New kitten: I want to be the best mom evar

[Elvgrengrl]

I put my soul-kitty, Bert, to sleep this past October after having him for 16 years. I didn't think I would be adopting a new babe this soon but a friend is fostering a mama and 3 kitties. I fell in love with one of them. I haven't committed but have asked my friend to hold her for me. She goes in to be spayed next week and that's when I'd be bringing her home.

Since it's been a while since I've 'started from scratch' I'm looking for pointers on how to be the best mom ever (and keep my sanity knowing kittens are devils). I've been watching videos and I'm sure if I dig around here I'll find information but digging can be exhausting. Things I know for sure:

Wet food! (but how much?)
Socialize! (but how?)
Pet insurance! (but which one? Lemonade?)

I'm asking if y'all have any tips or tricks to bringing a new babe home and making it as stress-free and as healthy as possible for her without triggering my anxiety left over from when I had Bert (he was afraid of people, difficult to get in the carrier during emergency-type situations, I always worried about maintenance letting him out, and then there were the health issues at the end of his life).

Thanks, y'all! xoxo

 

[arr]

My best tip for kittens is to get two. Is there any possibility that would work for you? It is the best way to socialize them, and it will take so much pressure off of you time wise. Otherwise they need you to play with them for inordinate amounts of time.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

My best tip for kittens is to get two. Is there any possibility that would work for you? It is the best way to socialize them, and it will take so much pressure off of you time wise. Otherwise they need you to play with them for inordinate amounts of time.

I've considered this. Unfortunately my apartment charges a $400 non-refundable pet fee for each pet. $800 is a lot for me to do as soon as next week otherwise I would adopt the mama too.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have always had one cat at a time, although, I will admit none of them came to me under the age of 6 months. The biggest thing is to let the kitten stay with mama for as long as possible, in order to ensure they learn 'cat manners'. I presume the kitten you want is at least 8 weeks old if she is due to be spayed soon? Older would be even better, but I am sure your friend might not agree!!

The general rule of thumb for feeding a kitten is both wet and dry kitten food and let them eat as much as they want in the first year. That is what the dry food 'back up' is for, especially if you feed the kitten on a schedule with the wet food. To start off with, however, feed her what she is getting in her current home now. And also use the same type litter and litter box as well. It will help if she has some familiar things to take with her when she transitions to your place - maybe at least a blanket/towel, or favorite toy. I can't address the insurance aspect, as I have never gotten any with any of my cats.

Socialization is pretty much a unique situation relative to the kitten's personality. Observe her in her current environment to see what personality traits you can pick up on and use those to your advantage once she is in your home. There will be a period of adjustment, both for her having been spayed and for her getting used to a new environment, so keep that in mind as well.

Here are some TCS articles that might help - including one about kitten proofing your home - something that is easily forgotten about being necessary with an older cat. None of them are 'hard reads' but can be thought provokers, which is always helpful!

Kitten Proofing Your Home: 13 Practical Tips - TheCatSite
How Much Time Does It Take To Care For A Cat? - TheCatSite (including kittens)
New Cat Checklist: What You Need To Get Before Bringing Kitty Home - TheCatSite
How To Choose The Best Toy For Your Cat - TheCatSite
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats - TheCatSite

 

[Elvgrengrl]

I have always had one cat at a time, although, I will admit none of them came to me under the age of 6 months. The biggest thing is to let the kitten stay with mama for as long as possible, in order to ensure they learn 'cat manners'. I presume the kitten you want is at least 8 weeks old if she is due to be spayed soon? Older would be even better, but I am sure your friend might not agree!!

The general rule of thumb for feeding a kitten is both wet and dry kitten food and let them eat as much as they want in the first year. That is what the dry food 'back up' is for, especially if you feed the kitten on a schedule with the wet food. To start off with, however, feed her what she is getting in her current home now. And also use the same type litter and litter box as well. It will help if she has some familiar things to take with her when she transitions to your place - maybe at least a blanket/towel, or favorite toy. I can't address the insurance aspect, as I have never gotten any with any of my cats.

