Never owned a cat before...getting a kitten on Wednesday. Any advice?

I would definitely accustom your kitten to the bathing process since you may need to bathe her at some point to kill fleas.Use warm water and get in the bathtub with the kitten.She will be frightened, but speak gently and be reassuring. Be sure to rinse thoroughly and blot her with a towel,
and use a hairdryer until thoroughly dry. I keep my kitty in the warm bathroom after a bath until she is completely dry.

I like to bathe kittens and cats using liquid lavender soap,
( Dr. Bronners glycerin/lavender soap works great. It is nontoxic, has terrific
knockdown against fleas , and YOU are not being bathed in pesticide that way
either ! )

You'll need something to carry Kitty in however.

might be good to give her a gentle flea bath in that organic mix upon arrival (prevents spreading potential fleas to the house as much as possible). I think that is the stuff i used at my mom's house and it helped kick the fleas on the 4 cats and 3 dogs. That was a hell of a day. >.<

A bit weird but after the kitty bath i towel dry the kitty and wrap her up in towels and send her to the bowels of my bedding and tuck her in and leave her with an air stream of course. Normally the kitten figures out she will be warm and cozy in the towel and blanket and cuddles up and purrs. It is rare to have a kitten flee the warmth after a bath.

might be good to give her a gentle flea bath in that organic mix upon arrival (prevents spreading potential fleas to the house as much as possible). I think that is the stuff i used at my mom's house and it helped kick the fleas on the 4 cats and 3 dogs. That was a hell of a day. >.<

A bit weird but after the kitty bath i towel dry the kitty and wrap her up in towels and send her to the bowels of my bedding and tuck her in and leave her with an air stream of course. Normally the kitten figures out she will be warm and cozy in the towel and blanket and cuddles up and purrs. It is rare to have a kitten flee the warmth after a bath.

DO NOT FEED IT TUNA! It causes malignant tumors in cats! I lost two this way.

Also, Check the ingredients in the cat food, never buy one that starts with corn or any type of meal.. It will cause kidney problems, and it bad for the overall health.

Keep lots of fresh, clean water down for it..

A good scooping litter, and cleaned at the minimum once a day.. dump weekly, and scrub the box every other week with baking soda and vinegar. Make sure to rinse well, and dry after. The first time you do this make sure the cat knows the box is still there with the fresh litter, and adjusts to the smell. Mine would sit there and watch me do the litter box and wait.. then as soon as it was done, would climb right in it. I would always ask them why they couldn't do it before I cleaned it. lol.

I would recommend keeping it indoors, people can be really cruel to cats, and there is a lot of feline diseases running around. If you do intend on letting it outdoors, keep it inside for at the very minimum 3-5 days at first, so it can adjust to its surroundings, otherwise it will likely run away.

As far as tearing up furniture, a squirt gun, or spray bottle, with water, and a firm no. Mine understood hand gestures.. After they started understanding "no," I would start snapping my fingers and pointing down right after, while saying no. After that, all I had to do was snap and point, and that was that.


Lifetime cat owner here..

I love my kitty...

She loves chasing tin foil balls...dunno why...but she loves'em.

...and she has physic powers!

I worked at animal shelter before so can offer a few things.

Put the scratching post near entrances. cats scratch to mark their territory with thier scent. same when they kneed you or rub their face on you or thier rear. their scent glands are in all those spots.

if scratching is still a bother after placing near entrances then try scratch deterant material. I forget what its called. you put it on the parts they scratch. their claws dont like it.

keep litter box cleaned daily several times if you can. they are very clean and dont like a messy box. when its messy then they start going other places. I used clumping kind. without scent. they have massively strong sniffers and scented actually is horrid to them.

sweeping up around the box daily is awesome to. it lets them know you think they are the world. Which they are.
I always got a house type litter box. with a huge dome over it. less mess outside box.
baking soda is best for odor control if you feel its nessasary. dont buy the expensive stuffs that might have borax in it. it can cause horrid health issues.

