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Never owned a cat before...getting a kitten on Wednesday. Any advice?
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[quote:KungPowMeowMeow:MV8yMDcwMjUxXzM0ODQ1MjExXzEzQ0VDODBB] I have always had a cat, and my advice would be don't chase the kitty, let the kitty come to you on her own terms, especially at first. If you chase her and grab her, she won't trust you and will always run if you try to pick her up. Sit on the floor with her, let her crawl up on your lap, talk to her softly. Then practice picking her up, but when she struggles to get down, immediately let her down. Cats always have to be in control and will panic if they realize they don't have it. Over time, she will let you pick her up when you need to without protest. You know you have her trust when she grooms herself next to you. Some people get annoyed by the licking, but I see it as the ultimate compliment. Also, if you want to tell her you love her, make eye contact and slowly blink. In their world if another cat blinks slowly it means all is well, and there are no threats around. It will put her at ease and eventually she will give you "lovey eyes" back. Someone had mentioned the carboard scratcher-these are amazing and so cheap! Mine LOVES her super scratcher. She has never scratched furniture because the cardboard feels better to her. To get her on your sleep schedule and not up all night making noise, play with her for about 30 minutes before bed. Make sure it is really physical playing too, like having her chase the laser pointer around the room so she is running and jumping. This will wear her out so she is ready to sleep when its bed time. Then when you get into bed, spend 5 or 10 minutes petting her and talking to her softly. She will be your life long cuddle buddy and you will avoid what I call "the 1am freakout". Try to introduce her to many different people while she is still young, and have them handle her, pet her, talk to her. This helps socialize her so she won't run and hide every time you have a guest or when you take her to the vet. Have the visitor give her a treat and she will relate new people with treats and come running when she hears a knock on the door. My kitty does this and people think its hilarious. She greets them by the door and will put a paw on their leg as soon as they walk in. Then she will follow them and plop right on their lap as soon as they sit down. She no longer wants treats, she just wants some pets and love from them. She has turned many cat haters into cat lovers this way. Have fun with your new friend and give her as much love as possible! [/quote]
Original Message
My daughter called this morning said they found a little kitten in their barn again (last July they found 2). Anyway, she thinks the kittey was dumped as they have 4 barn cats and all have been fixed. She wore me down and I agreed to take it even though I've never had a house cat before.
I'm taking her to the vet Wednesday to get it checked-out and get any shots necessary and probably de-wormed. Tomorrow I'm getting food, toys, litter box, and scratching post. Anything else I should have? I really don't want her to start tearing up my furniture so any advice anyone can offer on deterring that kind of behavior would be appreciated.
I already named her Winnifred or Winnie for short.
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