Getting my kitten earlier than I planned and got some last minute questions

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Mr_Kitty

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Hey everyone I GOT MY KITTEN 3 DAYS AGO!!! :hyper::redheartpump::hyper::redheartpump::hyper:

I am so excited to tell you everything and I will be sure to open a thread about our first week together but I want to take my time and do it right cause (obviously) I also have a few questions lol.

Thanks to you all being so helpful and diligent, my kitten got a great start at life and the first vet appointment went super well. I asked if I could come in just to see what they said and the vet herself (who by the way is the sweetest doctor I ever spoke to offered me to get on a Zoom video call so I feel like I am there 😍

He meowed a few times her and there but generally was calm. She said he didn't care for the de-wormer's flavor very much (aw) but still ate it. He meow-cried briefly when he got the shot but like it was nothing. Honestly it all went pretty smooth. He was meowing non-stop when I took him back, maybe cause there were super cold strong winds and he was freezing possibly. I made sure to crank up the heat and turn on his seat warmer which warmed up his carrier.

He meows-cries when we go into my underground garage but I don't know why, there isn't much he can see from his carrier, maybe it's the scent or something.

I was SO happy when she offered me that and I got to take some screenshots as well. I know I picked one of the best vet clinics in the province. I am so content. She was so patient and so helpful and so informative and understanding.

I got a General Exam as well as the FVRCP Vaccine, Deworming and lastly a Fecal Test.

My kitten is just over 9 weeks old and IS A MALE!!! Haha I wasn't sure until today! ♂:heartshape: He is 1.18KG and is physically healthy (she went over every body part and said it was in great shape/condition. He sneezed about 3-5 times a day for the 3 days I had him AND OMG AS I TYPED THE WORD "SNEEZED" HE SNEEZED AGAIN SITTING BEHIND MY BACK LMAO OMG WHAT ARE THE ODDS HAHAHAH.

She said she will keep monitoring him for a virus he may have received from his mother as kittens do sometimes but he doesn't have nasal discharge nor eye goop even though he has a tiny tiny tiny bit when I picked him up and then it was gone a couple hours later. What worried me a little was at first she said his testicles descended but then she said "Well I felt one for sure, he is very small and it's hard to tell for sure still but one is descended for sure.

She said that because of that she recommends neutering him if it doesn't descend as she explained what risks he may be facing. I REALLY hope it descends because if it doesn't they will have to operate on him and make an incision around his belly and I really don't want him to go through that. I will keep you posted on that.

Also while I was writing this post he fell pretty hard (he was on my lap and tried to get off my computer chair and fell hitting his head on a piece of metal sideways I believe (it all happened very fast) I really hope he didn't get any damage to his body/brain like a concussion or something because of that. I worry about his well-being so much, he is so fragile yet so INSANE in terms of energy levels but he seems totally fine after that fall.

So yes I know I said it went super well but there is the chance of the of a virus and a testicle not dropping but the virus is a minimal thing which can be treated and cured easily (even though I would hate to put him on Antibiotics). The testicle part is definitely not minor but nothing is conclusive. Yes it should have dropped by weeks 6-8 and he is already over 9 weeks old but in rare cases it takes up to 6 months and I hope that eventually it will drop (I was going to neuter him anyway but I would love for it to be more natural instead of an incision through his belly. Let me know if there is anything I can do to induce it naturally).

I am happy he doesn't have any illnesses (they will let me know about the fecal test results in a couple of days and the de-wormer he got was for the long worm only (I believe that was the specific one she mentioned) so if it comes back positive for something, they have specific de-wormers for whichever one it will be or if it is some parasite. I thought the de-worming should have protected against several things but it's okay. Hopefully it's all good.

So yeah very good first appointment with a couple things which worry me but SHOULD be fine eventually within the next couple of months. My next appointment is March 31st.

