kitty

etahannah · #1 10-20-2003, 12:35 PM

so i think i am getting a kitty today. i am kinda nervous cause i never asked my landlord

hehe

someone give me advice. what if she is bad or pees on the carpet or scrathes my furnature? i dont want my apt to smell like cat either....blech!! i have never had a cat before and i dont know how to take care of them really..

btw, this is all my roommates idea to get a kitty. i am excited but i have always had dogs and dont really know a lot about cats.

any good name suggestions too???

kappaloo · #2 10-20-2003, 12:39 PM

Get a spray bottle of water and spray her when she is caught doing something bad. But only if you catch her doing it. She won't understand afterwards.

For scratching - after catching her place her on her scratch pad.

If you don't know much about kitties - be sure to read up on them. And don't forget about getting her shots done!

As for names... I looove the names Iris and Chloe.

Rudey · #3 10-20-2003, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by etahannah
so i think i am getting a kitty today. i am kinda nervous cause i never asked my landlord hehe

someone give me advice. what if she is bad or pees on the carpet or scrathes my furnature? i dont want my apt to smell like cat either....blech!! i have never had a cat before and i dont know how to take care of them really..

btw, this is all my roommates idea to get a kitty. i am excited but i have always had dogs and dont really know a lot about cats.

any good name suggestions too???

Please clear it with your landlord first. Honestly wouldn't you feel like an awful person getting one if the landlord forced you to get rid of it?

And just buy a book on cats or take one out at the library...all the info is there. The kat litter is what makes it smell unless you have a gross cat.

-Rudey

PhiMuLady150 · #4 10-20-2003, 12:41 PM

Hey!

First thing you need to do with "kitty" is make sure it knows where the potty is. The Best place to put a litter pan is a laundry room or the kitchen or even a bathroom. It will need to be cleaned every week. Basically you take "kitty" place him in the litter box and gently rub their head(so they can smell it) in the pan. They usually understand at this point but it may take a couple times. There shouldn't be too many accidents. You might want to place food/water in a dif. place then the litter pan. Kittens should be fed 2-3 times a day and then when old enough, just once a day. You definitly need to find a good vet for shots and general care. Let me know if you have any more questions
Most of all, show it love!

etahannah · #5 10-20-2003, 12:50 PM

my roommate found a place where you pay $100 for the kitty and it comes with all the shots and medical stuff. and then you take it back there to get neutred when it is a couple more weeks older. he left the info at home for me to read before he gets home at 3 today.

i have to remember to get a spray bottle then if that helps to make her not be bad. and all you really have to do is rub her nose in then kitty litter to make her go there? that is it? that is easy..

the food will be in the kitchen and the litter box will be hidden in the part of my apt that no one goes. its hard to explain so i wont.

any suggestions on a brand of kitty litter to buy? like what is really good....

you guys rock!! thanks!!

Anchorgirl · #6 10-20-2003, 12:56 PM

If you are getting a kitten, make sure you allow plenty of time to train it. It will pee on the furniture unless you are very diligent in showing it the where the litterbox is kept and making sure the cat goes there right after eating.

I have found it helpful to keep the kitten in a small room (bathroom) for the first week or so when you aren't home. Keep the food, litterbox, toys, bed, etc. in there so it has everything it needs and gets used to what each item is used for. But, you have to be sure to let the kitten out when you are home and spend plenty of time playing with it.

It might be helpful to get a second kitten at the same time. I have found that if you have two cats they like having a playmate and thus tear up less of your stuff. When it is just one cat, left alone, they play (and sometimes ruin) your stuff.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

aephi alum · #7 10-20-2003, 12:59 PM

A few months ago, it looked like I might be getting a cat (it fell through

) so I started this thread:

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...threadid=34502

Maybe some of the advice I was given will help you...

Lil' Hannah · #8 10-20-2003, 02:01 PM

A few things:

- I would recommend a small water gun instead of a spray bottle for reprimanding kitty. It has a longer range and it packs a little more punch.

- If the cat pees on your carpet, it's not a HUGE deal, but if it pees on your couch it can seep through the fabric and into the cushions and stuff and stink the joint up.

- Make sure you and your roommate are being realistic about the time and finances you'll need to devote to the cat. If you're both in class all day, if you have part time jobs, etc, will you be able to train the cat and make sure it's not messing everything up? My roommate wanted a cat a few months ago and it took me a really long time to convince her it was a bad idea since we weren't around a lot.

CardinalSM · #9 10-20-2003, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lil' Hannah

- I would recommend a small water gun instead of a spray bottle for reprimanding kitty. It has a longer range and it packs a little more punch.

HAHA this made me shoot my coke out my nose!

honeychile · #10 10-20-2003, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by etahannah

i have to remember to get a spray bottle then if that helps to make her not be bad. and all you really have to do is rub her nose in then kitty litter to make her go there? that is it? that is easy..

No, no!!! Don't rub kitty's nose in the litter box - rub her paws!!! Mama cats are very good about training their babies; they just need to know where the litter box is. Then, don't move it! Once it's in one room, kitty will always go to that area for litter duty!

When you spray kitty's nose for being bad, be sure to say, "NO!" or "Bad Kitty!" while doing it. Eventually, you won't have to use the spray, the words will suffice.

Neutered males are much less likely to "mark" their territory. If you have a sunny window that's safe for kitty to climb up on, all the better. But make sure that places like the kitchen counter are off limits!

If you're taken any behavior modification classes, you can get kitty to do whatever you want. Cats aren't dumb, but they will ignore you if they think you are!

Enjoy!

valkyrie · #11 10-21-2003, 01:38 AM

When Peep was just a wee kitten, she sometimes had a problem with "going outside the box" but she would always go in the same corner. After that happened a few times, we just put a litter box in that corner, and if I ever saw her getting ready to "go" somewhere other than the box, I'd pick her up and put her in the box and scratch her paws in the litter. Problem solved!

Honeychile is exactly right -- mom teaches the kittens and you shouldn't have any litter box problems at all. Good luck!

phisigduchesscv · #12 10-21-2003, 02:17 AM

My recommendation if you're not going to be home to really litter train the kitten, contact a rescue organization (if you have a PetSmart near you they can help) and adopt an older kitten or even better a cat that is over a year old. They're litter box trained, usually been fixed, had all their shots, and are just as lovable as kittens.

Good luck

TigerLilly · #13 10-21-2003, 06:03 AM

In line with what phisigduchesscv said, please consider adopting a kitten or adult cat from a shelter, cat rescue organization, or something similar, as opposed to from the pet store! Pet store animals can often have sicknesses from poor treatment that you don't find out about until you get them home.

mmcat · #14 10-21-2003, 07:42 AM

my vote is always for the humane society or animal rescue mission. my current guy came from the humane society and he's a lover and can be feisty kujo cat. but he was an easy cat to train.

etahannah · #15 10-21-2003, 12:35 PM

we are looking for a cat from a resuce/adoption place. we went to this place yesterday and it was in such bad condition that i made us leave. i wanted to take the animals with me cause it made me so sad to see such horrible conditions for these animals.

we are going to looking at the humane society today and this pet guards animal shelter too. i am not sure if we are still going to get one right away. we kinda talk about waiting until dec when i dont have class and will be around more to help train it. plus he will be in iceland for two weeks in nov and that would leave me all alone with the kitty and trying to try her along with work, school and DG. so we talked about that too.

this may fall through just because of time constraints between our schdules. i will keep you updated!!

thanks for all your support and ideas. i will let you know what happens tonight!!