Advice for new cat owners?
 

So we are the proud new owners of 2 kitties. BlazerCheer rescued a gutsy little calico from a culvert and Fifth Daughter rescued a Siamese/Burmese from this weird lady with 19 cats in a tiny house.

Does anyone have any tips? Mr. C. and I haven't had cats since our teen years. Is there anything that cats love?How can we keep them healthy and happy?

I might add that these 2 rescued two kittens last year. We gave them to a Kappa in Birmingham and her vet was like WHOA, those kittens are part or all bobcat!:eek:

Get some scratching posts and place them around the house. Make sure that you take the kittens over to the post every so oftern during the day and move their paws on the post in a scratching fashion. This will save your furniture in the long run.

Get a squirt bottle filled with water and use that to discipline the kittens if they are doing something you don't want them to. But only squirt them if you catch them in the act. If you punish them after the fact they won't know what they are being punished for.

buy some little balls to roll around and have them chase after. From what I've been told catnip doesn't affect kittens. so when they are a little older get some catnip mice for them. You may be able to train them to play fetch with the catnip mice - my siamese loves to play fetch.

If you can, buy or build them a "kitty condo" that they can play on, sleep on, and if covered with carpet - scratch on. My cats go through phases but usually there is one sleeping on the condo

Be sure to clip their nails every day! When I had a cat, it was my dad's daily ritual after work to come home, clip her nails and brush her hair for a good 15 minutes or so. I miss that furball. :(

Advice from a Cat Mom
 

1. Be sure that they like their litterbox & litter! Very very important. It must be kept extremely clean to get them to use it reliably. Until they are about 4 months old, DO NOT USE CLUMPING LITTER! Use plain clay litter. Kittens play in their litter & can ingest quite a bit of litter from licking their paws. This will drop off as they age.

Take a look at the following for excellent articles:

http://cats.about.com/od/kittencare/

2. Next, please, please, please do not declaw them :( It can cause a lifetime of problems. Learn to clip their nails, provide them with good climbing/scratching posts that are very very stable. This will give them an accepable place to scratch & stretch their muscles. The crappy carpeted post on a square base is worthless. Don't bother with Ebay either. The shipping is outrageous.

3. Feed them high quality kitten food... this means NOTHING from the grocery store. Royal Canin, Felidae, Chicken Soup, Innova, and Wellness make wonderful dry food. Nutro is an acceptable brand that is easier to find. Do not feed cats dog food. Do not give them cow's milk. Many cats cannot tolerate it.

4. MOST IMPORTANT.... get the little darlings spayed or neutered ASAP! The calico is a female, so she should be spayed by about 3-4 months. I don't know the sex of the Siamese mix, but I bet the same 3-4 month guideline will work.

FYI, my SIX cats have trained me well as to their requirements! :D Good luck!

talk to them a lot by name...and lots of positive attention.

Ditto thetalady on the declawing. It's harmful to cats - it throws off their balance and there are other issues.

If you have blinds on your windows, tuck the strings away - cats can hang themselves on the cords. Put rubberbands away where the kitties can't get to them - also a choking hazard. Keep the toilet lids down - kittens can fall in and drown (plus it has the added benefit of ending all those up vs. down debates with the men in the house).

It's essentially like babyproofing your house, except you have to do it at all levels because the kittens can jump.

Take lots of pictures and post them on GC! What are their names?

Re: Advice for new cat owners?
 

Valkyrie?

Re: Re: Advice for new cat owners?
 

You're back?

Re: Re: Re: Advice for new cat owners?
 

GC Hall of Fame dude...hall of fame.

-Rudey

Re: Re: Re: Re: Advice for new cat owners?
 

We should start a thread, have an induction class or something like that

Re: Re: Advice for new cat owners?
 

Yo homes, I only have 18 cats.

Nah, it's not valkyrie. I don't think that valkyrie would let her cats be chomped up by fleas and ear mites like these babies were.

:)

You might want to get them the coolest cat toy ever invented, the cat dancer. They're cheap and cats go nuts for them.

You have gotten some real good advice here! I too am SO not down with declawing!

Oh yeah, Calicos have attitudes! I have one
I guess naming my cats Thelma and Louise might have something to do with that! :D

Good for you for rescuing the cats...both of mine are rescue too. Before I rescued my 2, I never had cats (my parents are the Anti-Cat!)

Proud Mommy here!
 

I have two kittens (Mr. Neo Anderson & Agent Smith)...my BF is really into the Matrix...ya think!

Well all the above advice is what you need to know. Lots of love and keeping that litter box clean!

Now...I know alot of people are saying to stay away from declawing...that's a big taboo with cat lovers...but I have had both of mine declawed. I've discussed with with my vet and he has cats of his own and they are declawed. I know everyone can give me reasons why it shouldn't be done and I can show you two healthy cats. BUT its a personal decision for everyone.

