Just Adopted Two Kittens; Need Some Advice On A Few Things

[Artistwolf]

Hi! So I was planning on adopting one adult male cat from a shelter but... something happened and we ended up getting two four-month-old guys from a spay/neuter clinic (they were actually saved from death row at the animal control!). They're adorable and I'll have to post pics later. Their names are Salt and Pepper—Salt is grey/blue and white and Pepper is black and white
Anyway, a couple questions.
1) At the shelter, they were eating friskies canned food and some unspecified dry food. I'm trying to transition them to all wet Fancy Feast pates. My problem is that they don't seem to eat very much, but then they did eat at the shelter before we got them at around 5:00 and when we gave them one can of FF at 6:30 they nibbled a bit and have gone back for more since... now it's about halfway finished. Anyway, how much do I feed them from now on? Kitten feeding seems confusing. Do they each get a can at breakfast or do I just like serve up one can at breakfast and see how much they eat? And then do they need a midday meal? How much then? And how much at dinner? I'm a little lost lol. Don't know their weights yet... I'll try to weigh them tomorrow.
2) The one cat (Pepper) keeps farting, we think. He'll casually walk past and then we'll all smell it XD Anyway, is this a normal, passing behavior? Hope it won't be too long-term, lol.
3) They both smell like the shelter, so we're going to bath them tomorrow or sometime soon. Any tips?
4) They (especially Pepper) meow quite a lot. Sometimes he meows when he's alone and I think he's calling his brother, but other times he'll just meow for seemingly no good reason but will purr when I come over to check on him. Does this seem normal?
Okay, that's all I can think of right now. They're so adorable!! I love watching them play together. Seems a shame that any kittens are adopted on their own!

 

[susanm9006]

1. Vet check. Even though your guys were adopted from a clinic, they still need a visit as soon as possible with your own vet. Bring poop samples to check for worms. The vet will check for fleas, ear mites and upper respiratory infections all of which often accompany shelter kittens or cats.
2. Food. Wet food is fine, but some kittens/cat are finicky about exactly what texture and brand of food they will eat. In addition to wet food kittens should have kibble available all day. Talk with your vet about amounts and brands. And switching food can cause diarrhea or gas which might be Peppper's issues.
3. Baths - cats hate them and will freak out. If you have enclosed shower with a door rather than curtain, sitting on the floor and washing them using sponges and pails of water will diminish the drama. Be sure you are using cat shampoo or baby shampoo, that you rinse them thoroughly and make sure they stay warm afterward.
4. Meowing a lot is normal for some cats. They just have a lot to say.

 

[danteshuman]

Or you can wuss out and buy cat bath wet wipes like I do

Earthbath Hypo-Allergenic Grooming Wipes for Dogs & Cats, 100 count

Also don't forget to feed your new cats kitten food. I give them kitten food for about the first year but I'm sure your vet can recommend when to stop. Along with some less gas inducing brands of cat food to try.

Take lots of pics & enjoy the chaos

 

[Artistwolf]

Thanks so much, guys!
We did get some dry cat food—Paws Kitten food. We compared the ingredients to the Purina Kitten food next to it and decided the Paws was better. Either way, it's not super ideal and my grandpa (who bred Birman cats for years) recommended Royal Canin and Hill's kitten food, so we'll probably get that when the Paws is finished. We decided to do a mix of wet and dry after my family and I argued about which to feed XD So now they're getting one cup of Paws kitten food and two cans of fancy feast pâté a day (for both of them).
I believe Pepper's farting has stopped (haha) but he seems to have diarrhea, we're assuming that it's caused by the food change but we're keeping an eye on it. It already seems to be getting better, so that's good. Anything I should do with his diet to relieve him of that?
I assume I shouldn't change too much?
Salt is sneezing every now and then but otherwise looks healthy. Is this something to be concerned about?
We did bath them this morning.. what an experience that was XD The bath itself actually not too bad... Pepper climbed up my dad's arm at first but after we put him back down he wasn't too bad. Salt took it fairly well but freaked out when we tried to blow-dry him (on low). Pepper took that a little better but Salt clawed us all XD Then we learned that you don't even have to blow-dry shorthaired cats. Go figure XD
Just discovered that Pepper is absolutely obsessed with those toys you play with on a string (what're they called again?). It's hilarious to see him run after them! Salt isn't quite as interested. He's more laid back than Pepper, who is the adventurous little hunter.
Pepper also sometimes does this weird thing where he sucks on Salt's neck as if he's trying to nurse or something. He also kneads him with his paws. Salt just purrs through it so I'm not sure if I should try to discourage that behavior or not?
Salt weighs 3lbs 6oz and Pepper weighs 4lbs 1oz. Funny enough, Salt seems to eat more than Pepper. But maybe Pepper eats more of the kibble or eats faster; who knows.
Okay, picture time! Salt is the grey one and Pepper is the black.

 

[susanm9006]

They are both adorable and will grow into very handsome cats. Don't worry about the suckling, it's pretty common behavior and as long as salt is okay with it it's just fine.