hair ball remedy is important if you cannot brush the cat every day. or every other day. even short hairs have to be brushed to cut down on hair balls. I used coconut oil right on her fur in a small amount like quarter teaspoon once every two weeks and she never hacked up hairballs.
ea cat is diff on that though.
hairball food is ok but I used a non grain formula. most cats after a few years throw up regular when fed corn grains.

we dont have flea probs here. but when we were in florida I used store bought flea control the once a month stuff. it worked great. for house spray I used orange oil. it is in insecticide dept of hardware store. its supposed to be safe for pets. I always used when the were visitng ex.

keep bathroom door closed as most cats love to tear up toilet paper rolls and shower curtains. this will save you aggrevation now.
thy love getting on tables. if you have bread out keep it in a container. sometimes cats love bread.

And just like kids keep things up that shouldnt be gotten into like packs or cartons of smokes. or medicine in tubes that can be chewed on. wires are a big draw to cats or kittens. try best to child proof home. :D
mine all loved the tiny fake mice. not the fur kind just plain tampon looking things. blech. but they loved it.
cat nip toys is awesome too. the kind you have to replace teh cat nip often.
make sure to put it up at night. cause if not you will be woke up all night as they are nocturnal.
they love under the bed. the box spring is magic to them and they will try to tear up the under side of it.

A good bonding method i learned from our vet tech is to get a warm wash cloth not soaking but wrung out. just stroke the kitten long strokes head to tail like your grooming her. this will increase a bond and fast. :D

I am sure I forgot other things but this is good.

oh ya. and for goodness sake microchip your pet. if she gets loose by golly if someone finds her and takes her to naimal control they will contact you. :D even if its bad news. least you would know.
leave the area alone for three days. no baths either.

Enjoy. :D they all rock.

When you're not home, the cat WILL go on your cooking countertops, and WILL shimmy its anus into said countertops, and WILL massage its litterbox paws into the same.

If you don't thoroughly clean your countertops ALWAYS before you cook, you WILL get said fecal matter and other such things into your egg salad.

To protect your furniture get her in the habit of having you clip her nails. Use a human nail clipper and JUST BLUNT THE TIPS every couple of weeks. Get her use to you touching and rubbing her toes. She'll be fine with it. All you need to do is press on each toe, the nail will come out and just clip the tip--only. Easy.

If you do that, her nails won't be sharp enough to damage anything. The key here is to just take A LITTLE. If you cut too much and you hit the quick of her nail, you will NEVER get anywhere near her nails again.

Nice thing you're doing taking in this kitty. I'm sure she'll be a great companion for you! Show her lots of affection and attention. Be patient, kittens have a lot of energy and she'll want to play. Keep us posted!

That's ridiculous--and untrue. You obviously don't like cats.

Cat's are nice people, they give a lot of affection, very social and the purring sound is very soothing.

Treat your cat well and you will love having it around.

They do stink a bit, i won't deny it.
I've learned to clean the litter box at least daily.

Their wilder than dogs having been domesticated most recently (ancient egypt, dogs were around us way before) and when they give their love, you've earned it.

Their more loyal than people think, I battled an invading racoon with a cat at my side. We drove the invader away lol.


Best Wishes

Flint River Ranch... look into it if you want really good quality and want it delivered.

Okay, back and I've read the responses...should I try to bathe her the second or third day I've had her?

Any further info on the scratching thingy. Any luck with the cardboard scrathers?

Just asking about the cardboard scratchers because I have leather furniture and although, not my decision, I do not want it wrecked

Also, I don't give my dog water from the tap, however, I do buy Arrowhead Spring water is that floride free...nevermind, I can go online.

What about picking cats up by their necks. I hate the way that looks and where exactly do you grab them? Do you grab between the should blades or nearer to the neck

Seriously?????