Socialization is pretty much a unique situation relative to the kitten's personality. Observe her in her current environment to see what personality traits you can pick up on and use those to your advantage once she is in your home. There will be a period of adjustment, both for her having been spayed and for her getting used to a new environment, so keep that in mind as well.

Here are some TCS articles that might help - including one about kitten proofing your home - something that is easily forgotten about being necessary with an older cat. None of them are 'hard reads' but can be thought provokers, which is always helpful!

Kitten Proofing Your Home: 13 Practical Tips - TheCatSite
How Much Time Does It Take To Care For A Cat? - TheCatSite (including kittens)
New Cat Checklist: What You Need To Get Before Bringing Kitty Home - TheCatSite
How To Choose The Best Toy For Your Cat - TheCatSite
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats - TheCatSite

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[Babypaws]

If you search for the forum, “ if you had to do it over”. There’s some good advise
i had posted something back in December but couldn’t find it. I have 11 cats now and if I had to do it over I would pick them up a lot ( my cats don’t like being picked up). Play with their paws so they get use to it, will make cutting nails easier.
feed them different wet food brands and textures..keep them inside, all mine are spayed/neutered and are strictly indoors. once they get older don’t leave dry food out all day…. I have a few cats that strictly want to eat dry food and they are huge. Once they get in that habit it’s hard to stop it. I mix wet food in with the dry but wish they would just eat wet food. Mickey.
OMG..$400 non- refundable for one pet is outrageous. I understand if they ask for a deposit in advance because pets can damage property. But I think it should be like when you rent an apartment you have to put down security deposit and once you move out if there’s no damage you get it returned.
Everything nowadays is money, money!

 

[Margot Lane]

I like Daftcat‘s ideas for insurance under “pet insurance recommendations.“ But of course it depends on where you are in the world. Congratulations! You sound like a fine parent. The more you browse this site the more you’ll learn.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

If you search for the forum, “ if you had to do it over”. There’s some good advise
i had posted something back in December but couldn’t find it. I have 11 cats now and if I had to do it over I would pick them up a lot ( my cats don’t like being picked up). Play with their paws so they get use to it, will make cutting nails easier.
feed them different wet food brands and textures..keep them inside, all mine are spayed/neutered and are strictly indoors. once they get older don’t leave dry food out all day…. I have a few cats that strictly want to eat dry food and they are huge. Once they get in that habit it’s hard to stop it. I mix wet food in with the dry but wish they would just eat wet food. Mickey.
OMG..$400 non- refundable for one pet is outrageous. I understand if they ask for a deposit in advance because pets can damage property. But I think it should be like when you rent an apartment you have to put down security deposit and once you move out if there’s no damage you get it returned.
Everything nowadays is money, money!

Soooooo funny thing is ... *I* actually started a thread like that. Haha. Thanks for the reminder. I just re-read the replies.

 

[Babypaws]

Soooooo funny thing is ... *I* actually started a thread like that. Haha. Thanks for the reminder. I just re-read the replies.

 

[nurseangel]

I just wanted to drop in and congratulate you on your new kitten. Can't wait to see pictures!

 

[daftcat75]

Definitely get insurance. Have her seen by a vet as soon as you can and then apply for insurance the next day. There's usually a two week waiting period. Anything that's in her vet file going back a year and anything she is seen for (or even health concerns you mention to your vet that can be placed back into that two week period) can and will be held against her as a preexisting condition. That's why I recommend to get insurance as soon as possible before anything gets into her file other than "she's a healthy cat." As for providers, I am currently liking Embrace. They had the right mix of options and prices for me. I recommend the highest deductible you can afford to bring your premium down. I also recommend an annual premium as you're less likely to grumble about the annual rate increases if you only have to stomach that once a year. You also want to look at whether there are annual maximum reimbursements and lifetime maximums.

