Hi, I'm new to the site, and to cat ownership!
So we recently (last couple days) brought home a seven month old kitten/young cat. Compared to what I've read/heard, we have totally lucked out with him. He is remarkably calm and content and although still has some of that kitten energy, it's nothing some good play time doesn't calm down. He likes to cuddle up next to me, and is perfectly content to snooze at my feet while I get work done.
But for some reason I am still ridden with anxiety over bringing him home. I had cats growing up, but this is my first cat as an adult. We kept him in one room (the room we intend to keep his litter box in full time) the first day to get him acclimated, but he was so curious about exploring the rest of the house that we let him roam around a bit the next day, bringing him back to that room at the end of the day. I also tried to bring him back throughout the day so he could see the litter box. But, of course, some time in that roaming, he peed on our bed. I had been trying to bring him to the litter box repeatedly, and although he's gone when I put him in it, I've never seen him use it on his own. I clean it quickly, and use the same litter we were told he'd been using before we got him. The only thing I can think of is that we got a litter box with higher sides (because I always hated stepping in cat litter growing up) and that maybe he isn't used to or is freaked out? Should I get a more standard pan just for the transition?
Anyway, this one thing has made me so worried about anything and everything I'm doing right or wrong. I worry that he's sleeping too much or grooming too much (or maybe not enough!), or that the little watery eye the vet said was probably a result of a new environment is somehow going to become a much bigger deal. And, of course, I am so worried about him peeing outside the litter box. I've been putting him in the litter box even more now, which of course makes me nervous that I'm doing it too much and that he'll now just hate it. We currently rent and are 100% allowed to have a cat, but of course it's somehow much more stressful to know that an accident could damage someone else's property and cost us a security deposit. And on top of all of this, I feel so guilty that I even have negative feelings associated with what is otherwise the most perfect little cat I could have hoped for!
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but does anyone have any tips for getting a new kitten used to a new litter box, and for calming down a cat parent?
So we recently (last couple days) brought home a seven month old kitten/young cat. Compared to what I've read/heard, we have totally lucked out with him. He is remarkably calm and content and although still has some of that kitten energy, it's nothing some good play time doesn't calm down. He likes to cuddle up next to me, and is perfectly content to snooze at my feet while I get work done.
But for some reason I am still ridden with anxiety over bringing him home. I had cats growing up, but this is my first cat as an adult. We kept him in one room (the room we intend to keep his litter box in full time) the first day to get him acclimated, but he was so curious about exploring the rest of the house that we let him roam around a bit the next day, bringing him back to that room at the end of the day. I also tried to bring him back throughout the day so he could see the litter box. But, of course, some time in that roaming, he peed on our bed. I had been trying to bring him to the litter box repeatedly, and although he's gone when I put him in it, I've never seen him use it on his own. I clean it quickly, and use the same litter we were told he'd been using before we got him. The only thing I can think of is that we got a litter box with higher sides (because I always hated stepping in cat litter growing up) and that maybe he isn't used to or is freaked out? Should I get a more standard pan just for the transition?
Anyway, this one thing has made me so worried about anything and everything I'm doing right or wrong. I worry that he's sleeping too much or grooming too much (or maybe not enough!), or that the little watery eye the vet said was probably a result of a new environment is somehow going to become a much bigger deal. And, of course, I am so worried about him peeing outside the litter box. I've been putting him in the litter box even more now, which of course makes me nervous that I'm doing it too much and that he'll now just hate it. We currently rent and are 100% allowed to have a cat, but of course it's somehow much more stressful to know that an accident could damage someone else's property and cost us a security deposit. And on top of all of this, I feel so guilty that I even have negative feelings associated with what is otherwise the most perfect little cat I could have hoped for!
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but does anyone have any tips for getting a new kitten used to a new litter box, and for calming down a cat parent?
