Anything you wish you had done differently with your cat when they were a kitten?

[Erha76]

I found this site years ago when I got my first kitten and it was so helpful! Now I’ve found/adopted 2 abandoned kittens and I’m back for more advice. I haven’t had kittens in so long and never ones this young (5 weeks?) so I’m back here for a refresher course.
Because of the things I learned here, my first cats turned out to be very well behaved and things are generally great. But I’m here today to ask if there’s anything you would do differently if you could start all over again from the kitten state. For example would you take them on more car rides, invite more friends over, expose them to children, try to toilet train them, etc.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I'd try introducing a wider variety of foods

 

[game misconduct]

got her used to more brands of food along with eating some raw

 

[Babypaws]

Oh, yea…pick them up more..none of my adult cats like to be picked up. Also, not feed them any dry food and give them different textures and brands of can wet food.
also play with their paws so they get use to it and make it easier when it’s time to cut their nails.

 

[AbbysMom]

Get her more used to having her front paws handled and clipping her claws.

 

[maggie101]

Agree to all above!

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

I wish I could have introduced my kitty to more people when she was young. Because I got her at the start of COVID, she hardly met anyone in her first year and now is very shy when people come over. Maybe she'd still have turned out shy by personality, but she was so friendly immediately upon meeting me that I wish I could have tried to get her used to meeting new people while she was more malleable.

 

[sivyaleah]

Made a point to groom her more regularly. She's long haired (Maine Coon) and as a kitten her fur was fine and didn't mat at all so I slacked off on it. Plus all my other cats have always loved being groomed so I assumed too much.

Such a dumb thing to do. Once she reached about 6-7 months it started matting terribly and by then she was very adverse to the process. Had to resort to medicating her for about a year to get it done.

Thankfully she's mellowed as she's gotten older (3-1/2 now) and I can manage her coat as long as I do a short groom every couple of days. She even kind of likes it now but won't admit it LOL

I'll never make that mistake again!

 

[catmando2]

I wish that I would have started a kitty investment fund to cover vet expenses. Kind of like an IRA for Cats without the tax advantages.

 

[pipperoo]

If time and patience allows - get them used to the carrier and car rides. Or learn a clever strategy (like take cat + carrier into the bathroom when you need to load a cat! in a bathroom, there's no furniture for them to hide under. Plus the bandaids are there for when you get bloodied

And I second the food recommendations. Go easy on the dry food. Feed lots of variety in flavours and textures.

 

[Babypaws]

If time and patience allows - get them used to the carrier and car rides. Or learn a clever strategy (like take cat + carrier into the bathroom when you need to load a cat! in a bathroom, there's no furniture for them to hide under. Plus the bandaids are there for when you get bloodied

And I second the food recommendations. Go easy on the dry food. Feed lots of variety in flavours and textures.

That’s a good idea for new cat owners (kittens)…I dread when it’s time to bring them to the vet and trying to get them in the carrier.

 

[Cat.mama]

Shoulda woulda coulda.. Touched the feet!! Pressed in on those paws on a daily bases and clipped their nails!!! Man going to the vet is so stressful for these guys for trims. Those nails grow so fast and they are deadly!

 

[Cat.mama]

I wish that I would have started a kitty investment fund to cover vet expenses. Kind of like an IRA for Cats without the tax advantages.

To your point.. pet insurance at the first sign that anything is wrong. It can always be canceled but once you have a pre existing condition, it can not be covered. I legit could have sent my dog to college..

 

[minish]

Minish is my first and only cat since I found her as stray kitten. I regret terribly not having adopted her street buddy who got lost from the neighborhood (hopefully adopted) at age 1, after they reunited for the summer at the summerhouse, running crazy on the roofs. At the time I took minish in and moved her to my city apartment, I wasn't sure I could manage two, let alone one. Now she's an only cat and it seems cruel to force on her another. It would be great for her to have her buddy alongside her

 

[catmando2]

To your point.. pet insurance at the first sign that anything is wrong. It can always be canceled but once you have a pre existing condition, it can not be covered. I legit could have sent my dog to college..

Hindsight is 20/20. But now with senior cats, I think had I invested like the way people invest for their human kids' colleges with a good 10 year start. Would have a nice kitty fund all self-funded. Oh well, if I knew then what I know now .

 

[Cat McCannon]

Got Belle used to traveling in the Jeep and RV. I wish we’d gotten second kitten right after we took Belle in.

I reduced the drama of the cat carrier & vet visits by putting Belle in her harness and serving her breakfast in the carrier. When it came time for her annual checkup, I put her in her harness and her breakfast in the carrier. When she walked in to eat, I zipped it up behind her. She was also much more mellow at the vets.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

She wasn’t a kitten, but I wish I’d never started Daisy on Phoebe’s food. She stacked on weight (and went on gaining on weight control food) and I don’t know if she’ll ever lose it. I worry that this contributed to her developing megacolon.

 

[Margot Lane]

I wish I’d steered my dad away from feeding him catfood w/ multiple mystery ingredients. I know more about how to pill a cat now without any drama.…that would have been very handy.

 

[iPappy]

Embraced marker training and aiming for an operant cat. I managed to teach Lila to sit. But I know people who have used markers to teach their cats to do some really cool tricks.
Agreed with the wider variety of foods. This is so important with kittens.
My biggest regret is not starting them with bathing and done it quite often until they were used to it. I don't make a habit of bathing cats at all. But if they get something in their fur that could harm them if they ingest it, having a cat that's chill with a bath makes it all the easier to make sure you got it all out.
I did the car ride thing with Lila and I stopped way too early. She's fine in the car, but she's not keen on getting into a carrier anymore.

 

[kass2y5]

I did to my kitty and discovered he is food sensitive to seafood