Help, I have a Kitty for the first time!

Ohmygod, what a cute baby you have!!

My cat was about the same age when I got him. But I didn't know enough about kittens back then and would have done things a bit differently. He should be old enough to potty on his own now. When I noticed it looked like my cat had to go, I just picked him up and put him in the litter box. I did that two times and then he was able to do it on his own. I don't know if he was a super fast learner or if that's normal. Either way, he used the litterbox every time, except once, until he passed away.

Oh and also, if you can, try and continue feeding him kitten milk (NOT cow's milk because they are lactose intolerant). I wish I had fed my kitty more milk when I first got him.

I use fancy feast and mostly stick to the dry food but we give our current cat wet food twice a week. You definitely must see the vet immediately for a check up and regularly after that. Our cat we adopted from a local shelter, we didn't go to the vet right away, and when we did bring him, they found he had ear mites which he likely got from the shelter. There are a lot of things they can find in a physical exam, such as a heart murmur and of course you want and have to get vaccines and eventually fixed.

You need a good sized, deep litter box. You don't want one that is too small because the cat won't fit into it when he's bigger. Also, check this out: https://youtu.be/LhgynG941D8 I don't use it, but it might be a good option for you!

I would recommend trying out a water fountain, if you can. Cats like running water. I have one, but unfortunately it broke, so it's just a regular water dish now but our kitty doesn't mind it.

Please be wary of the cat eating random things. My cat would always somehow find little bits of plastic to eat, even though I tried to keep things clean and throw them away. I think it's what led to him eventually having kidney disease.

Always pay attention to your cat's behavior. If he starts to do something weird, such as being lethargic, not being able to pee for a day, frequently pressing their head against a wall, or staying all day by the water dish, please don't hesitate to bring your cat to an emergency vet. I know he's young now, but make sure to have a plan about where your nearest e-vet is and also how to pay for it (Care Credit, likely). Also, consider pet insurance if you can get a deal from your work.

Okay, probably information overload at this point. XD I just learned a lot from my first kitty.

np ^^ I do think the biggest thing for me was the kitty milk though. I just remember when one of my friends picked up my cat and he started nibbling on my friend's fingers, my friend said "I think this cat was taken away from his mother too soon." Unfortunately, his mother had run away (and all his siblings passed away) so there wasn't much of a choice then. But I do think I should have continued bottle feeding him longer. I just saw him eating the dry kibbies and was like "Okay, he can eat that and it's fine." I think weening him a bit longer would have been better.

Congrats on your kitty! What a cute one!

My advice about wet food is to do it in the evenings and not the mornings. My first cat got so used to me feeding him before I went to work that he’d beg every single morning on the weekends when I was trying to sleep in lol

And potty training should go fairly easy since they tend to search for places to dig and bury their goods. Try to keep doors closed where you don’t want them to go (the tub/rugs in the bathroom) until they’re trained. But with each of my cats, they seemed to naturally know where to go. I’d just set the litter box up and place them inside it so they knew where it was located.

We use this “pine” litter that the place we adopted them from used. I found a it for so cheap at a pet store nearby and I’m so glad. It also doesn’t seem to make as big of a mess as the rocky-type litter. Mixing baking soda into litter is supposed to help with the smell, and they even have special types of cats at stores.

And once you get the kitty on one dry food brand, try to stick with it. Changing up their diet can upset their stomachs.

I’ve also used spray bottles or water guns to spook them off of counters when they’re not supposed to be on there

I have have 2 cats myself and from my experience these are the advise I can give.
-Cats are pretty easy to train to use the bathroom generally just show them the litter box or the spot in the yard that is easy for them to dig(sandy) when you first bring them home, after they eat and when they wake up, they are very clean animals. However there are those that will have toilet issues so when that happens change place the food bowl is to where the mess was made, or change the litter you use, or it is because you are using ammonia to clean your house making it smell like urine to the cat. If none works and the issue lasts for more than 3 weeks then take the cat to the vet.

-Cats once they get used to a food, that is all they will eat and would rarely try anything else in their adult years. I have 2 cats that will only eat one brand of dry cat food(would only eat other brands when really hungry) and one would not even so much as even lick a plate of wet cat food, because we couldn't afford wet cat food by the time she was born so she, unlike the other one who would at least try it, wouldn't touch wet cat food.

-The brands I feed them is mostly meow mix and occasionally 9 lives

-when feeding dry cat food make sure to have plenty of available water to prevent dehydration

-Best to provide both wet and dry pretty early on. Dry has the advantage of helping their teeth.

-Spayed/ neutered them before 6 months, My family made the mistake of waiting and the first one produced a litter which we had to find homes for.

Also, my first cat had an expensive medical emergency not long after I first got him. I was living close to pay-check-to-pay-check at that time (but stubborn 21 year old me wanted a kitten). Anyway, I was able to set up a payment plan rather than pay in full. So I recommend asking your vet about those options if you get an expensive bill for anything.

He’d gotten a sharp piece of plastic from a computer cord lodged in his intestines. So be sure to stop your cat if it’s ever chewing on anything that can be potentially dangerous. I’ve also heard stories about string getting stuck in cats intestines.

Make sure all wires for electronic devices are hidden or where the kitten can't get to them. You can spray and wipe the wires down with 'bitter yuck' if the kitten tries to chew them to discourage him/her. Also, I'd recommend keeping the kitten in a more confined space when you're not at home since it's so young. Less chance of it getting into trouble.

