ATTN all cat owners! Need advice

[aephi alum]

There is a possibility that my husband and I will be adopting a cat within the next few days.

I'll post the full story when I have more time, but the short version is that a coworker of my husband's has a 1-year-old cat she wants to adopt out, and she's agreed to let us "cat-sit" for about a week as a trial period, and if all goes well, we will adopt the cat.

Neither my husband nor I have ever had a pet of any sort, and although we both love cats, what we know about taking care of one could fit in a thimble. I don't even know how to lift one without getting clawed at!

She is lending us a litter box, food bowls, and I think a scratching post, and she's giving us a couple of days' supply of food.

The cat has been neutered and has had all his shots, but AFAIK has not been declawed. (ohhh my furniture!)

Any advice?????

[OUlioness01]

DO NOT SPOILL YOUR CAT. When we got my two younger cats a few years ago my dad fed them chicken salad. Now they think they should always eat people food. Have set meal times forthe cat and make sure to clean the litter box everyday, or every other day as the situation demands it. it will stop the house from reeking.

[Lisa Fishman]

My cat has claws and does not scratch my couch. However, I have heard many tips that work so they do not scratch the furniture. It sounds weird, but tape small blown up balloons to your couch etc. that your cat does scratch. This will scare him when the balloons pop. Encourage him to use his scratching post only. Also, a spray bottle will chase him away from doing things he should'nt (ie. scatch furniture, hop up on kitchen counter etc...)

[deltaphi94]

Following on the advice of OUlioness, NEVER let your cat have people food. My cat is almost 11 years old now. I left her at home with my parents when I was in college, and my dad let her eat his scraps.
She had been fed Iams at my parents', but I couldn't afford $13/bag to feed her. Anyway, my dad had tried to adjust her diet to something we could manage. I noticed she had stopped eating, and she was hiding under tables. So, off to the vet we went.
After $300+ in vet bills and a week in the animal hospital, the vet said she had developed liver disease. She had never seen a cat so sick survive. The change in diet was involved, but the major culprit was table scraps.
Also, if you give your kitty tuna (which was my kitty's diet at the hospital), expect him to think anything in a can is tuna.

[Cluey]

When I was in high school, my family and I adopted a pregnant street cat. Well, out of the mother came 4 beautiful kitties! Each person in my family got to have their own little kittie and mine is the only male of the litter.

My cat's name is Kayster. He has been neutered, but not declawed, much like the cat to which you are referring. He is the sweetest and most personable cat of the litter, albeit he is a little dumb. He thinks he is a lap cat and demands attention all the time.

The most important thing to remember about a cat's nails is to keep them trimmed. I try to set aside a day on the weekend to trim my cats nails, so they do not get too long. If they get too long, that's when the damage really starts to occur.

Also, if this does all work out and you decide to keep him, buy a Littermaid. It works wonders and you'll never have to scoop the litter.

Hope this is helpful!

[aephi alum]

As promised, the full story.

One of my husband's coworkers found/rescued a mother and father cat and 3 kittens sometime last summer or fall. They were feral, but have been semi-domesticated, the kittens especially. The kittens are now around a year old. This woman already had 2 cats of her own, and she's decided that 7 cats is a bit much so she is trying to adopt out the cats.

My husband is allergic to cats, but he has been taking shots for some time now. The cat we're talking about is a shorthair, and hopefully less allergen-producing - so the idea is for us to have the cat in the house for a few days, and if DH gets into trouble, we will return the cat.

The cat is an indoor cat. He won't be allowed upstairs, and we will try to keep him out of the office/computer room, but there's plenty of other room downstairs for him to run around in.

I have about a zillion questions, most of which could probably be answered by "Cats for Dummies" or some such thing, but I figured I'd pick your brains too

I'm assuming we'll have to "cat-proof" the house like you would "baby-proof" a house... remove all breakables and household cleaning supplies from the cat's reach, make sure there's nothing he can knock or pull down, etc. What about curtains? Do I have to worry about my plants? (Most are outdoors now, but I have some African violets inside. I'm worried both about him eating them and getting sick, and him damaging the plants.)

We have hardwood floors. Will that be hard on his paws? Would his claws damage the wood?

Where is a good place to put his food/water bowls and his litterbox? (I'm guessing not next to each other! )

How do you pick up a cat if you don't want to get clawed? (I gather he is 16 lbs)

I already figured we would be getting him cat food and not people food, no matter how plaintively he meows for a piece of sushi

I've heard milk and cream are actually bad for cats, and they should only get water to drink?

What about grooming the cat? This is likely to be my job.

What do you do with a cat when you go on vacation? I figure some cats are self-reliant enough to be left alone for a weekend, but are there places where you can board cats for a week or two? (Neither my parents nor his would cat-sit, and most of our neighbors have dogs that might not get along well with a strange cat.)

