Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

New kittens - Boys? Girls???

46 replies

Filiboom · 21/09/2018 10:09

We are going to meet our new kittens tomorrow at a rescue centre but have been told we can choose them....

I don’t really mind if we have boys or girls (I have two DSs so, on the one hand, it would be good not to be completely outnumbered, but on the other hand, I really don’t mind!). Really, I just can’t make a decision so would welcome any guidance.... The only thing I would prefer is not to have a mixed pair as they will be too little to have been neutered and whilst we will get them done as soon as they are ready, I would be paranoid about any accidents....

Any other useful kitten tips also welcome. We have no kit as I didn’t want to tempt fate so will be making a run to Pets at Home tonight!

Thank you!

OP posts:

Original poster

Filiboom · 22/09/2018 14:49

They’re here! Turns out they’ve been neutered and we have one boy and one girl at my eldest’s suggestion. Impossible to choose between them so it seemed as good a way as any. Very sweet and currently chasing each round and round the room, utterly uninterested by their new toys! Very much hoping it’s just play fighting and they love each other really.... Will try to post pics.

OP posts:

Original poster

Filiboom · 22/09/2018 14:51

Boy is black and white and girl is grey. No names yet and getting ridiculous suggestions from DH whilst DSs just want to name them after various classmates....

OP posts:

Original poster

Filiboom · 22/09/2018 14:52

PS sorry for blurry pics - they won’t keep still!

OP posts:

Vinorosso74 · 22/09/2018 14:58

They are adorable!

Aprilshowersnowastorm · 22/09/2018 15:00

Grey one looks like a Mavis to me!!

Wolfiefan · 22/09/2018 15:47

I didn’t want to say as you said you didn’t want a mixed pair. But our first cats were a young mum and her kitten boy. Fab combo.
They are gorgeous.

BlueEyedBengal · 22/09/2018 16:10

Love them, they are total sweethearts.

sweetkitty · 22/09/2018 16:15

We have 4 month old kittens brother and sister, both very affectionate, she’s a tortie so quite feisty, he’s a ginger Tom so I reckon he’s going to be a big softie

AccidentallyRunToWindsor · 22/09/2018 16:15

We got our boy at 18 months and he was intact and a real bruiser. He is still very outdoorsy but when you do get him in, he loves to snuggle.

We have had the girls from 8 weeks and they are homebodies, they sunbathe in the garden but go no further.

Not sure if that helps?!

DartmoorDoughnut · 22/09/2018 17:53

Oh they’re beautiful ❤️

Original poster

Filiboom · 22/09/2018 20:24

They are gorgeous! They have settled in really well and are happy to be handled.

Only worry is that eldest DS(7) has started to wheeze this evening.... He’s been around animals before with no problem and our neighbour and cousins have cats (and a dog) and we’ve spent a lot of time in their houses). Really worried that it could be an allergy.... DH has been unwell with a cold that’s gone to his chest so also possible that he’s just picked that up. Not sure what to do if it is an allergy. Any positive stories?!

OP posts:

Aprilshowersnowastorm · 22/09/2018 20:39

Anti histamines in the early days and hand washed after handling the kittens.
I had cats as a dc. Moved out, visited home and massively itchy /spots /wheezey!
Wore off in time, now have ddogs+dcats. Stil hand wash after strokes and the occasional rash!
Be patient, a friend's dh was given 3 months of prescription antihistamines when he reacted to their new kittens then was fine. Just as well as it would have been her dh that hit the road not the dcats!!

Wolfiefan · 22/09/2018 22:44

I’m allergic to cats and dogs. Have two cats and one dog. Don’t react to all animals.
Cats out of his bedroom.
Wash hands after touching cats.
Good hoover.
Damp dust. Don’t dust.
Washable throws and hard flooring helps.
There is a thing called petal cleanse you can wipe over cat and it supposedly reduces allergens but I’ve never tried it.
Or he could just be like me and have a stinking cold.

Original poster

Filiboom · 22/09/2018 23:46

Thank you both! Will try those things and limit his time with them for now. They’re contained in one room (the spare room) for the time being as well so will hopefully give him a chance to get used to them and I won’t hurry to bring them into the rest of the house.

Really hope he’s not seriously allergic. He’s been around animals enough that it hadn’t really crossed my mind there could be a problem. He said his eyes are a bit itchy (but so are mine with them), but it’s the wheezing I don’t like. However, he has often had a bit of a crackly chest when he has a cold so very much hoping that’s all it is. Fingers crossed!

OP posts:

AccidentallyRunToWindsor · 23/09/2018 10:50

I'm allergic to cats and asthmatic. I can wheeze around new cats and dogs but mine no longer trigger me, I've built up a tolerance to them

AnotherOriginalUsername · 23/09/2018 10:53

Not RTFT but see you've got a boy and a girl. Not sure if it's been mentioned but most vets will neuter from 12 weeks so accidental incestuous litters aren't any risk.

Wolfiefan · 23/09/2018 11:34

@AnotherOriginalUsername
They’ve been neutered. OP originally wanted a same sex pair to avoid any issue prior to neutering but as they’ve already been done it’s fine!

Original poster

Filiboom · 23/09/2018 22:58

Thanks Accidentally.... That’s exactly the story I want to hear! He has a definite wheeze to them when he’s around them and it clears up quite quickly when he’s not so it’s clearly the kittens.... He’s denying it of course, but we can hear him wheeze! I’ve bought Petal Cleanse and some spray, which promise great things and arrive tomorrow. We’re also making him wash well after touching them and change top if he’s held them. We’re also not going to let them into any other part of the house until we’ve worked out what’s going on. If it is going to be a serious problem for him, we’ll obviously consider if we can reasonably keep the kittens, but fingers are very tightly crossed!

I’ve heard that kittens are worse than cats for provoking allergies and the grey in particular has quite thick fur.

They’re both very lovely and are settling in really well and have been playing with the DSs (who are smitten!). The girl in particular is very comfortable with being held, but the boy has not forgiven me for giving him his worming medicine earlier....

OP posts:

DartmoorDoughnut · 24/09/2018 07:17

I use spot on wormer if that helps! My girl still looks at me like I’ve shot her but at least she isn’t spitting tablets out at me

AccidentallyRunToWindsor · 24/09/2018 10:39

Ohhhh look at them 😻😻

My asthma usually improves after a week or so, hopefully his does too!

Original poster

Filiboom · 24/09/2018 16:18

That’s so good to hear and I really hope it does. I’ve done a lot of googling and am getting really mixed answers, including fairly alarmist advice to get the cats out of the home as quickly as possible which is triggering a lot of maternal guilt! (Although if we did that there would be different maternal guilt!) Have applied the Petal cleanse now so will see if that makes a difference.

OP posts:

Flip

1 2