Our new kitty pixie - settling in advice

[popgoesperfection]

Meet pixie, our new 10 week old kitty. This is our first time being the proud owner of of cat. we've bought all the essentials and researched re vaccinations etc, but can any of you kitty owners offer any new cat advice please.

Plenty of interactive toys for bonding and get a cardboard box.

Also her coat looks quite long so get her used to being groomed daily. It's much easier to have her used to it for when she does need help.

Get her some Lick-e-Lix!

great thankyou for the advice!
a cardboard box for her to get in?
keep it coming ....

Cats bloody love a cardboard box 😁

😂😂

Pixie is settling in well. She ventured upstairs for the first time yesterday and has come up this morning meowing for us to get up. She's still not keen on her toys though, any advice?

You'll need to play with her toys with her as she might be too young to play by herself.

@Florissante i've been sitting on the floor when the toys are out and showing her what they are, encouraging her to play but she runs off, she seems a bit nervous of them.

She won't understand what they are.

A plastic 'fishing rod' with a feathered toy on the end is good for kittens. You can move the elasticated bit along the floor for the kitten to pounce on or hold the toy a few inches in the air for the kitten to leap at.

I've got her playing, she's been jumping all over trying to catch the feather. She's booked in for her first vaccinations next tuesday and general check up, silly question, but do i stay in the room with her during the appointment?

I am so pleased to hear that! Yes, generally it's a good idea to stay with your kitten.

Please keep us posted on events!

thanks @Florissante. i've got her some lik-e-lix today but it says for cats 3+ months, should i wait to give her some?

You're welcome!

I don't know anything about Lik-e-lix so would advise following the guidance on the packet. It might be too rich for her or give her digestive trouble.

Pets at home do packets of dried catnip & silvervine, both of which cats love. I usually have a ziplock bag of each & leave small toys in them for 24 hours or so to make them smell interesting.

Other tip - leave her carrier open & visible & put treats in it every so often, so that when you need to get her in there it will be familiar.

yeah that makes sense @Florissante thankyou!
great advice @EmpressaurusOfCats.
Any advice around the hoover? she hates it and hides every time i hoover, i feel awful when i know i have to get it out 😫

Most cats hate the hoover - they run and hide until the Cat Eating Machine (CEM) has gone away. There's really nothing for it.

I’ve only ever had one cat who didn’t hide from the hoover!

oh good so i'm not traumatising her!
Also, last couple of poos she's gone in the litter tray but accidentally put a foot in it so i've had to wash it off which obviously she doesn't like. is there anything i can do to stop it happening or do they just grow out of it?

With regards to the litter tray, they should generally find their feet (pun intended!). You might want to get a mat to put just under and outside the tray entrance - helps to collect fresh bits of litter as they climb out, my cat likes to wipe his feet on the ridges.

Re cat toys and interacting with them. When mine were younger (and remaining boy still likes it over a decade later). Simply screw up a small sheet of paper and lob it across the floor. They love skidding after it, it’s lightweight and easy to bat around - obviously easier on wood/laminate/tiles.

One of my cats also loved a kind of doughnut track with a ball in it. Kept him amused for ages on his own, no risk of a lone ball being flicked under furniture never to be seen again. Will try to find an example.

A bit like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petstages-Tower-Tracks-Cat-Toy/dp/B00DT2WL26/ref=asc_df_B00DT2WL26/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309990657539&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=334710097676125785&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045032&hvtargid=pla-338276849402&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Yes! Mine have all loved those too, including if I join in occasionally & we push the ball to each other. Although you might find that she takes getting the balls out as a challenge & then has fun whizzing them under the sofa…

Pretty kitten! For the hoover, I reach for it and make sure she sees me doing it, so she has a chance to run upstairs before I turn it on. And then same process when I vacuum upstairs. Quite useful when I need her out of the room if I'm about to do a zoom call or something - I just touch the hoover.

thankyou everyone. will invest in a donut track. She seems to be getting used to her new life here. She'll be 11 weeks tomorrow, how many meals should she be eating per day? and should it be just wet food or a mix?

Sorry, can't advise on the kitten meals but that last photo... she's definitely a very contented little cat!

You have a beautiful cat, and I love her name. 😻

She's so cute! At that age she should have unlimited food, as she is still growing.
I usually go with dry food out at all times and wet food morning and evening, but whatever works for you.

My kittens love pipe cleaners - twist a couple together and they play with them for ages because they are light. Unfortunately my robot vacuum cleaner does not love pipe cleaners though 😸