Of course, we will need to find a vet if we keep him, but I was thinking of taking him to his current vet for now - we'll cross that bridge when we come to it

Thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em coming!

[valkyrie]

Congratulations on your upcoming kitty!!

In terms of keeping happy little claws occupied on things other than your furniture, just keep several different types of scratching posts around your house. When I got nice new couches a few years ago, I got one of those gigantic kitty jungle things that's about 6 feet tall. That thing has been destroyed, but my couch was never touched. Some cats like to scratch on a horizontal surface instead of vertical, so try to provide something like that as well.

Good for you for keeping kitty indoors!

I have breakable stuff all over and none of my 3 cats bother any of it. It might be a good idea to put stuff away at first, just until kitty gets adjusted. Some cats claw/climb curtains, but I've never had a problem with it. Also, some cats will eat plants. Try to keep them as much out of reach as you can, although it's hard to find a place that's out of reach for cats! Also, be careful if you have any ivy, because I know that's poisonous to cats. You can probably find a list of poisonous plants on line if you ever need.

Hardwood floors shouldn't be a problem. I have them, and my cats haven't seemed bothered at all and there's no damage from little claws. It's funny too when a kitty slides across the floor, LOL.

Keep the litterbox somewhere that isn't too terribly out of the way for kitty. You're right that they don't like their toilet and dinner table to be right next to each other, hee hee. Unfortunately, I have my litterbox in the kitchen because I don't have a better place for it, and their food bowls are on the other side of the room.

You'll learn how to pick up a cat. It's kind of a zen thing. I'm trying to describe the way I do it, but I'm having a hard time. I put my hands on the cat's sides and pick her up and hold her sort of on my shoulder. Some cats don't like to be picked up, though, so see how he feels about it.

Milk can give kitties the runs. Ick.

When I go on vacation, if it's only for two days, I'll leave the kitties at home with several bowls of food and a million bowls of water. If it's longer than that, I have someone come over and kitty sit. I never take them to a kennel, but I'm sure you can.

Good luck, and I hope you'll keep us updated on all your kitty adventures!!

[phisigduchesscv]

HI There,

Since your husband is allergic to cats you might want to buy a hepa filter or two for the house. Have one definitely in his room that the cat is not going to be allowed in (keep door closed etc) and then another one in the main portion of the house that you and kitty spend time in. Also, there is a great shampoo out that a friend of mine recommends called Allerpet it is supposed to help cut down on pet dander.

Be prepared that you probably won't be able to keep kitty from going upstairs unless you have a door that can be closed. More then likely they'll climb right over the baby gates that people use.

I hope you'll be able to keep the cat. I have had cats my whole life and think they are the best. Right now I have 3 - 2 8 month old kittens and 1 5 yer old half feral cat. All are indoors.

Carolyn

[aephi alum]

This cat will definitely be an indoor cat. I found a couple of listings online regarding plants, and there are several plants (azalea, lily, daffodils, rhododendron, tomatoes) that we have outside that are poisonous to cats - so kitty stays inside. Fortunately my African violets are on the non-toxic plant list Plus, I wouldn't want him running off and getting lost or being hit by a car

Speaking of which, how do we keep kitty from running out the front door?

I'm sure I'll come up with a good home for the litterbox and food/water. We have a big eat-in kitchen (with pergo floor - good for mopping up messes) and we could possibly put the food at one end and the litterbox at the other... hmm.

I like the HEPA filter idea. We already have one, which we will run while trying out the cat; we'll probably get a second one if we keep him, and I'll look into the Allerpet. (I already know it will be MY job to bathe the cat! )

As for kitty going upstairs, it would be more accurate to say that he won't be allowed into any of the upstairs rooms (which all have doors that we can keep shut). I didn't think we'd be able to prevent him from running upstairs, but when he gets to the landing, he will quickly get bored and hopefully come down again

I am also an avid knitter and cross-stitcher... I'm thinking that all those supplies should be squirreled away upstairs where he can't get at them and swallow a needle or get tangled in yarn...

(oy... it is just like baby-proofing a house!)

[DeltAlum]

The good news is that cats are more self-sufficient than most pets. That is, as Valkyrie says, they can be left along for a couple of days.

We have twin brother littermates that we adopted from the local animal shelter. They're pretty nice little guys.

Our daughter's husband is also alergic to cats -- but they have two. He took shots, and they used a special anti-dander shampoo on the cats -- and, remarkably, his alergy seems to have faded away with exposure to their two cats.

The echo what others have said, feed the cats cat food and water. Their digestive system is up to human food, including milk.

We have a "kitty gym" on one floor of our new house, and have given the cats a "house" of their own under the stairs leading to the basement/family room. We installed a cat door in the wall in their little area and have folding screens across the entrance to the family room, because when we moved, one of the little guys got frequed out and started leaving little "presents" in that room. Fortunately, he doesn't do that anywhere else.

