Kitten Care - Brothers Fallen For A Grey Tabby

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Aw, Purdy.     great for the cats but feeling sad for you.  Hope your gradual planning pays dividends. 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

That's a shame but good they have homes.  Now that you're all geared up for a kitten though...........

[Purdy Bear]

Update.  All has worked out well for the cat and her two kittens.  One kitten has gone to one of the guys, the other to the CPL.  The later has given the men a neuteuring token and left a trap for the Mum, so no kitties for us yet.  But there is another cat that has just had kittens up there as well - its like  farm land so not suprising lots of cats around.   

Anyway I'm going to work on getting a cat test for myself with my Asthma and carry on doing work with the dog on the leave it command, and then hopefully get a rescue cat, but we shall see how the tests go first. 

For the stuff, I'll just put all the stuff together in the loft for later.   

[Dawn F]

yes would be nice if somebody did

[Purdy Bear]

The CPL was mentioned, so I'm hoping that the guys up there will get her sorted this time round.  It's at least, her second litter, none of the first survived the year, this should nudge the men to get something done.

[Dawn F]

any chance you can get a rescue involved to help the mum cat?

[Purdy Bear]

It wont be for a few weeks yet as they were only 10 days old last week, when my Brother asked me about them. 

One thing I have done, and I've seen it done with babies, is to get a small grey tabby cat plush toy to train with my dog.  I've been teaching him the leave command with it.  He already has a 99% leave it command already with things like chicken bones, and can sit for a good 15 with treats on each paw without touching them.  He would do the same with the treat on his head, but persists in moving to see the food. 



I have been day dreaming though, and yes I know I already have two carriers, but the sleepypod does look very attractive.  Slap hands - no one can not buy more stuff for kitty before he/she is here.  I've also been looking at names, even though my Brother will no doubt choose it.  Bonkers I now, I can feel kitty fever coming on.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Any word on this yet Purdy? 

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

 

Sounds like you're all set and good to go.       I think we'll all be bitterly disappointed now if the expected kitten/s fail to materialise. 

Kittens we've had in the past have never had any difficulty locating, or accessing the litter trays, which have been full sized adult trays, but if you had one that did, you could modify a cardboard box to begin with, and just make the litter a little thicker (line it with plythene though to avoid any seepage!)

[Purdy Bear]

Thanks for your wonderous replies. It's reminded me of a few things we have.  Here's a list of what we have so far, as I can't find anything on the net with an actual tick list (does anyone know if there is one?):

Wicker basket - got
Pyramid bed - got - I forgot I had one in the loft.  Its the black version of the one in the post below.
Small cat tree - the box with scratching post and perch above - will need replacing later on once the cats full sized.
Cat dishes - got - my dog prefers them to his dishes.
Water dish - I'm not sure a kitten could use the one I have, it's designed as a no drip dog water dish, so I may need to get something for that.
Bedding - got loads, as a patchwork quilt.
Collar and tag - ordered just incase
Lead - got loads for various sized dogs.
Flea treatment and wormer - not yet I will wait until I see the vet for that.
Carrier - got 2
Cardboard Box - got 2 very large boxes so I'm presuming that could be the play area for arrival.  I could get a litter tray in one and still have same amount of room left over.
Food and kitten milk - not until the cat arrives so I can get what the current person is feeding them.
Heating pad - thanks for the great suggestion.  I dont have the electric ones, but I do have the alumium blanket insert type.
Cuddly toy for nuh nugh - got plenty of those.
Grooming kit - I have an extensive one for the dog, but I may need a softer brush for kitty
Insurance - not yet but it is something I will have to look at.
Toys - I sent a carrier bag full with my brother to play with said kitties and hopefully tame them a bit.
Litter tray - It's for a full grown cat, would I need to get something shallower?

Anything I've forgotten?


It's going to take a while to kitten proof here, so I better start this week.  If it's the ferals they are probably about 10 days old so I have a few weeks to go yet.