We live in a very small apartment and find World's Best kitty litter has the least amount of odor over all the other brands we've tried. We also use a litter genie with anti-microbal bags to keep smells to a minimum. For food, we feed out kitty Orijen because they make it next door in Alberta with all the ingredients locally sourced. Our cat eats better than we do ^_^;;

If you have a local SPCA, they usually offer discounted vet exams, neutering/spaying and vaccinations if you're low income like us.

A BABY!

I used to work at a pet store, so here are some run down things I suggest:

A) Food should have a min of 9% protein. For a baby, look for kitten formulas. There is a difference. Cats are considered adults at a year. Some might say 8 months. Natural foods are actually fine. My cat eats Solid Gold. I recommend this food because the founder claimed it was a recipe given to her by aliens when they abducted her. I WAS SOLD AT ALIENS.

I suggest shopping at a pet store with a good return policy on food, cuz cats are picky. They care about texture and stink. At Petco, you can return an opened bag of food if your cat doesn’t like it. 10/10. Experiment with textures (the kibble shape,) and stinks. If you open the bag and are nauseated, you win. Generally, cats don’t need a lot of grain in their diets. I’ve found that grain heavy foods lead to stinkier poops with my cats.

B) Litter! You want like 2-3 inches of litter. Too much and they’ll start kicking it up everywhere. A litter mat will help prevent them from spreading litter through the house. Some cats don’t like certain litters, so be prepared to experiment. Pine is generally more environmentally friendly, but only as good as you are cleaning it.
Some cats like their privacy. The hooded litter boxes are good if your cat is a litter kicker. Male cats also benefit from that if they have bad spraying habits.
I love having a Litter Genie. They’re like special trash cans that store the poo and seal the stink.

Side note that your kitten probably won’t reapond to cat nip as an incentive. To drive them away from things, rosemary spray can help. Cats respond strongly to odors, since it’s an important sense.

Also, gonna plug my old store. Go to a Petco, say you adopted a cat. 90% chance that they will give you a MESS of coupons. We can only give you the coupons when your cat is newly adopted.

Good luck! I don’t work in pet stores anymore, but if you have questions then I’ll trrrry to dig up my old training. I got schooled for 8 hours on cat care, so @_@

Kitties actually have pretty good litter box instincts, so litter training isn’t tooooo haaard. But I’m glad your baby is taking to it quickly!

Honestly, brand will be something your cat chooses as much as you lol. They can be really finnicky. Free feeding is actually good for cats, since their instinct in the wild is to bury their food and snack on it when they’re hungry. For some cats, scheduled feeding can cause them to become gluttonous when food is present and over eat. So if free feeding seems to work for your kitty, then it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Personally, I Free feed my dry food and then do half cans of wet food in the morning and evening. The wet food I use is fishy, so it has oils that keep my baby’s skin healthy and lessen her shedding.

Your coupon booklet will have a lot of specific brand coupons. I’d suggest talking to an employee and letting them recommend you kitten food. They are usually happy to help and they will know which brands are best these days. Just be sure to take advantage of that return policy for food! It’s fantastic for a new cat.

Litter box training is pretty easy. Just show them you scratching in the cat litter, and they'll figure it out almost immediately. However, male cats can be a bit difficult. As they get older, if they get upset or they feel someone's threatening their "territory," they might have an "accident" here or there that's no accident. (Though I also know of one female cat that acted like that too.) Neutering will make that a little less likely, and if the cat hasn't already had that done, you might want to get it done quickly.

Oh, she is so cute. You need to go to vet and try to know everything about his healthy, can he eat simple food for kittens? It is very important, because he can have problems with stomach. Try to give him good kittens' food with a lot of vitamins. I have just started my vet-assistant career one year ago. It is so interesting, I help a lot of small and big animals to live, to eat normally and etc. This sphere was just a dream until my friend from medical university motivated me to start this career and he recommended me veterinaryschoolsu.com where is all info how to achive it. I am so lucky

That is such a cute little kitty! I hope you enjoy your new feline companion.

My childhood cat is still around after 15 years and doing pretty well. We feed him twice a day and give a couple treats first thing in the morning and in the evening before bed. He's a bit of a picky eater and will only eat dry food. In his older age, we've been giving him food for sensitive stomachs.

Our cat is solely an indoor cat, but occasionally we take him outside to roll around on the concrete under intense supervision. He usually tries to eat grass but it always makes him sick so we stop him from doing that.

Unfortunately, my parents had his front paws declawed when he was a kitten (I was only 9 so I didn't have a say) and he now has arthritis in his front joints. I contribute that mostly to him being declawed. So I would highly recommend against that because I believe it's very unethical. Teach your kitty to scratch a clawing post and you shouldn't have any issues with furniture! (my brother did that with his two cats and they don't claw any furniture!)

Also, I find that my cat never plays with any expensive cat toys we get him. He plays with little stuffed mice and sometimes little jingle balls, but never played with any fancy toys. Paper, string, and other cheap things seem to be WAY more appealing to him anyways. Just always be mindful that cats like to eat the most random stuff (as other people have mentioned), so I would make sure you're supervising if your kitty is playing with them. There was one time when he was young and he ate a small piece of string that he chewed off,

Since our cat is older, we keep an eye on him fairly often to make sure he is doing alright health wise. Since he's been around for a long time, we can tell if there are any differences in his behavior and movement.

Anyways, not to ramble on about older cats since that's a ways away for your new friend, but I'm sure you and your new friend will have a great time together!

@ratique if memory serves, I do believe that this cat has unfortunately passed away so maybe we should retire the thread so not to bring back those sad memories.