ATTN all cat owners! Need advice
 

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

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?????

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.

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...)

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.

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! :)

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! :eek: )

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! :D

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!!

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

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! :eek: )

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!)

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.

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!!

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.

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

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.

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!

The cat will be coming by tomorrow morning! :) I suspect that if my husband reacts adversely to the cat, he will do so within a few hours, and this means we can return him later tomorrow rather than having to keep him overnight.

The woman who's adopting them out is definitely loaning us a scratching post in addition to a litterbox and food/water bowls, and she will leave us with some cat litter and some food, so we don't have to run out and buy stuff immediately (esp. if we end up having to return the cat). If we keep him, of course, we will buy our own things for him.

Hopefully he will adjust well to his new surroundings, and not leave any "presents"! :eek:

pinkyphimu, good point about the litterbox. We have a living room that is currently empty - maybe we'd be better off putting the box there, rather than in a place (like the kitchen) where guests like to congregate.

I do hope my husband doesn't have a bad reaction. To be honest, I'm not holding out high hopes - he's only been on the allergy shots for a few months - but if things don't work out, the woman has agreed to take him back (which is good, because the local animal shelter is not a no-kill shelter :( ), and we can try again in a year or so, maybe with a younger kitten.

I think a KittyCat needs to weigh in here...
 

My biggest advice for your husband is that it's okay to pet Kitty, but he needs to wash his hands immediately after doing so. Both my mother and I follow that rule, and our allergies to our three cats do not bother us at all. You can get vacuums with HEPA filters in them, which also helps.

Also, if you (not your husband) brush Kitty often, he won't shed as much (and he'll have fewer hairballs, too). Grooming can become a daily ritual. Most cats love it-- they equate it with petting.

If Kitty seems interested in the furniture, just pick him up, say "NO!" and put him immediately on his scratching post. After a few times, he'll get the idea.

To pick up Kitty: start by petting him. If he runs away, chances are that he doesn't want to be picked up, and you will be clawed. If he acquiesces, put one hand behind his front legs, under his "shoulders." Lift that hand first, then support his hindquarters with the other hand. I usually hold my cats so that they're in a sitting position, with one hand under his front legs and the other forearm against my body, forming kind of a ledge for his hind paws to sit on. Also, never pick up a full-grown cat by the scruff of his neck. Their bodies can't support the weight. Eventually, if you need to give him a pill or something, you can hold his head still by the scruff, but don't let him hang by the scruff; always support his full body weight with your hands.

I'd suggest having Kitty's current owner hang out at your house for a while after she arrives with Kitty. You should get the litter box, food, and scratching post set up where you want it, and then she should walk through the room with you and Kitty and show them to him. She should put him in the litter box, set him next to his food, and put him on the scratching post. Then she should pet him and tell him that she's leaving him with you and that he'll have a good time. Then you should let him wander around and get his bearings on his own. Some cats do better if they're introduced to one room at a time.

And I'm serious about the talking to the cat thing-- they really understand what "their" people are saying.

Good luck and feel free to PM me with any more questions.

my cats love pizza because when i was in high school right after they were fixed one of my friends fed them pizza to keep them from biting at their stitches. now they think pizza crust is the best treat in the world and we have to hide people food of all kinds frmo them.

I hope the cat works out for you!!!

I love my gal dearly. We adopted her from someone when I was younger and she HATED to be touched, and I LOVED to hold her but when I'd open a door she dig claws in terribly bad and I'd scream and touch her head and say no and she learned quickly that wasn't good and hasn't done anything like that in a long time.

Hope it works out!!

...
 

I am so happy for you and especially for your new lil' kitty! My roommate and I adopted a 3 year old female from a local shelter and she is the highlight of our lives. Cats are such interesting creatures! All of the advice is great, so I dont' think I could add any more.

Except...at Wal-Mart they have this thing called the "super scratcher" and it is a cardboard box thingy w/ cat nip in it. All of my 3 cats and now miss daisy love these boxes and it gives them a nice "high" when they scratch so its kinda of an award.

GOOD LUCK!!!!! :)

they do understand
 

i adopted my guy, shadow, from the humane society. he was 1 1/2 when i got him a year ago and has developed into a very nice cat. he knows his name and comes when called and has quite the personality. i echo kittycat in that you must talk to your cat and give it as much people stimuli that you can so it learns to love you.