[sheilarose]

I always collar newbies, even if I have no intention of letting them out until they're chipped, neutered and vaccinated, they can slip past you so easily and disappear into the night. At least with a collar in you have half a chance of getting them back. Kitten collars with safety catches are available so I'd grab a few if these to be on the safe side. I remove the collars once they've established their way home, though, my choice.

I've also become rather a fan of heated bed pads, there's one made by pet remedy that is low voltage and waterproof, not cheap but should last a lifetime and if kittens want somewhere warm to hide no better way of limiting their choices than to create a warm hidey hole for them, like this one I put together for Elsa.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pet-Remedy-Voltage-Heat-Pets/dp/B005QYNCT6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432566948&sr=8-1&keywords=pet+remedy+heated+pad

[hollycat]

If the pond has a net over it close to, or on the water, take it off. If the cat gets caught in it, it could drown. If it falls in without the net then at least he/she can get out and probably won't do it again. 

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

    Oh I know that feeling - especially the one about the fish tank, as my hubby pulled a similar stunt on me.   

If he does pole up with one of the ferals, then making sure you can limit that instinct to "go to ground" is important - you want to be able to make sure that anywhere he does go for safety, is somewhere you choose to leave available to him/her, and where you can access him/her for safety's sake, should you need to be able to.  If you have one room you could make available for the purpose, it would be a good way to start, as a feral will need to be socialised as much as possible - having little human contact up to now will make things a little more difficult (though not insurmountable  )

One of the cat carriers may be a good thing to use as a den, if you set it up in a quiet corner.

Kitten-proof everything you can think of, then retrench and have another look, as there's always something we miss.   Keep the loo seat down, washing machine and tumble dryer doors shut, cables and wires out of sight, and suitably tidied.  Cooker lids down if you have one with a closable lid.     Any narrow gaps or holes or openings will need to be closed off.  Both Ross, Mac and Moray all took dips in our pond, but thankfully ours isn't deep, and they were well able to get themselves out, but obviously it's something to be aware of.

Toys - plenty of things for distraction and interaction - opportunities to reward play with treats.  Wand toys are particularly good fun - they exercise and replicate hunting instincts.   Things they can comfortably carry in their mouths work well too, such as little stuffed mice. Mac had a little sort of long legged teddy that he adored.   

If the cat is a feral, then introductions with the dog will have to be carefully monitored.  Scent swapping with beloved dog toys, blankets and the like will help them get accustomed to each other, but in my experience with dog/cat introductions, it's usually been an incautious or overly curious dog who has come off worst in any of our new cat encounters (my stepdaughter's jack russell, for example - who would not be told, and found out the hard way after sticking his nose into cat business that didnt concern him.  Ouch!)

How exciting for you.   

[Purdy Bear]

As you know we've been catless for about 8 years now, since the start of my Asthma. I'm not allergic to cats and have had the tests, it's grass and dustmites that are the problem.  I'm hoping with gentle handling by me it wont effect my asthma.  Anyway at my brothers yard they have feral kittens, the second lot - none of last years survived to now.  Him and his mate said they visited the local CPL and they both fell for kittens, grey tabbies.  Now whether that is true or not, it's more likely to be the ferals his talking about and his doing the usual con on me.  My brother is very well known for bringing home animals.

Anyway I thought I would think about it more seriously, we do have a Cairn X rescue who grew up with cats so should be ok.  I've never seen him chase cats he just stares at them while they sit and watch him.

I have kept the basics, litter tray, two carriers (one Sherpa, and a picnic basket - top opening which the vet liked),  a small cat tree and a whicker bed in the loft.  We already have a good vet who does cats, have a 20 ft garden but with a large pond to one side.  I also have small cat dishes as my dog prefers those to eat off.

Please remind me what else I need to consider, or get into place and what catification I need to do.  I know that look in my brothers face, he'll just turn up with the kitty in his pocket, he has done the same with 2 dogs, and once with a complete tropical fish tank set up and fish.



PS  We live in our parents house, and still going through probate for Dad's Will who died in December.