Any thoughts? Let me know! :lovecat:
 

di and bob

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I am SO happy for you! It sounds like everything is going well, except for him falling. which by the way is exactly like parents of a toddler go through, you really wonder how they don't get brain damage as much as they fall! Just protect him the best you can. It will just be a wait-and-see to see if that testicle descends, I'm sure it isn't the first time they have been through that if it doesn't. I bet it will by the time he is a few months older. A long worm would most likely be the tapeworm, most over-the-counter worm meds don't take care of that. When he gets older you might look into Profender, I have used it safely on my cats for years. It is a topical you apply high up on the back of the neck and covers many worms. Most kittens are born with them. it still needs a prescription which the online site, such as PetMeds will call your vet about. You might call and ask in the future if that is alright. If he is strictly an inside cat you don't have to worry about worming much. Just bring in a stool sample every few years.
The sneezing is most likely the Feline Herpes Virus which is a very common kitty cold kittens get. Just watch him to make sure it doesn't get worse such as runny eyes and nose and sleeping a lot. Many people recommend L-Lysine, but there isn't much to back it up that it helps. I give my cats DMG every morning in a lickable treat to build up their immune system. I get it on Amazon. He would also benefit from a humidifier running near where he sleeps. This virus is NOT transferrable to humans and almost every litter of kittens I have seen get it. Good luck and keep us informed!
 
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Mr_Kitty

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I am SO happy for you! It sounds like everything is going well, except for him falling. which by the way is exactly like parents of a toddler go through, you really wonder how they don't get brain damage as much as they fall! Just protect him the best you can.
Yes everything is peachy for the most part. Him falling really concerned me and yes I do feel like I have a toddler in my apartment now. I wonder if I should take him to the vet to check his brain activity. Am I being ridiculous? He slept much more yesterday but maybe due to the vaccine. Then again he didnt sleep and was very hyper after the appointment for several hours and when I kept assertively refusing him going up onto my computer desk even though he was crying to let him up, it seemed like I really upset him and he walked away from me at some point and when I picked him up at some point he jumped back down and went back into his crate as if he wanted nothing to do with me which really broke my heart. Then he was very sleepy and chose a different place to sleep which he only used the first day when he was being a little anxious. Then things improved but I knew he was tired so I placed him in his carrier overnight and covered it until this morning. Now he is all over me and cries If I don't hold him. So I think we're more than fine but I'm worried he might have really hurt his head.

I can't tell if he walks differently or plays differently. He was MUCH more hyper with this toy on a rod spinning around like crazy and 2 or 3 days later it seemed as if his instincts slowed down and he doesn't even know where it went to half the time whereas before he followed it like a hawk. Maybe he is just bored from it, yet he still loves playing with it. Even after he fell I played with him using that toy and he seemed to play well, just not like day 1 or at least day 2. I have other toys I got him and will slowly introduce to him so he doesn't get bored of all of them at once.

I don't know if I'm just acting like a crazy parent who worries about things which are not supposed to worry me. I just notice he is different and I wonder if I'm just gonna overpay a vet for something that is not even there. Can they recover from a concussion by themselves? I think only if it's not major according to what I read. I'm probably at least gonna call my vet.

He's been just sitting in my lap all morning which is ADORABLE but normally he's way more energetic. He does okay with my hoodie strings and not completely lethargic but he's way calmer than normal. I am pretty sure he wanted to get up on my lap in order to be higher up and also try to get onto one of my desks.

Getting up on the desks has been a nightmare. I really pulled him against his will off a platform to keep him safe cause he was standing on a avery unsafe surface in terms of how narrow it was and also earlier and after than hanging by a thread onto the top platform while standing on his tippy toes on a printer I had already moved to a locked room.

Every time I move something to prevent him climbing where he's not supposed to climb or do something he isn't supposed to do he seems to go back to that area and act neurotic and perplexed as if he's thinking "what the helllll, I could swear there was a path through here or something to stand on so I could reach this other area WTHHH WHERE-IS-IT???" which is followed by adorable sad wounded like Meow cries for help.

