Hi everyone--glad to have found these forums. I actually have not brought any kittens home yet--I will be going to look at some tomorrow. I've been reading a lot of sites and forums and have some questions that I still haven't really found an answer to. I would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer! These will be my first kitties and I want to be the best mom possible.
The litter I am going to look at is 8 weeks old in two days. Is this too young to bring them home? When I talked to the foster mom she sounded a little concerned at first, and I told her I didn't necessarily expect to nor did I in any way feel I needed to take them NOW, but then she said oh no, they should be fine, they're healthy and eating well, etc. But then I saw someone posting that they were concerned about adopting them out at 11 weeks. Should I ask her to keep them with their mom a little longer?
Do you think it would be better for me to get one of each sex rather than two males? There is only one female in the litter.
Should I have two carriers or is one OK? (at least until they get bigger) Soft sided is probably best? Should they have separate beds? Since they are littermates I'm thinking they might prefer to stick together but who knows!
I haven't seen a lot of discussion about the various types of litter, but I would like to try the Littersweep. Are these kittens still too young for clumping litter? How old should they be before I can use clumping? How often should I expect them to use the litter box?
When I bring them home, should I keep them in one room at first and gradually introduce them to the rest of the house, or will they do OK with free reign from the get-go? (The only other pets I have are fish in a 10-gallon tank.) Should I leave them ALONE at first, rather than trying to hold them and pet them? Are they likely to do fine with stairs?
Kitten-proofing--any specific items besides string that I need to be sure to keep out of reach? Will they get into potpourri, candy in open dishes, the rocks in my candle garden? Worried they might eat and choke on this stuff. Which household plants are dangerous for them? I think I read ivy is--should I throw my ivy plant away? I also have a begonia and one other green plant that is unidentified. Are they likely to get into trouble with electrical cords? I don't know how I could keep them out of reach.
Can the food and water dishes be in the same room with the litterbox? I have two bathrooms (on different floors) where I will put a litterbox. There isn't really room in my kitchen for food dishes so I was hoping it would be ok to just put those in the opposite corner in the bathroom. If not, I can put them somewhere in the living room.
What people food is good or especially bad for them? I should probably not give them any people food? Are the treats I've seen at Petco OK for occasional use?
Thanks so much for your help!
The litter I am going to look at is 8 weeks old in two days. Is this too young to bring them home? When I talked to the foster mom she sounded a little concerned at first, and I told her I didn't necessarily expect to nor did I in any way feel I needed to take them NOW, but then she said oh no, they should be fine, they're healthy and eating well, etc. But then I saw someone posting that they were concerned about adopting them out at 11 weeks. Should I ask her to keep them with their mom a little longer?
Do you think it would be better for me to get one of each sex rather than two males? There is only one female in the litter.
Should I have two carriers or is one OK? (at least until they get bigger) Soft sided is probably best? Should they have separate beds? Since they are littermates I'm thinking they might prefer to stick together but who knows!
I haven't seen a lot of discussion about the various types of litter, but I would like to try the Littersweep. Are these kittens still too young for clumping litter? How old should they be before I can use clumping? How often should I expect them to use the litter box?
When I bring them home, should I keep them in one room at first and gradually introduce them to the rest of the house, or will they do OK with free reign from the get-go? (The only other pets I have are fish in a 10-gallon tank.) Should I leave them ALONE at first, rather than trying to hold them and pet them? Are they likely to do fine with stairs?
Kitten-proofing--any specific items besides string that I need to be sure to keep out of reach? Will they get into potpourri, candy in open dishes, the rocks in my candle garden? Worried they might eat and choke on this stuff. Which household plants are dangerous for them? I think I read ivy is--should I throw my ivy plant away? I also have a begonia and one other green plant that is unidentified. Are they likely to get into trouble with electrical cords? I don't know how I could keep them out of reach.
Can the food and water dishes be in the same room with the litterbox? I have two bathrooms (on different floors) where I will put a litterbox. There isn't really room in my kitchen for food dishes so I was hoping it would be ok to just put those in the opposite corner in the bathroom. If not, I can put them somewhere in the living room.
What people food is good or especially bad for them? I should probably not give them any people food? Are the treats I've seen at Petco OK for occasional use?
Thanks so much for your help!