I shopped around and got a lot of quotes to build this table. This isn't exhaustive or representative other than relative differences between the companies. These are January 2022 prices in an expensive California zip code for a five year old female cat.

Rate	Annual	Company	Deductible	Reinbursement	Limits
$16.18	$194.16	Healthy Paws	$1,000.00	80%	none
$18.14	$217.68	Embrace	$1,000.00	90%	$30,000/year
217.62/year	$217.62	Embrace	$1,000.00	90%	$30,000/year
$27.82	$333.84	Wagmo	$1,000.00	100%	$10,000/incident, $100,000/lifetime
$25.45	$305.40	Wagmo	$1,000.00	90%	$10,000/incident, $100,000/lifetime
$29.29	$351.48	Prudent Pet	$1,000.00	90%	$10,000/year
$23.65	$283.80	Prudent Pet	$1,000.00	80%	$10,000/year
$38.59	$463.08	Fetch	$500.00	90%	$15,000/year
$46.45	$557.40	Fetch	$500.00	80%	$15,000/year
$28.44	$341.28	Pumpkin	$500.00	80%	$7,000/year
$39.49	$473.88	Pumpkin	$500.00	90%	$15,000/year
$34.36	$412.32	Trupanion	$1,000.00	90%	none
$45.59	$547.08	Trupanion	$700.00	90%	none
$79.49	$953.88	Trupanion	$200.00	90%	none

I went with the bolded row and I've already seen an increase on her first renewal. On the other paw, in that first year, they paid out more in reimbursed expenses than I will pay in over perhaps her entire lifetime. Definitely worth it for me to keep renewing--especially because everything she saw the vet for in that first year with me will be "pre-existing" if I try to shop around for a new policy.

 

[daftcat75]

I also recommend getting your new kitten a carrier she will enjoy even when she's not going to the vet and leave it out for her all the time. My Betty loves this carrier and will spend time inside it almost daily. And yes, she knows what's it's for. Even after vet visits, she will return to her carrier. I don't blame her. It's like a deluxe three room cat tent. I would love one for myself.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MW3PSYJ/?tag=thecatsite

 

[Elvgrengrl]

Definitely get insurance. Have her seen by a vet as soon as you can and then apply for insurance the next day. There's usually a two week waiting period. Anything that's in her vet file going back a year and anything she is seen for (or even health concerns you mention to your vet that can be placed back into that two week period) can and will be held against her as a preexisting condition. That's why I recommend to get insurance as soon as possible before anything gets into her file other than "she's a healthy cat." As for providers, I am currently liking Embrace. They had the right mix of options and prices for me. I recommend the highest deductible you can afford to bring your premium down. I also recommend an annual premium as you're less likely to grumble about the annual rate increases if you only have to stomach that once a year. You also want to look at whether there are annual maximum reimbursements and lifetime maximums.

I shopped around and got a lot of quotes to build this table. This isn't exhaustive or representative other than relative differences between the companies. These are January 2022 prices in an expensive California zip code for a five year old female cat.

Rate	Annual	Company	Deductible	Reinbursement	Limits
$16.18	$194.16	Healthy Paws	$1,000.00	80%	none
$18.14	$217.68	Embrace	$1,000.00	90%	$30,000/year
217.62/year	$217.62	Embrace	$1,000.00	90%	$30,000/year
$27.82	$333.84	Wagmo	$1,000.00	100%	$10,000/incident, $100,000/lifetime
$25.45	$305.40	Wagmo	$1,000.00	90%	$10,000/incident, $100,000/lifetime
$29.29	$351.48	Prudent Pet	$1,000.00	90%	$10,000/year
$23.65	$283.80	Prudent Pet	$1,000.00	80%	$10,000/year
$38.59	$463.08	Fetch	$500.00	90%	$15,000/year
$46.45	$557.40	Fetch	$500.00	80%	$15,000/year
$28.44	$341.28	Pumpkin	$500.00	80%	$7,000/year
$39.49	$473.88	Pumpkin	$500.00	90%	$15,000/year
$34.36	$412.32	Trupanion	$1,000.00	90%	none
$45.59	$547.08	Trupanion	$700.00	90%	none
$79.49	$953.88	Trupanion	$200.00	90%	none