No cat for me
 

The woman who was adopting out the cats just called. Apparently, when the time came to pack up the cat and bring him over here, she got very emotional... she's decided that he's part of the family, and she can't give him up. She knows 7 cats is a lot to take care of, but she can't bear to part with any of them.

So, no cat for me. :(

It is probably just as well. DH's allergy shots are nowhere near full strength yet, and I would hate to get attached to the cat only to have to give him up.

So the new plan is to wait a few months, and then get a shorthair kitten that's a few weeks old (old enough to be separated from mommy cat, old enough to be trained to use the litterbox ;) but young enough to still be a kitten).

Aww, I'm sorry to hear that you're not going to get a cat right now. I'm glad you'll be adopting later, though.

Actually, it's funny, but momma cats train their kittens to use the litter box right away-- it's an evolutionary thing. Most kittens are fully litter-trained by the time they're weaned. When you get them, you just have to put them in the litterbox a few times and they figure it out.

I can understand why you'd want a kitten-- they're hilarious!-- but I'd encourage you to think about getting a full-grown cat from a shelter. You can still get full-grown cats that are only a year or two old, so they've got a long, full life ahead of them. Another bonus is that often they're already fixed, so you're saved that vet bill. It's kitten season right now, so the shelters will be full of them and it'll be easy to find one, but in a few months most of them will have been adopted out to people who want a kitten, and all that will be left are adults who'll be put down if nobody adopts them.

Just my two cents. Either way, yay for getting kitties!

That is so mean. The woman should have thought of that before promising the cat to you. That's really too bad! Kittens are a lot of fun though, so when you do get a kitten you will have a blast! It'll be worth the wait!

I am an avid knitter and my cat is never interested in my knitting unless I am knitting. As soon as I set it down the yarn is no longer interesting. It is a bizarre attention thing. If I pay attention to the yarn and knit it she swats. If I stop paying attention she is content to let it co-exist with her.

Everyone is giving you great advise. Good luck on getting a new kitty! Sorry it didn't work with the others. I come from a very allergic family and highly recommend that you get a cat that is part siamese (sp?) to help with your husband's allergies.

laura

I hopefully can answer some of your questions if not all-I haven't read everyone elses responses so hopefully I will not repeat anyone else. Make sure the cat has been tested for FeLv/FIV and had a fecal also (I also recommend re-testing in 6 months to ensure negative status). What vaccinations has it had? I recommend a yearly visit to the veterinarian but I do not recommend vaccinations every year especially if it is going to be an indoor cat. You have to be careful some vets make their living on vaccinations and will push you to vaccinate every year-I strongly disagree with this and the AVMA is continually reviewing vaccine protocols. Vaccinesare great and protect your pet from many diseases but they do not come without risk such as severe reactions and fibrosarcoma. What area do you live in? Iseem to remember the northeast so heartworm prevention is probably not a huge push but if you live in the south cats, dogs and ferrets should be on HW prevention. Easter Lillys are toxic and can be deadly to cats-if you have any throw them out. See other advice below:

Any other questions PM me or E-mail me at Felinedoc@yahoo.com

Karen

edited to add that most of my replies are just below the questions you asked.

AEPhiAlum,

Sorry this kitty didn't happen but I hope you decide to adopt soon. I've had my boy for 12 years now! When you pick up a kitty hold him under the armpits with one hand and hold his hind legs with the other. Don't pick them up from the middle. It could hurt and might make them puke! As for your kitty running out the door- you'll have to adjust your life a bit if you are in the habit of keeping the door open for any period of time. Just be sure to close the doors all the way. Tommy can open the door with his little paw very easily. He can also open doors with those french door handles. He can just reach up and pull down. He used to walk in on me in the bathroom all the time in my old house, LOL!
You also have to be careful with medications, aspirin, tylenol etc. If you drop anything be sure to pick it up. Don't give them milk (yogurt, ice cream etc). As much as they love it, it is very bad for them. My cats on a special intestinal diet because he had abnormal liver enzyme count. Thats from eating too many human treats.
Good luck and let us know what happens!:D

As an allergic person as well, my suggestion is don't let the cat in your bedroom. Keep the door closed at all time, so that kitty doesn't take a nap right on top of hubby's pillow (which undoubtably will happen). I realize that it's a nuisance to keep the door closed 24/7, but I live with a cat (not by choice), and I just keep my bedroom door closed, which keeps my room allergen free.
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a few minutes later.....
I just read that the cat arrangement fell through.
I'm sorry for your disappointment.