A new kitty.

[murielm99]

We haven't had a house cat in about three years, not since our beloved Claudia had to cross the bridge at about age sixteen.

We live in the country. We have a slew of black and white cats who live in the corn crib. We have them because some idiot dropped off a pregnant mamma cat here a couple of years ago. We gave one to a neighbor, and it is now a pampered pet. We feed these outside kitties and take care of them. Most of them are quite tame.

Now we have a somewhat undersized female tabby kitten. She seems to be a drop-off, too. She gets along well with the other cats, but we think she might make a nice house cat. She is going to the vet today for all her veterinary care. The vet will keep her for a couple of days.

We don't have any cat paraphernalia any more, except for a carrier. I need some advice, please. We need some sort of climbing perch, and a scratching post. What has worked well for you? Also, this kitten will have to shit in the litter box or she can't live inside. I don't mean to sound harsh. I have owned three cats who lived inside. All were loved and spoiled and lived long lives. I think this will be okay because this kitten is about six months old.

Any cat parent advice is welcome. I have not had a kitten in a long time.

[CountAllVotes]

1. Cat furniture

& congrats on your new kitty!

I buy a couple of pieces of sisal cat furniture from this place about once a year. I have two BIG tomcats and one female that is smaller but a toughie I tell ya!

Click on CATS https://www.sisalrugs.com/

If a window pops up and you give them your email address they've give you 10% on your 1st order.

I have one each of these two pieces:



and a 40" high one of these too!


I'd be up the creek without this sisal furniture. It is used constantly every day.

They love love love it!
It is catnip scented too!

Best of luck!

[murielm99]

2. Thank you!

[CountAllVotes]

3. Being as you have one cat only

It should last a few years or more I'd guess.

Your are most welcome!!

[eppur_se_muova]

10. They also advise a place to lie in the sun, and grass to eat occasionally.

3 Smart Strategies To Keeping Your Indoor Cat Happy

[murielm99]

12. We have a sunny window seat.

Cats love it there. Our old cat loved to sit in the front picture window, too. There is plenty of light and a lot of places for lying in the sun.

[Doreen]

4. Kitty trees that are high and have places to hide are the best.

They have their own domain where they can monitor their subjects. Before you let her out get the pan already for her and her food and water. Take her immediately to the pan and keep doing that every half an hour at least for the first day ( particularly when she eats and drinks ) as most cats learn that quickly. An easy to find and to get to but out of the way is a good cat pan area. Lots and lots of different toys You will learn which ones she likes the most. Have the nails clipped as to start off with teaching her to have them clipped to help with saving your furniture. Having a small scratching post somewhere else is good. Praise her endlessly when she uses her tree and post to scratch. I have found that cats particularly like sisal rope wrapped around trees and posts. If you want to trim the nails yourself you can use a fingernail clipper but clip from the side not guillotine style the way we use it. If her nails are white just cut below where it is red. If her nails are black look at the bottom and cut just before the nail starts filling up. It will be hollow where you can cut. Doing it yourself is way cheaper.

[murielm99]

5. Thank you.

[procon]

6. If you like Amazon, they have everything you can imagine to make cats happy.

I bought a really nice cat tree there, its almost to the ceiling with hidey holes to nap in and lots of room to jump, climb, scratch and play. Look at the beds too, I have one cat that likes a snuggly, plush cave type bed to hide in, the other likes his plain cushion.

Hundreds of toys to choose from, but get soft things to chase, and anything on a string that you can drag or fly around is good fun. I have a water fountain that my cats love, it encourages them to drink more water, and it funny to see them play with the water. You might need a brush, a shedding/mat comb for grooming.

While you're at the vet, ask about what foods they recommend for your kitten. Generally the canned pate food has less filler than the other varieties. I feed a grain free kibble and my cats like it better than even the premium brands I bought before, their coats look better and they don't barf any more.

They have every kind of litter box you can imagine, from cheap to high tech marvels. She probably already used to pooping in dirt, but to train hr to use a litter box, I'd get 2-3 small cardboard boxes and cut down at least one side for an exit. Add a little litter and place them near the feeding area, in the traffic route to the food, and the sleep or play area until she gets the idea. After that, buy a good litter box or two that are easy to clean.

Also, early on, start getting your kitty accustomed to liking her feet and toes touched and examined so that you can trim her claws without any fuss.

Have fun!

[shenmue]

7. Skweeeeee

[japple]

8. Try to use an environmentally friendly cat litter. Something like pine pellets, which you

can throw out to compost after a few years. You can buy 40 lb. bags of this stuff for about $7.00--Equine Pellet Bedding.

Just give that lucky kitty a whole bunch o'love and a few toys and she will be one happy critter.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. If you find some poop you know is *hers*, just transfer it to the litter box.

Once it smells like *her* litter box, she'll make a habit of using it. I adopted two ferals and didn't have the slightest trouble getting them to use the box. They use carpet-covered scratching posts and a disposable scratching pad of corrugated cardboard (pretty cheap but don't last).

If you can spare the expense, please have those other kitties spayed or neutered, even if you leave them outside and untamed. Else you'll be overrun with more and more generations of inbred kitties. Look for a local animal charity to provide low cost spaying/neutering and shots. The vet I used gave a discounted exam and all shots on the condition that the animal was spayed/neutered at the same time.

[murielm99]

11. I have to tell you that my husband is a dork.

This kitty is a little boy. HE is at the vet overnight, being given a thorough physical and whatever he needs. I don't know if he is big enough to be neutered yet, but he will be in the near future.

My husband is a farmer and should have known better. LOL. I did not check. I took his word for kitty's gender. It makes no difference to me. He is a cute, friendly little guy.

[haele]

13. Cats will take to the litterbox easily.

If he's a little guy, when you get him back, keep him in a quiet room with the litter box and not a lot of throw rugs or blankets that might distract him, and he'll start going there. If you want to be sure, mix some "Cat Attract" powder (you can get it at most pet stores or online) in with his litter to begin with, and he'll get the idea very quickly. Cats can be picky about litter, but Cat Attract seems to be pretty universally acceptable. It's also expensive and may not be what you want, so that's why I recommend just getting the powder to begin with, and keep it on hand for when there's litter box once you're confident he won't use the litter box as a negotiation chip whenever he's upset.

Make sure you always have fresh, filtered water available. Boy cats are very prone to cystitis or crystals in their urine, which causes litter box problems in the future.

At six months old, pounce toys and fetch toys are best. This is also about the time when a cat develops a desire for catnip; so you'll quickly find out if your boy is one of the 10% who aren't affected.

Our Goblin, now three, still hasn't outgrown her favorite "mass o pipe cleaners" fetch, toss and pounce toys she co-opted from the then 3-year old grand-kid's attempt at making Christmas tree ornaments back when she was a kitten, so your toys don't have to be sophisticated or expensive.

A laser pointer is also always good.

As for cat trees or cat furniture, you need to find out if he's a climber or a caver. Cave kitties prefer boxes and small, lurking openings. Climbers need cat trees that can get them up on bookcases and high shelves where they can survey the world.

Haele

[Rhiannon12866]

14. I agree. I found my cat as a kitten in a grocery store parking lot and he knew to use the litterbox

Without any problems at all. And thanks for the insight about "a climber or a caver!" I did not know that - but I do know which one my Felix is, he's looking down at me from the cat tree hammock as I type this, LOL. He climbs up on everything!

And I've found that they also enjoy window seats. They're not expensive, there are different kinds available and it keeps them entertained. My previous cat loved to nap there. Indoor cats still enjoy watching life outside, birds and squirrels - the back of my house looks out on the woods.