Okay, brush the cat daily. CHECK

I appreciate any and all information about cats. I never had one and appreciating, loving and a win-win is what I'm after. Cats were never forte. I've had lots of animals but cats seemed to be just around to take care of vermin, so thanks for the advice.

^^^ This...oh my...NEVER introduce any premium beef or free range chicken or prawns, or lamb chops, coz they will put the hissy fit on and not eat anything else..until they are sick of the high end stuff! However, I speak in jest as, in reality, perhaps the biggest danger and saddest part, is renal failure, so a balanced LOW phosphate diet is required.

Balanced food.

But yes, they are loving, they are aloof and endearing.

A collar and bell if you are concerned about the birds, as cats are both instinctive and inquisitive hunters. Very opportunistic.

But yeah, as far as "getting to know them"...singing lullabies will see their little heads drop off to sleep, and in fact, singing set songs for set things isnt a bad way of "training".

I think that the best cat is a happy cat, one who has its own bed, but can equally come and snuggle in.

As well as that, cats have the ability to sense things we cannot..so you may throw away the garlic and other such stuff!

Enjoy Winnie, great idea to get her to use the loo if you can...cat shit stinks.


I hope you have a happy life together, but, please, for all sakes, look after her kidneys.

I'll send pics of Winnifred when she comes around tomorrow evening. Thanks everyone.

If it isn't declawed say goodbye to all your furniture, now, and don't punish them for clawing up your shit as it is nature for them.

If it's a female and not neutured, say goodbye to many sleepless nights when she is adult and in heat and trying to loudly yowl up a male to breed with for 3 or 4 straight nights.

If it's a male be prepared when he is an adult to piss on (mark territory)everything that is 2 feet or closer to the floor.

Buy a lint roller, no change that, buy 1000 lint rollers including the pocket carry sized ones. You can never find one when you need one.

Cut a few inches off of your own hair and put it in your food to get used to it now, because pretty soon your going to have cat hair in your food and you will need to choke it down.

Never ever ever ever walk away from a hot eye on the stove uncovered, cats jump on them and get their feet stuck to red hot stove parts, it's hell getting bit up trying to scrape them off the hot parts while their feet pads rip off.

Never ever ever ever, just toss any old thing in your dryer and turn it on. Car's love to snooze in dryers and it's not pretty when you find it later, thinking it was just sneakers all that time.

Um, I think that is about it.
Congrats on your new cat, you can expect it to live about 12-15 years, by then you will want to die or kill the thing.

Train your cat to use the toilet!

woops, meant to say..."say HELLO to many sleepless nights"

And don't listen or believe these other people saying you can control a cats behavior, beyond training them to piss in your toilet they are rude and want everything their way and hard to train....in my lifetime my mother owned 40 fricken cats at different times.

Your not getting a kitten, the kitten is getting you!
Hello Mouse!

The litter box should be one of a kind in your house. If you use a cardboard box the cat will use any cardboard box left open. My dad had about four really neat metal boxes without lids. He used them for all kinds of tools he carried around the yard or garage. He gave the cat ONE for a litter box. Cat used them all. I was told my cat left to live with a female cat and start a family but I'm not so sure I believe that.

We did see a litter with very similar color and markings. So maybe he got married like mom said.

Wow, that video on training a cat to use the toliet was great. Doesn't seem like that much work just having time to do it. I have the time.

cats are easy imo .. you already have pets ... treat it like mama kitty would ... love and correction ... let it sit on your chest and it'll love ya back

you got a lot of good advice already ... don't over think it .. it's a cat ... teach it boundaries and you will be fine

I actually started this thread stating I never owned a cat...however, I did make friends with a feral cat years ago. He slept in my yard every night and I feed him. He never let anyone get close to him. I eventually, towards the end of his life, was able to pet him and comfort him, he was sick.

Thanks for eveything people. From Kibble, to spray bottles, to loving, and patience...looking forward to getting Winnifred and bringing her home.

Never let it eat chocolate or oignons, it could kill it.