pretty certain that DS will take care of a lot of playing with DKit - it's 'his' cat. When DS decides to do something he follows it through, so I don't have any concerns that he'll get bored after a few weeks. He has been reading books about cat and kitten care, he's on Jackson Galaxy's website a lot, and all round doing his kitten homework for weeks! Also, I'm at home most of the day when DS is at school to take up the reins.

DKit is a pedigree Russian, so I'm very wary about letting him out. Also, we are close to a busy road, and in our estate there are some shocking drivers, several cats have been hit, although the estate itself is not that busy. There's just too much bad parking and drivers going too fast. We do have a fairly big garden, I don't think I could cat proof the whole thing, but maybe an area of it, away from one of our neighbours who has a huge –horrible– loud dog.

DKit will be microchipped and come with a supply of litter, food, worming and flea stuff and a month of insurance. Getting our own insurance is definitely on the list, and registering with the local vet too. The breeder was still deciding whether or not he'd be neutered, they said that they think neutering early stops them developing fully - any thoughts on that?

Dude, I AM in Glasgow! Thank you for the offer of the cat fountain, as I'm around during the day I can put out fresh water regularly (I'm assuming that's what it's for), but very kind of you.

He's gorgeous! Russian Blued are apparently very loyal and form strong bonds with their people don't they?

Re. neutering, do you mean the breeder is deciding between having him neutered before he comes to live with you, or waiting until he's a bit older? 4 - 5 months is a good age. That's when Little M had the chop. Also ensure that you have the documentation for his microchip, and that it's transferred into your name.

Like other posters have said, a fishing rod type toy like Da Bird and Flying Frenzy are great for interactive play. He may like a water fountain, cats are fascinated by running water. Ooh, remember to put the loo seat down when he's little to avoid falling in.

I live in a fairly open plan house, so wasn't able to give Little M a designated area - I just kind of let him explore, (he's VERY bold) and took him up to bed with me at bedtime, placing a litter tray in there in case he got caught short.

Exciting times ahead for you and DS! Have you decided on a name yet?

I hope so RubbishMantra!

Yes, the breeder wasn't sure if they were going to neuter him, but if they don't, I think I'll get him done quite soon anyway.

I'm reminding DS to get into the habit of loo seat down and scraping plates and putting them straight in the dishwasher. Wonder what else I can get him do 'for the cat' .

We haven't 100% decided on a name yet. I'll post once we do!

Get a second litter tray! The rule is one litter tray per cat in the house... plus an extra! So one cat, two trays, three cats - four trays and so on!
My cat loves her high bed! Started as one of those radiator beds then turned into a stupid fancy high scratching post with beds and boxes.