Getting my first kittenS *pics Post 36*

[April G]

del

[MudPies]

indoor or outdoor or both?

kittens with a laser light beam to chase are hilarious:giggle so I say you need a laser pointer for the kitten to hunt.

food, litter, water:shrug3

I do vax my cats- but honestly have not researched it so I won't claim an educated opinion. mine do like to go outside though, so I feel like they could be exposed to stuff.

[Heather Micaela]

I would have the kitty stay a bit longer with mama if possible. 8 is the minimum, 12 is best.

I keep indoor cats and get the upper respiratory and rabies only. De-worming is good too. And of course we fix them. After that, I do not come back :shifty

To de-flea, use advantage when they are OLDER. But only if you need to.

Have set places for kitty to scratch. Two litter boxes are better than one. Don't keep it near her food. Handle her a lot if you want them to take kid abuse. Used canned food. Dry only as back up. Dry is really not good for them.

Pick a really cute name and expect her to be wild until they are 6 months. Then they start to mellow...some:giggle

Enjoy your new furbaby.

Most important:
POST PICTURES!!!:heart

[April G]

del

[MudPies]

then for sure ask the vet which vaxes they recommend bc of communicable diseases for your area in cats:yes and definitly do rabies every year in case kitty gets a raccoon bite

and I agree totally with heather-- especially the part about the pics:heart

[April G]

del

[Heather Micaela]

well. *I* would pick the orange and white, but that is because I am tired of having cats that would look the same if I used b/w film :giggle

#1Black tuxedo
#2All Black
#3Mask and mantle b/w
#4Grey
:no

[made4more]

orange cats are boring ;) i looove 'looking at' cats, and orange ismy lest fave color. and we have2 orange cats,lol. one i've had for about 11 years, and one that is a stray that we happen to feed.

i love calicos they usullay have VERy sweet dispositions. we haveone of those too.

[Heather Micaela]

i love calicos they usullay have VERy sweet dispositions. we haveone of those too.
:yes My grandpa has a true black, browinsh-orange, and white calico. She lives just with him and yet is very sweet and good natured to visitors.:heart

[MudPies]

our calicos have always had attitude issues:shifty our vet agrees, and says only tortiseshell are worse:shrug3

I think white or grey;)

[Heather Micaela]

I want to know the name reference and I am avoiding googling. Though it reminds me of Cosby show IIRC.

The vet techs are gonna love that name on their paperwork:giggle

I think Zzyzx (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zzyzx,_California) would be a fun cat name too.

[April G]

Rudy asks her siblings what Z-R-B-T-T spells and her siblings tell her NOTHING and are quite rude about it... Cosby comes in and asks what's wrong, so she asks him, and he says it's Zerbitt, and when she asks what it means he gives her a raspberry kiss on the cheek. They use the term all through the rest of the show and are always giving each other zrbtts... :heart I love it.

[made4more]

awww, weird.. my gramma has a calico that is the sweetest loveyist kitty ever... I have one.. the neighbors have 2, sweetest babies!!

but really- i bet it just depends. :shrug3

[April G]

My friend said the two calicos are the most laid back and sweet... That's sort of the disposition that I'm wanting. I just REALLY do not want a cat that dashes in and under furniture. :hunh I prefer a snuggly cat. :yes

[Wonder Woman]

all of my favorite cats have been calicoes :yes My current one (13 years old now!) is gray, peach, and white :heart (dilute calico, technically, or a tortie/calico. But lots of fun!)

[Llee]

I vote Cosby Show too. :)

Instead of color, go over and play with them a lot. I picked out my kitty because he was so funny and not stupid. :shifty His sister never figured out that the ball in the track could be pushed around the ball in the track. She would sit there for a long time, hoping the ball would come back.

Preco cracked me up though, because he would sit and wait to be carried up the stairs and just was the most loving (co-dependent!) cat ever. So I picked him. And then, since I didn't want him to be lonely, I also picked out his look-alike brother. They were both tiger-striped; one was brownish, the other grayish.

[April G]

I am not picking based on color. :no Just thought it would be fun for people to guess which one we end up with...

[Llee]

:O

Okay. Don't mind me. Out balancing the checkbook, so I misread your post. :shifty

[itzj]

Get two. :D I do think kittens are easier in pairs and they are less lonely when you have to go out or confine them to a room.

Do you have other cats or pets? I've integrated new cats 5 times and 4 of those involved kittens. I'm happy to help if you need it.

[UltraMother]

I agree with two kittens (if you can, they love the company), and try to play with them first to see their personalities. Generally, calicoes and male are more aggressive. I adore orange tabby cats, personally. :D

[Heather Micaela]

I am not picking based on color. :no Just thought it would be fun for people to guess which one we end up with...
You should do a poll
:)
Get two. :D I do think kittens are easier in pairs and they are less lonely when you have to go out or confine them to a room.



Yeah I agree if it is possible. I adopted out two pairs and mine stayed with mama. It is better that way if you can :yes

[Johns_Gal]

My friend said the two calicos are the most laid back and sweet... That's sort of the disposition that I'm wanting. I just REALLY do not want a cat that dashes in and under furniture. :hunh I prefer a snuggly cat. :yes

IME, the big chunky kitten is the sweet laid back one. The runt is exceptionally needy. In between, there was always one with an attitude that could sass the whole litter and sometimes mama too, and one who was playful as could be but not a snuggler. We always had four, and no matter who their parents were, they followed the scheme. :lol

Mind, if she's not handling them often they will be wilder than otherwise. And when you get him/her home, hold the kitten often. They may scamper, but holdiong teaches them you're safe.