 

[Artistwolf]

Thanks, haha I'm so proud of them. I love the splodge of white on Pepper's back and the pictures don't show it but Salt has a tiny spot of white between her shoulders. You can tell they're brothers!
Alright, thanks, that eases my mind about the suckling.

 

[Lalka]

Your kittens are so cute and their names fit them puurrfectly I agree with Susanm9006 about kitten food but i am not sure about following vet advice about a brand, unless one of them need a special diet. Vets usually recommend the brand they sell and its not always good for healthy cats. I'm sure you ll get great suggestions about food for kitten here.

 

[charchar]

I love that both have very striking differences in character! Wonderful.
Change is big for a kitty so the meowing and small appetite comes down to adjustment. I fed all my kitties twice a day, breakfast and dinner at 5pm. They have dry food and water available all day. I did feed all my past kittens, kitten food for the first year. My senior cat loves the FF kitten tins!! He is a hog!
Allow the kitties to shed the shelter smell and immerse in your home scent. This takes a little time but let it come naturally.
My 'Pepper', who sadly passed a few years back, also had lots of wind as a kitten. Terrible smelling wind!! Just awful!! The vet put it down to baby stage and he grew out of it within 12 months. Have fun with your gorgeous kittens, it's such a special time!

 

[charchar]

P.S my six year old cat still suckles his kitten blanket at night. Some cats just don't grow out of the habit. My senior cat, on the other hand? wouldn't dream of it!!

 

[Ardina]

I love their names! And they're utterly adorable. For food, get them used to eating many different brands, textures, and flavors from a young age, and they'll grow up to be not picky with food. Kitten foods are higher in protein and overall calories, so you can get those, but adult foods are fine too as long as they're not "indoor" or "senior" versions that are lower in calories. In general, wet food is better than dry because of the higher moisture content, and pick foods that have meat as the first few ingredients and less fillers like corn, rice, wheat, and potatoes that cats have no need of.

Enjoy them while they're in the crazy kitten stage - they grow up faster than you think!

 

[Artistwolf]

Your kittens are so cute and their names fit them puurrfectly I agree with Susanm9006 about kitten food but i am not sure about following vet advice about a brand, unless one of them need a special diet. Vets usually recommend the brand they sell and its not always good for healthy cats. I'm sure you ll get great suggestions about food for kitten here.

Thanks! My aunt actually came up with the names when we were texting her trying to decide whether to get them or not. We just fell in love with those names... I'm terrible at naming things so it's good that she came up with some for us XD Okay, I'll have to make a post in the nutrition section.

I love that both have very striking differences in character! Wonderful.
Change is big for a kitty so the meowing and small appetite comes down to adjustment. I fed all my kitties twice a day, breakfast and dinner at 5pm. They have dry food and water available all day. I did feed all my past kittens, kitten food for the first year. My senior cat loves the FF kitten tins!! He is a hog!
Allow the kitties to shed the shelter smell and immerse in your home scent. This takes a little time but let it come naturally.
My 'Pepper', who sadly passed a few years back, also had lots of wind as a kitten. Terrible smelling wind!! Just awful!! The vet put it down to baby stage and he grew out of it within 12 months. Have fun with your gorgeous kittens, it's such a special time!

Alright, I thought so That makes sense. I love their different characters too. It's so adorable. Pepper is definitely more work (keeps meowing at me to play with him, lol) but he's still my favorite!
That's basically what we're doing, as they never eat all their dry food so we just basically keep it topped up and then toss the few remainders in the morning. So I should get wet kitten food then? To be honest I didn't even think of that; I was so in the mindset to have an adult (although I'm loving these kittens more than I think I would have felt with one adult cat ^_^) that I just grabbed what I had planned to get for an adult. I can get kitten food but I've still got about 10 days left of feeding normal Fancy Feast pates (bought a 30-pack). LOL, okay good, hope these guys' gas passes eventually; we've had to evacuate the room a few times! And aww, I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you!! I'm having fun with them.
Oh, and about the suckling—it looks a tad bit disturbing so when we see it we try to stop it; is that okay to do?

I love their names! And they're utterly adorable. For food, get them used to eating many different brands, textures, and flavors from a young age, and they'll grow up to be not picky with food. Kitten foods are higher in protein and overall calories, so you can get those, but adult foods are fine too as long as they're not "indoor" or "senior" versions that are lower in calories. In general, wet food is better than dry because of the higher moisture content, and pick foods that have meat as the first few ingredients and less fillers like corn, rice, wheat, and potatoes that cats have no need of.

Enjoy them while they're in the crazy kitten stage - they grow up faster than you think!

Thank you! I know, they work so well for them lol. Alright, that's good to know, we don't want picky kitties! Okay, I'll try a kitten food after this one is finished, but good to know that it's not a problem to feed adult cat food. Yeah, I totally agree and would rather feed all wet food, but my parents have been influenced by my grandfather who bred Birman cats so apparently knows all about cats and he swears by dry (and they cite the teeth issue, which I totally don't agree with but okay). The compromise is a mix of both and I'm not too averse to that. Still healthier than all dry and my mom actually looked up a bit and acknowledged that we should feed some wet because of carbohydrate levels.
Aw, I don't want them to grow up! Lol. I'll definitely treasure this time!