Thinking of adopting a new kitty.

[oakshimmer]

It's been sometime now since my beloved Kitty passed away and now I have been thinking about opening my heart and home for another warm fuzzy little cat.

I do however have some resevations on the whole idea because I do have some concernes on the matter. First of all, the last cat I brought in was a fully mature stray, and was not willing to really share her surroundings with my dog of 10 years. I was never able to socialize them because they both were not having it. The cat wanted to kill the dog, and the dog was simply always on the defence, so I had to just keep them seperate in the end for my peace of mind and of course their safety. So long story short, I am hoping that a kitten in the home may be the better choice when teaching both pets how to reside in the same enviroment.

I have not had a kitten in some time, many years to be honest. The last time I had a kitten was maybe 15 or more years ago so I am a little rusty when it comes to knowing what it takes to raise a wonderful Kitten into a great cat. My concernes are as follows:

1. Leather furniture and scratching! I need to know some effective ways to keep a kitten/cat from ruining my expensive furniture, I do not want to declaw so I need to know what can be done to keep the home from being destroyed.

2. How to properly teach a new kitten and a mature chi/mix to live together in peace.

3. How often does a new kitten need to eat and how much does it need?

4. My dog is on the raw diet and I would want my kitten on raw too, how do I approach getting the kitten to take to raw?

5. How do I set up the cat room to be a sactuary for a new kitten? Should I have toys,scratchers and beds before the new kitten arrives?

6. Is it safer to have a "cat room" rather than give full roam of the home right away? And I am worried if I leave the cat to roam it will kill my furniture! Is a cat room a good idea?

7. Should I have pet insurence just in case? Does anyone still do that. I am a bit concerned about health issues because of my last experience with Kitty and her cancer. Treatment was so expensive and unexpected.

8. Going away for weekend trips, is it even dooable with a new kitten? I sometimes like to go away for weekend trips, I do have a pet sitter but she is only able to come once a day and I need to know how old a kitten needs to be before that is even an option. I could bring the kitten with me, but I know that can be stressful for a new kitten or a cat period! (However, my last Kitty was my road cat lol and didn't mind being in the car!)

9. Picking the right kitten for the family... I would like to find a kitten that is not the crazy cat lol. My home is pretty laid back and I am looking for a kitten that will fit in nicely into the home. I do understand that a kitten will be a bouncing ball of energy for sometime, but i am looking for a relaxed easy going type of personality. Any tips on how to pick the right cat for my home would be wonderful!

So that about covers it. Any tips and advice would be great. I am excited to go on the hunt for my new special little friend but I do want to come into this with as much information as possible so I am ready to offer the best start in life for my new forever friend.

 

[jmljml19]

if you're worried about your furniture getting ripped up, put scratching posts near them so the kitten is encouraged to use them rather than your furniture. a cat room is a good idea. I have one that I put them in every night that has everything they would need or want but I also let my cats have free roam of the house during the day. I have toys everywhere throughout the house, it encourages play and tires them out during the day so they don't keep you up at night. it says that depending on the age of the kitten, you should feed them small meals between 2 and 4 times a day. the older they get the less times you feed them but the food amount increases. i'd just read the back of the cat food label to see size amounts but if you're gonna feed it a raw food diet, just let it eat as much as it wants to, it's a growing kitten and needs more than adults would. if you're gonna take a weekend trip, just get an automatic feeder. there are some out there that will keep the food nice and cool. as for pet insurance, they're just like people, they need yearly exams and shots and sometimes blood tests. I took my cat to the vet just yesterday, she needed blood tests, cost over $200 bucks, and now needs medication for the rest of her life as well as regular blood tests and checkups. wish I had gotten pet insurance lol. hope something I've done with my own cats will help you in some way

 

[GoldyCat]

TCS has some good article on Cat Behavior for Beginners and Introducing Cats to Dogs. Also look through the pages of articles. I'm sure you'll find more that interest you.

There's no reason you shouldn't be able to feed a kitten raw. If you post your question in the Raw Feeding subforum under the Nutrition forum you'll get help from people who have a lot of experience feeding raw.

Are you thinking of getting a rescue cat or a purebred cat? There are several breeds that are known for being laid-back, but of course each cat/kitten has her own individual personality. If you're working with a breeder they'll help you find the perfect kitty for you and your dog.

If you're looking for a shelter kitty you could also consider getting an older cat. The volunteers and workers at the shelter will know the cat's basic personality. You could ask about cats that have lived with dogs or other animals that they got along with. You definitely want to take some time to visit the kitties and get to know them before making a decision. The shelter where I volunteer encourages people to bring their own dogs to the shelter for an introduction before adopting a new pet. There's a separate room set aside for this so they aren't distracted by the other animals at the shelter.

Congratulations in advance on your new fur baby. You'll be so happy you made this decision.

 

[oakshimmer]

Thank you for your response guys! I am going to a kitty adoption blitz tomorrow to see some little fur babies. I am so excited and a little nervous too. I would have considered an older cat but because of my last experience trying to intergrate a mature cat to an old dog did not go so well. I kinda figured that getting a kitten might help with the introduction process since little kitties are easier to adjust to new things.

I have some reading to do, and of course I know that taking things slow will be for the best. I will post pics of the new babies as soon as I can!