I boarded up 2 holes underneath my counter where he slipped under a couple times and I got him out using his favorite toy I mentioned earlier but then he went there again and I barely caught him and in hindsight j wish I hadn't done so but I kind of yanked him and was worried about his back of his head maybe shaving against the wood or his joints being damaged by pulling him against his will... I did SO much trying to protect him but he still finds ways to do things he should definitely not do and it scares me and at the moment I don't always think straight and either grab him or continue taking him away from whichever area. Yeah so he keeps going back to those spots and then found the 2nd one I mentioned which I found by checking up the rest of the kitchen and then he cries while standing next to it as if WHY IS THIS CLOSED NOW? It worries me I don't know what he is trying to communicate to me cause it sounds important to him.

I even let him on the desk w couple times as a sign of peace but he then started chewing up my wires and walking all over sensitive computer related hardware. Every time I put him back down he would cry so I assume he didnt appreciate it. How do I take care of this issue? I don't want this to come between us. He will soon be able to climb NO PROBLEM whether a printer is there to boost him up or not.

It will just be a wait-and-see to see if that testicle descends, I'm sure it isn't the first time they have been through that if it doesn't. I bet it will by the time he is a few months older.
I really hope it descends naturally but like you said It will be a waiting game. The vet didn't say it was definitive in terms of not descending but just that she is not sure if it did cause he is so small. Still I think she feels like it might have not but isn't concerned about it so hopefully it works out. It says online it should have descended a couple weeks ago to a week ago or normally no later than 3 to 4 months and in rare cases around 6 months.

A long worm would most likely be the tapeworm, most over-the-counter worm meds don't take care of that. When he gets older you might look into Profender, I have used it safely on my cats for years. It is a topical you apply high up on the back of the neck and covers many worms. Most kittens are born with them. it still needs a prescription which the online site, such as PetMeds will call your vet about. You might call and ask in the future if that is alright. If he is strictly an inside cat you don't have to worry about worming much. Just bring in a stool sample every few years.
Yes that's what I was thinking, tapeworm. Then if that is the only one they de-wordmed him against why would I pay for it if it is not effective.... I prefer to still do it as a precaution though. When your vet dewormed your cats, was it also a very limited formula which only took care of one thing? Should I go to another vet for the deworming and do it again? Maybe they use a lighter dewormer so there are less chemicals in it unless the cat's fecal test shows positive for something specific which is when they use a different one but then I will have to pay for that separately I'm sure. So I don't know if this is marketing or what not but they seem like a good clinic.

The sneezing is most likely the Feline Herpes Virus which is a very common kitty cold kittens get. Just watch him to make sure it doesn't get worse such as runny eyes and nose and sleeping a lot. Many people recommend L-Lysine, but there isn't much to back it up that it helps. I give my cats DMG every morning in a lickable treat to build up their immune system. I get it on Amazon. He would also benefit from a humidifier running near where he sleeps. This virus is NOT transferrable to humans and almost every litter of kittens I have seen get it. Good luck and keep us informed!
He sneezed on me 3 times while writing this comment up. Never did it so frequently. At first I thought it's normal but now I'm thinking it might not be and that I will have to put him on antibiotics against my will. Hopefully he will respond well to it if it comes to that. His sneezing is super cute btw.

I'm happy you mentioned it is not transferable to humans cause I've been running my face and nose all over his with my nose as well and I am recovering from the flu so I need to not get sick again lol.


Finally.... He's been most sleeping in my lap while I was writing this thread which is SO adorable. First time he's been behaving like this. Only now I'm concerned it might not be a normal development but rather he is going through something medical. Maybe I'm wrong and he's just shaking off his vaccine but he slept ALL NIGHT so I'm not sure why he's so tired. Luckily he's not sleeping in some corner and chose me as his bed. That hopefully shows that our bond didn't break and it's getting even stronger. I wish I didn't yank him in the kitchen from under the cabinets, I wish I didn't act so assertive with him not letting him into the computer desk, I wish he didn't slip off of my chair and fall the way he did.... I barely sleep now or get any of my work done and it's still not enough. Of I keep him in his carrier when I need to focus on myself it's cruel and I don't have an extra room for him and even then he tends to cry of a passage is blocked when he is trying to exit which he always does at some point.