I went with the bolded row and I've already seen an increase on her first renewal. On the other paw, in that first year, they paid out more in reimbursed expenses than I will pay in over perhaps her entire lifetime. Definitely worth it for me to keep renewing--especially because everything she saw the vet for in that first year with me will be "pre-existing" if I try to shop around for a new policy.

This is amazing! Thank you so much.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

I also recommend getting your new kitten a carrier she will enjoy even when she's not going to the vet and leave it out for her all the time. My Betty loves this carrier and will spend time inside it almost daily. And yes, she knows what's it's for. Even after vet visits, she will return to her carrier. I don't blame her. It's like a deluxe three room cat tent. I would love one for myself.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MW3PSYJ/?tag=thecatsite
View attachment 449577

Thanks!!!!! This is really cool. I've been looking at play pens too - imaging they would have a similar feel - because I'm not certain she's litter trained yet.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

I also recommend getting your new kitten a carrier she will enjoy even when she's not going to the vet and leave it out for her all the time. My Betty loves this carrier and will spend time inside it almost daily. And yes, she knows what's it's for. Even after vet visits, she will return to her carrier. I don't blame her. It's like a deluxe three room cat tent. I would love one for myself.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MW3PSYJ/?tag=thecatsite
View attachment 449577

Can I ask what size you got? I'm terrible at picking sizes.

 

[maggie101]

 

[Meowmee]

Good luck with your new kitten. Get lots of toys, wand toys are great, feed her what she likes, maybe continue what she has been eating. Lots of handling, cuddling, talk to her etc. let her sleep with you etc. Get her used to being bathed, claw clipping etc. now.

As far as ins it has been a fraud and very expensive. I have to change Quinn’s. He is the only one I have insured. Unfortunately I did not change from the fraudulent company I had before I got him. I was too exhausted to research others at the time. They lied to me and told me the current insurance was going to be covering chronic care and now said it doesn’t.

It has gone up twice its original premium costing a huge amount of money per year and they don’t even pay for the yearly care because that gets deducted out. With everything going on with the pandemic and me being ill etc. I have not had time to do it yet but the premium is absolutely outrageous now. Since they lied about it covering chronic care there is no point in me keeping it anymore.

They actually had the nerve in an email to tell me they didn’t lie about it but I know what I was told when I talked to them about it when I signed him up for this- it was a new plan they had and I thought it would be OK because it would cover some chronic condition if he were to get one. This company is Petshealth plan. I warn everybody from ever getting insurance from them for anything, they are crooks. Even when he had to go to ER once when he ate some desiccant they only paid for half of the cost which is ridiculous considering how much I pay them.
I figured out, he is now almost 7, I have paid a few thousand dollars already and they have paid almost nothing for anything he needed.
Please post pics of your kitten

 

[maggie101]

Immediately start brushing,clippingg nails,brushing teeth so she gets used to your hands. Since my cats were kittens I only fed wet

 

[daftcat75]

Can I ask what size you got? I'm terrible at picking sizes.

I got a Medium. Betty is 11 lbs. It’s quite cozy for her without being too small. It’s the perfect size for her. I recommend getting a carrier that’s just big enough that she’s not crammed for space. But not so large that she can do a lot of moving, walking, sliding around in there—especially while a vehicle is in motion. You may even want to put a towel in there with her while she’s still growing into her adult size. Cats do like snug and cozy places.

 

[maggie101]

This is amazing! Thank you so much.

Carrier needs to be bigger than the cat. They will grab the sides. Even for my small 7 pd cat she has a large carrier