Feeding your new kitten
Dry Food:
Kittens need dry food available at all
times. They eat small amounts and often. I like to feed a variety
instead of the same old thing each day. The main thing is to buy
small bags to insure that your kitten is receiving fresh food. I
feed the top brands, including: Science Diet Feline Growth, Precise,
Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Felidae, Iams, Nutro, Max Kitten, etc. ..
(Belles of Siam kittens are currently eating Felidae, Science Diet,
Iams and Nutro).
The best thing you can do is to
READ the ingredient labels. Look for dry/wet food which contain
no corn, by-products or artificial preservatives.
Canned food:
Kittens receive a little canned food in morning and night. Just
a few spoonfuls of either Fancy Feast, Whiskas, or Friskies chicken,
turkey or beef are appreciated. I don't give fish to kittens, especially
tuna.
People food:
If you have a holiday turkey your kitten would love having a
small bowl full.
Many seasonings are not good for cats, including onion. Although
many commercial canned pet food contains onion??
Cats are quirky animals and often develop a taste for strange things,
such as French fries, etc. A small amount of this sort of food is
okay. It is a good idea to check a list of poisonous foods and plants
first though.
Review poisonous plant list.
Water:
Fresh, non-chlorinated water daily in either a ceramic or stainless
bowl. Not in plastic.
Never never never let your cat's water dish run
out of fresh water!
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Litterboxes and Litter
The hooded litter boxes will help
contain odor and help keep the cat litter from being spread all
over the floor. It is recommended that you use non-clumping cat
litter at least until your kittens are 6 months old. Any type of
plain clay litter is fine.
Keep a kitty litter box on two floors
if you have two floors, initially.
Keep a close eye on the litter box
to make sure they are peeing and pooping frequently enough, especially
when you first get a kitten.
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Beds and Play Equipment
Bed:
Those fuzzy cat beds are nice but be prepared
to share your own bed.
Play equipment:
Kittens love running and chasing furry mice, balls, feather
toys, etc. Siamese are very interactive with their humans. You can
stuff an old sock with cat nip and poly fill and they will love
you for it. They love having a tower to climb and use as a place
to scratch their claws. Additional scratching posts or corrugated
scratching blocks are appreciated. Empty cardboard boxes can provide
hours of play for a kitten. Wadded up newspaper is also fun to play
with. Small paper wads of around 1" in diameter are great fun
to chase after. In no time at all your kitten should be able to
teach you the game of fetch. Before buying one of those puffy
balls, see if it pulls apart easily. If so, do not buy it. Kittens
chasing after Ping pong balls is more entertaining than
watching television.
Toys that cats seem to like best:
- tiny 99 cent mice available in many stores are a hit
- toys on elastic cords, especially the type that hang form a doorway
Other things that they really appreciate:
- cat perch in windows
- scratching posts, cardboard scratching pads
Review poisonous plant
list
Collars: Stretchy safety collars only
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Acclimatizing Your New Kitten
When kitty first arrives, keep him
in a small warm quiet room for a day or two and visit them and hold
and talk to them softly. They will be way too tired to play.
When they start to explore, introduce them to their new toys.
Then as the days so by, introduce your house to them bit by bit,
so they don't get lost. It is really fun to see them explore
and test out new things. The room where they started out will
be their safe room. So it might be best that the room be your
bedroom with litter box, food and water in your bathroom (hope they
are jointed rooms). That way, you will spend the majority
of
your time with them, both day AND night!!! Within the month,
your kitten should become part of the household and knows her way
around like she was born there!!
If you are introducing a new kitten
into a home with existing cats, wipe them all down with a baby wipe
or something with a light odor. That way, they all smell similar
and are more likely to accept each other. Gradually introduce
the kitten to her new family and surroundings.
If the cat is going to be a travel
buddy, get it used to a car early. Let it sit in car with
car in garage, short errand type trips, etc.
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Training Your New Kitten
I prefer a harness for Gus when
traveling or going out on the leash.
Place rocks or tinfoil in
potted plants if digging is a problem.
It is easier to distract kitty with
a play toy than to create a head-on "NO!" situation.
Any time a kitten is anxious, play
is best way to distract it out of that mood.
It is not good to pick up kitty
by scruff of neck, the way you see mom do.
You can train kitty not to run out
the open door by squirting him when he tries (with you out of his
sight, it is to be hoped).
I like to clip my cats' nails about
every week, as an option to getting them declawed. I think
some people don't realize this is an easy alternative.
For furniture that is the target
of scratching, use some double-sided tape on the spot for a while,
and they will quit rapidly.
Tin foil on the countertops to keep
the cats from jumping up there. Also, if the males are spraying
a particular spot and you put tin foil there, they don't like the
noise!
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Grooming Your New Kitten
Clip nails often to get kitten accustomed;
if necessary, just one nail at a time followed by a treat.
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Cat-Proofing Your House
- watch for electrical cords, etc, things that cats
can get stuck in
- cleaning chemicals, antifreeze should be carefully kept away from
pets
- don't leave food in glass containers on the shelf where they might
knock them off to get at the food
- keep toilet seats down
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Pet Insurance
- often a good deal, especially the kind that pays
for routine visits and vaccinations, etc.
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The Best Cat Books
- The Everything Cat Book
- Is My Cat OK
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Poisonous Plants
The Cat Fancier's Association "Plants and Your
Cat" is an informative article:
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html
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