It's out of this world how fast he is learning. Every 10 minutes I discover he can do something he couldn't do before and every 3 to 4 hours or less he discovers a new way to worry me. He seems to be learning very fast which is good cause I want his brain to function well and I wish for time to be healthy. I just can't wire proof all my wires. I have some which are 15ft long and if I wore proofed everything I would live inside plastic. There are a lot of wires here.

I came up with an idea, I want to use a lockable storage bin (small one) and make a hole on each side feeding all of the wires into it rather than having to wrap them according to their length inch by inch. This way I can just throw every in the middle of the box and lock it up while it is placed behind my laptop.

Then again, he will now go for the first and last few inches of those wires, there's no stopping him. I can't go to sleep until I lock him up in his carrier.

He asked to come down a few minutes ago and hid in his tunnel bed and it worried me that he didn't want anything to do with me even though he's been affectionate all morning and then came out of the tunnel and asked me to lift him up again.

He is meowing for things he wants even more now because the vet trimmed his claws and I think I'm regretting it. I'm happy he doesn't tear up my entire place simply by stroking on soft surfaces with his razor sharp claws but he is pretty much useless with the cat tree now whereas before he was inning it like CRAZY and doing all sort of tricks. I wonder if it was the fall or the claws being trimmed. Online it says for the most part this shouldn't affect cat's ability to climb. Now he slips off of anything. I think if it is because of the claw trimming I'm going to ask her not to do this again. I don't understand how people dare to declaw their cats.... Even trimming changed his play and safety so much. They need those claws to be sharp, we have to DEAL with it.

He's been a velcro kitty all morning long and I am not sure how to read his behavior since coming back from the vet and him falling. I'm not sure if I am reading into it too much or what is going on generally but I'm doing my absolute best above and beyond for him.

Update:

It seems to have gotten the zoomies for the past 10 minutes. I'm so happy to see him so active and normal I'm still wondering about everything I wrote and the change in his behavior but maybe he's just growing and that's normal I have nothing to reference to since this is my first cat.

I can say it was certainty that once I lived with him for a year and most likely got another cat in a couple months from now I will be very knowledgeable and be able to help a lot of people just like you all helped me. I can tell how much experience you all have just by owning the cats for some time and going through the motions. I care about him very much so I want to make sure we have the best relationship we can ever have and he is the healthiest I can ever make him.

Update #2:

He was not able getting in between the fridge and the wall. Well not until I went to my bedroom for 5 minutes and got a feeling he's up to no good and sure enough panicked not finding him.

I look in the slit between the fridge and the wall and sure enough this ball of joy is leaking from behind the fridge. Instead of freaking out I took his favorite toy and teased him to come out. I locked him in his carrier and he cried for a bit and I hope to god it's okay to do this and ignore him because I am running out of options. I am going to spend another $100 and buy him a play pan. It is around 70" by 70" and about 1.5ft tall. At least that would be better than being locked in a tiny carrier which I need him to love which he still somehow loves.

I invested over $1000 because I wanted to add this kitten into my life. I guess I need to invest more. Actually quite a bit more considering how much kitten proofing my condo requires.
 
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Willowy

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The de-wormer was probably for roundworms. Almost all kittens have roundworms so that's the most common product. Tapeworm is transmitted by fleas so he may not have any, and vets usually only give tapeworm meds when you actually see tapeworm segments.

Small kittens do seem to depend on the needle-like sharpness of their claws, but when he gets older and his claws aren't so needle-thin, a trim won't bother him much. But he may not need claw trimming either, really it's a very individual thing.

Most kitten colds clear up on their own (as long as he's getting good care), but do give the vet a call if he seems very lethargic or the snot and/or eye discharge get excessive (and of course if he stops eating/drinking!). But as long as he's eating/drinking/pottying/playing like a normal kitty everything should be fine.
 
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