And... boys grow up to be more snuggly. I adored my girls, but they have a very different attitude than my boys.

Uh, and about the wildness thing... I really don't consider a kitten a cat until about 18 months-two years. My tom, despite coming from a breeder of some very nice cats, was a tasmanian devil until two. Now, he'd purr in my lap all day if I let him. Sopme of that was probably because the breeder didn't expect manners out of her animals and I very much do. :shifty But, just sayin'.

ETA: mine are/were bengals. So perhaps a bit different than a normal cat. :lol Perhaps.

[April G]

del

[itzj]

Uh, and about the wildness thing... I really don't consider a kitten a cat until about 18 months-two years.

I agree with this. They aren't as crazy as tiny kittens, but they are like rowdy teenagers for a long time. But in a good way.

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but ended up with two LARGE litters. :doh ELEVEN kittens. :jawdrop :giggle

Get two. :poke :shifty Trust me you won't regret it and it really isn't any more work.

[SouthPaw]

Something else you might want to consider is getting heartworm meds for your cat, especially if he/she will be allowed outside. Cats can get heartworms too, except unlike dogs, usually the first symptom is sudden death... so you won't know until it is too late :(

[April G]

del

[Sparrow]

Smudgy one! I knew a cat who was smudgey gray. He name was smudge. He was a sweet cat.

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I'll consider it. :sigh Oh, and we have two parakeets. They are in cages most of the time though cause one wasn't socialized, and the other is a total pest and won't stop pulling your arm hairs or pecking your clothes. :giggle

:giggle. I love that about birds. My mom has a love bird and it loves to pull at my hair.

[April G]

del

[itzj]

I'll consider it. :sigh Oh, and we have two parakeets. They are in cages most of the time though cause one wasn't socialized, and the other is a total pest and won't stop pulling your arm hairs or pecking your clothes. :giggle

If all you have is birds, I would definitely get two kittens. They really are so much easier in pairs. They will wear our their energy on each other instead of expecting you to do it all (especially in the middle of the night when you want to sleep). They'll sleep together and keep each other company when no one is around. If you go out of town, they aren't totally alone. The work isn't really any more. You are already scooping litter and with two you can still get away with one box as long as it isn't puny. And you'll be able to use up a can of wet food before it gets too funky in the fridge.

And your friend will love you forever for taking two. :) I've had to give away two from a litter before (we kept the rest). It was a relief to not have to search more and made it a little less sad knowing the siblings were still together.

[tree_hugger]

Furminator. You need one of these if you have carpet, or rugs, or sofas, or beds with linens or clothing of any kind in your house. They are excellent.

www.furminator.com

You can get them cheap on Ebay.

:)

[domesticzookeeper]

Get two. :poke :shifty Trust me you won't regret it and it really isn't any more work.

:yes

My brother's girlfriend got a kitten. Just one. Adorable, but a bit of an unholy little terror. He's several months old, and she's actually starting to like him now :shifty

Another friend got two kittens. Rowdy, but nowhere near as much of a handful.

Third friend started with one kitten, and he was such a handful that they got a second kitten, and things actually calmed down ;)

Meanwhile, we raised four kittens, and they had the easiest. kittenhood. ever. :kiss


So, yeah, I'm a fan of multiples :giggle

[Johns_Gal]

Oh yeah. I once had a guy come out wanting *one* kitten, but quickly decided everyone needs a buddy of the same species. We had three brothers, two brown spotteds and one snow. He seemed like a great pet owner, had a couple twenty year old horses he'd had from weaning, and his old cat had just died at fifteen.

All three boys went home together. :heart Settled in well and had a ball. I was a little hesitant at first, but the three were such a team. The big snuggly goofy guy, the middle playful one, and the small needy dude.

I often think my Lou would have been easier to manage as a baby if our girl had liked him. She's about six months older than he and hated and despised the little interloper.

[April G]

del

[believer]

can't wait to see the photos. Definitely take them to the vet when you get them and get them vaccinated and wormed. They will need worm med a week or so after that as well probably. If they will be outdoors keep them vaxed and get the drop on the back flea prevention once they are old enough - frontline or whatever. It is worth it.

We still have our two little foster kittens that we got when they were about 3 weeks old - they were found and taken to the animal shelter - no mom - we had to syringe feed them for weeks. They are now almost big enough to go back to the animal shelter. We will miss them. They are great kittens.
The kids we babysit for named them Elvis Purrsley and George Pussington.

[itzj]

:rockon

So excited for you. :heart

[April G]

del

[Marrae]

:hearts Aww....gorgeous. :melting

[Weezie]

Wow. :melting

[Heather Micaela]

Zander looks a lot like some of the kitties from my litter :heart And Zrbttt is adorable :yes

Congratulations, kitty mama.

[SouthPaw]

SO CUTE!!! :hearts

[Heather Micaela]

The kids we babysit for named them Elvis Purrsley and George Pussington.
:lol

[believer]

They are very cute! :heart

[shaslove]

:melting

[domesticzookeeper]

Awwwwwwwwwwwww :melting :heart :heart

[UltraMother]

:heart

[momofmany]

Pardon me while I :melting... I have a calico and a grey tuxedo cat -You have excellent taste.:rockon

[itzj]

:melting :hearts

[Johns_Gal]

I need a kitten. :heart Mine are all grownup and stuff. :impouting