The other one does a little "clawing" on the carpet, but can be discouraged by using the squirt bottle technique mentioned above. They both love the "kitty gym/clawing post" which solves 99.9% of the problem

We do have the cat's food and litter in the same area of the basement, and they don't really seem to mind. If you have room to separate them, I guess that's good. We find, though, that the little guys often take their dinner and bathroom breaks at the same time, so the proximity isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I pick up the cats much as I picked up our children when they were babies -- being sure to support their stomach and backs. A little like carrying a football.

Enjoy your little guests. They can be pretty interesting.

Edited to add:

We do nothing to protect small objects from the cats -- but we watch our grand daughter a couple of days a week. That's a different story.

[pinkyphimu]

ms. kitty is very self-sufficient. when i go away for a weekend, i put out a ton of food and several bowls of water. i also leave the toilet seat up (and never use those flush things) bc she has been known to take a drink from the toilet. she hasn't done it at my house, but used to all the time at my parents....we even have pics! if i go away for a week, i have someone come over every other day or so to refill the water bowls with fresh water and refresh the food. she doesn't like many people, so they don't need to stay and play with her. i have some friends that i will cat sit for and the cats are so excited to see me that i feel badly just leaving!!!

my cat fell in love with my suitcase. i could have killed her, but i bought a new one and let her use the old one as a scratching post! she was deathly afraid of any of the gyms and posts. she wouldn't even come in the room until i took it away!

be wary of keeping your litter box in the kitchen. picture having guests over for dinner...cat comes in and poops...the whole place stinks. the good news is that cats are really flexible when it comes to moving their litter boxes. if you have it in one place and need to move it for whatever reason, bring your cat to the new area and put them inside. they will remember where it is!

i highly reccommend pine litter! it is inexpensive...and it doens't track as much as the other stuff. i had been using the crystals kind, but i found that the little balls rolled all over my house! if you can (and your cat's size allows) get a litter box with a lid. this also prevents the litter from flying out of the pan when they push it around!

my cat was an indoor/outdoor cat when she lived with my parents. she is now strictly an indoor cat. she has never tried to run out the door in my apt. i have brought her to my parent's and she would sit in front of the door and cry...and try to sneak out! i think she knows the "rules" at each house!!!

i also have a fish in a bowl with no lid and my cat doesn't care about it at all. i was worried she would be looking for an afternoon snack, so when i brought the fish home, i put it on the floor in the container with the lid on. ms. kitty came over and sniffed it. i took the lid off and she continued to sniff. as soon as she tried to take a lick of the water, i yelled NO and stomped my foot on the floor. i did this maybe 3 times before i put the fish in his bowl. she has NEVER gone near it again!

don't stress about spending too much money on cat toys. cats are like kids...they like the packaging more than the actual objects. lol. of course, there are a few all time favorites...feathers on a wand...and these soccor balls that are sort of "nerf" like. it is like the balls play back!

you will have to wait and see the personality of this cat. some are climbers (so you will definately need to be wary of curtains or the breakables) others are not interested. have fun! and good luck!!

[Roseblum15]

Just a question...

Does anyone elses cat love to eat bread? If we leave any bread out my cat will steal it and eat it. Doesn't matter if it is dougnuts, muffins, bread, or any other food like that, my cat will get it if you turn your back.

I think my cat is nuts.

[valkyrie]

I agree on the pine litter! I use feline pine and love it, well, as much as you can love cat litter, LOL.

[deltaphi94]

My cat is extremely self-sufficient, and she is just now getting attention hungry. It's kind of a 'leave me alone until I tell you otherwise' thing with her. When I do pick her up, I usually will slide one hand under her, putting fingers between her front legs and wrap my other arm around for support in the back.
We have 2 dogs, so she has the laundry room when the dogs are in. Her litter box is in a 'private area' and her food and water are on the other side of the room. When hubby and I decided to go on vacation, we asked his family to stop by and check on the cat while the dogs were at the kennel. We got a self feeder and self watering dish, and she was pretty much set.
As for cat toys, they are short lived excitement. The only things my kitty wants to play with are my skeens of cross stitch floss, so it is a very good idea to make sure yours will be out of reach. (tweezers will work to remove pet hair from projects, btw) Aside from that, she will chase those little fluff balls that you can get in a craft department for hours on end. She's also fascinated with shoes for some reason.

[tinydancer]

These are all good suggestions. A lot of them sound real familiar. One of my cats got up on the counter one time and chewed through the bread wrapper and ate the top off a half a loaf of bread!

And about kitty thinking anything in a can is tuna - I had a cat who was convinced that anything wrapped in aluminum foil was chicken!! It could be cold pizza, cake, a cucumber, but to Dinah it was chicken!