If you don't want to go down that road, I agree that you have to get your kittens into the habit of getting their nails clipped. It has to become normal to them, so start doing it often, even it you just go through the motions of clipping. You can also save your furniture between clipping by using these plastic "tips" that go over their claws. They don't hurt them and can be found at any Petsmart.

Toys - you can buy all the toys YOU think are cute, but your cats will play with things you might have around the house!...getting a 12 pack of beer or pop? Don't throw out the box. Put a ball that's somewhat hard to get out and they will have a ball.
You know those knee-hi's that you get at Walgrees that come in a round plastic container for about $.50...put a penny in there, seal it and they will go nuts!!

My kitten loves the caps from water bottles and balled up pieces of paper. Those are the only toys we gave her. My bf's sister gave the kitten it's first toys: a mouse made out of thin rope or something and this ball made out of crinkly plastic. Her favorite toys seem to be our hands and arms. My arm looks like I stuck it in a rose bush and started waving it around.

Z Chi, don't get me started about boxes! :D Cats go nuts if there is a new box around and if you have 2 cats they might even fight over it (my Thelma and Louise do!)

This is totally random, but are there cats that are good for people with allergies? (Besides the ones that look like naked rats.)

What people are allergic to is the dander (protein) on the cat's coat. The dander has different Ph on different cats, so people are not necessarily allergic to ALL cats. Of course, there are some folks who are really really sensitive to any kind of allergen & probably could not tolerate any pet.

CHeck some info here:

http://www.wonderpuppy.net/canwehelp/allergy.htm

http://www.hsus.org/ace/11778

http://www.allerpet.com/ (great product!)

Don't play with the kitten with your hands. Kittens get into the habit off attacking everything considered a toy almost instantly - don't let your hands be one. Note, that if you are holding a toy while playing, the kitten will probably still think your hand is a toy too. Instead, use toys that are on the end of a stick/poll or a piece string. Or throw the toys.

My kitty use to play fetch it was the cutest thing ever. Now, she just chases.

OH YEA!! It cracks me up on how one will try to get into the box while the other will try to jump on top and smash the other

BEWARE OF DRYER SHEETS...I forgot to mention that in my last post..The book "Cats for Dummies" (don't laugh!) says they are dangerous to cats because of the chemicals in them.

Ditto on the clean litterbox, good food, early spaying, no declawing, and posting pictures on GC. If you really can't handle cats with claws, try SoftPaws.

Make sure that you keep collars & tags on them, even if they're "only" inside cats. Even only-inside cats escape sometimes. Also consider getting them microchipped. It's relatively inexpensive (usually less than $50/animal) and can save their lives if they should escape. Talk to your vet or the local humane society.

Most importantly, DO NOT let them nibble or bite on your hands/fingers. It may seem cute when they're kittens, but it is a bad habit for them to get into. If you're playing with them or petting them and they start doing that, say "NO!" immediately, then disengage. Stop playing and IGNORE the cat for at least five minutes. If that doesn't work, then hit them with a squirt gun. That's the only way they'll learn.

Have you decided on names yet?

My friend has a Devon Rex. He looks just like the orange one in the foreground of this picture:

http://www.devonrex.com/album/gallery/ACF249.jpg

They don't really shed and supposedly are pretty decent for people with allergies. Their fur is super short and kinda curly.

I actually am allergic to more than one cat....
 

both of mine are short haired and for the first few months it was hell for me, but the vet told me that if I used my vaccum at least 3-4 times a week, and bath them I would be fine. I do the vaccum part, but only one of my cats likes being in water so I use these waterless bath cloths. They look like baby wipes. They are great!! Most of the time my BF will clean them since I start to sneeze, but after both of them have been cleaned and brushed they feel and smell (baby powder...mmm) great!! :D

Boy! I had no idea that there was so much to know but I'm working on every one of these tips y'all have given me!

Our daughter went over to help our Hawaiian friend, who's a vet tech and certified wildlife rescuer, and came back with these names: Kalea and Kalani.

Hate to tell you, but these names are really an awful lot alike. Not that cats tend to respond so much when you call their names, but you don't want to make it difficult for them to figure out which one of them should be ignoring you :p

Cats are really much more of a challenge than dogs, they are FAR more independant. Remember, cats only humor us because they know that their ancestors ate ours :D

Yeah, most of us have given up on the long versions and call them Lea and Lani. I'd forgotten how independent kitties are as compared to dogs! Do any of them really respond to their names?

They know their names (or will) but as to responding to them..... it just depends on what mood their in. Most of the time my cats will come but there are those times they just completely ignore me.

You'll have to post pictures of the kitties soon

Most of my cats respond to their names, but you all know I have so many cats if I call one, someone is bound to come. ;)

One more thing: plants. Certain plants are poisonous to cats - you can probably find a list on the internet or get one from your vet. Also (okay, so more than just one more thing), never give a cat aspirin - it is highly toxic to cats.

I told you it was like childproofing ...

My cat (RIP) loved the wrapper from a straw. Especially the plastic straw wrappers. Boy he would just play for hours with that. :)