Got Kittehs Yesterday! Any Suggestions?!

[Daisy Rabbit Mae]

In RL I got two domestic breed ferile cats (they are nice) my mom HATES cats more than any animal in the world so we went to our goat breeder who breeds (cats, goats, alpacas, llamas, donkeys and emus.) cats also. she had a litter of kitties that were born ferile because she didnt notice one of her females ran away. so we bought the two nicest ones, now named Toby (mine) and Garfeild (my brothers he doesnt make creative names) we stuck with the same food, Meow Mix, and we give em fresh water every day, and my dad decided to put dirt in a litter box. (me knowing that wouldn't be a good idea convinced him to buy "real" litter when we were shopping for cat food. so as u can guess right now i have very little knoledge about cats and was wondering if anybody could help me out please.

[koneko]

A few good sites are purina.com it has lots of articles
animalplanet.com has a cat guide
catster.com has some articles too
cats.com has user written things and admin written articles. You can make an account and ask questions about cats.

[Drmchaser]

Meow mix is not a good brand of food. It is full of fillers which then your cats won't stay full as long, they will eat more and there will be more waste in the litter box. I feed mine Nutro dry and wet food. They do great on it. It lasts longer because they don't eat as much of it, they stay full longer and there is less waste. Their coats are shiny and soft and they seem to have a lot more energy then they did when I was feeding them that cheap food.

[koneko]

I agree that Nutro is a good brand but it can cost up to 15 dollars a big. If you cant get Nutro i would recomend Purina One

[Daisy Rabbit Mae]

k. The only thing is i don't want to change their diet because im afraid it'll screw em up. also we just bought a HUGE bag. They seem to really like it tho. they ate half of the bowl allready (i gave em 3 cups because thats wat the breeder said) o and also they are living in a crate in my garage right now. the crate can hold 1 year old alpine goats so its huge!

[koneko]

3 cups seems like alot for one day. Even Adult cats only eat a cup 1/2 (depending on size) a day. Make sure you get them nuetured.

[Daisy Rabbit Mae]

ok. *can u come over later and see em tho???*

[koneko]

Maybe, not right now though

[Daisy Rabbit Mae]

yeah, i gotta go get a litter box. I'll call u when i get back

[Bezzella]

I recommend Purina dry cat food - that has kept my cat living for seventeen years. She is healthy and if you don't ever spoil your cat with wet food they won't even feel the need to have it. Wet food decreases dental health and will lessen their lifespan, so be careful.

Here are some things you definitely will like to have in the house. They can be found in almost any pet store.
--Cat Scratcher, My cat doesn't like the fancy ones but she does use the simple cardboard ones. They are cheaper and work just as well. It helps if you put a very small amount of cat nip on there. This way they don't shred your furniture.
--Cat Toys, Feathers, string, just about anything can be a cat toy. They don't usually enjoy chew toys or balls. You can make them in your house. Just take a feather and tie it to a string and then tie the string to something - voila, entertained for hours! One of my favorites looks like a fishing pole with a feather on the end, those can entertain for hours!
--Some sort of flea/tick medicine, I forget what kind I use but DEFINITELY invest in this, fleas and ticks can harm you as well as the cat! Lyme disease is no joke.
--Kitty Brushes, or rather anything that can remove hair. Shaving doesn't work well and with these you DO NOT need to bathe your cats! Usually they are just rubbery brushes. Look in the pet store and ask for one.


One last thing, Declawing...

This is a personal choice, but my cat has never been declawed. Some prefer this but I think of it as something that is unnecessary for a trained cat. My cat doesn't scratch furniture or people becuase we have trained her. However, if your cat does seem to need declawing, you may want to. Keep in mind that it is INCREDIBLY painful for your cat and will hamper their movement. It is similar to removing half of all of your fingers. The cat will not be able to jump as well and may slip easier. I find it repulsive and lazy to do but if you feel the need it can and will work. Don't do it yourself and make sure the vet does it!


If you have any questions just ask. I have been around cats all my life and I consider myself an expert, especially on behavior and care. Good luck!

PS: http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/whycat.htm <-- is a great article about cat behavior, it really helped me understand more about cats.

[RZ]

I second the Nutro - change over gradually. also, they will eat LESS of the better food. My first choice would be rawfeeding *VBG*

shots- you can give everything bu rabies yourself. Tractor Supply or one of the online pet supply

flea control. If they are little i would get them use to being bathed

wormer - most kitties will have worms. give me a couple of days and I'll tell you what i use - my friend the vet tech keeps me supplied.

DON'T declaw, please???!!!

cat toys- the world is a cat toy

mine will come to their name but dont do "kitty kitty"

brush

cat litter. you can get a 50 lb bag of chicken scratch for about $10. It works even better as cat litter. Most of my natural/wholistic cat keeping buddies use this

Good Luck with the cats - I think we're at, um...16?

[Cosmosxx]

I'm more a dog, rats person, but one thing I can back up?

Don't declaw.

I had never even heard of it til I married, and subsequently moved to the USA for a while, no one does it over here..... it is supremely cruel and selfish.

Congrats on ze kittehs!!!!

I want pics....lol

[Drmchaser]

I have to disagree with Bezzella only on the point that they don't need wet food. A dry food only diet can cause crystals in their urine and it is painful from what I have heard. They need the wet food to prevent that from happening. If you don't feed wet food then make sure they are drinking plenty of water, my female likes to drink it right out of the bathtub faucet and will follow me in there every time I go into the bathroom. I feed mine half a pouch each in the mornings and then they get a handful of dry food for lunch and another handful for dinner. I buy a 16lb bag of Nutro and it lasts 2-3 months and that's with two cats.

[RZ]

wet food/dry food
wet is lower in ash, which can cause kidney problems especially in toms. most of the better foods will be lower in ash

btw, if they are kittens you might should have gone with kitten food- cats need a lot of high quality protein, high in taurine. most kitten formulas allow for this. If you decide to switch from the meow mix look for a kitten formula

[Bezzella]

Ah well my cat has never had any problems with dry food. I guess you can take either into consideration, though I don't like wet food.