2 Kitten Adoption - Advice Please

B

burnmarie

Cathlete
My husband and I adopted 2 kittens (brothers) last night. They are 3 months old and crazy! LOL

I have never had cats before, always dogs. Any advice and tips from cat owners would help a lot.
 
I grew up with cats and know that it is a must to have plenty of toys and a climbing/scratching pole. Even a paper bag is a great play date since you have 2 kittens. We built a cat house for ours so they can climb, scratch, and sleep in it, incase you don't want to buy something expensive. You can usually make it cheaper yourself. DIY.com sometimes has tips for doing this for cats and dogs. Good luck and I know you'll enjoy them.
 
Yes lots of toys, be careful with strings unsupervised, a lot of toys have strings and some cats, like mine are string eaters, not good if swallowed! Cats love cardboard houses, boxes, scratchers, paper bags, crinkle tunnels, balls, toy mice, electric toys, cat trees. But you do have the best toy already which is another cat. It's so cool to watch them play together! Be careful because kittens are curious and they will get into everything! They are so much fun you will love them!!!!:) Linda
 
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Thanks for all the info! They are very entertaining to watch , but they are into everything. I have one very large litter box right now and they seem to be okay both using it. I will get another when they get bigger though. The claws are the worst thing, they dig them into everything. I'm scared to cut them myself though.
 
You can always get them declawed at your vet. I know some people are against that, but it saved our furniture.
 
I wouldn't even go to a vet who would declaw. Vets that care about cats won't do it! Cats that are declawed stray from the litter box because their feet are so sore for life, and yes they will turn into biters! So many declawed cats wind up back in shelters because they start peeing elsewhere. Get them used to you cutting their nails early so they will be ok with it forever! So jealous I love when their kittens, enjoy! :D
 
I don't agree with declawing either and I believe in some states it is outlawed. Lots of scratching posts, lots of toys and lots of love. I also clip my cats nails with a nail clipper and find it much easier than using a cat one. Start doing it now while they are still young and if you can manage to brush their teeth I would start that now also.
You can try trimming nails while they are sleeping--one or two at a time. Ask your vet to do it the first time and show you how. it really is easy as long as they cooperate.
One last piece of advice. DON'T buy food made in China!

Ask your vet to demonstrate nail clipping and teeth brushing. Then you can go on from there.
Have fun. There is nothing more entertaining than watching kittens--better than any TV show.
 
Also be careful about chocolate, onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, avocados, aspirin, essential oils, glade plugins, many kinds of plants that are toxic to cats (which you may want to google), all deadly to cats. I brush my cats teeth as well, no human toothpaste though.
 
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Well, I have adopted 2 male cats who are brothers 8 years ago. For their safety, I created a flat (apt) in my house when they were young for about one month. They got liberty, run of the house, when they got healthier & stronger. My cats were ill during my adoption. My cats also had their front claws declawed & no problems previously mentioned.
Get two cat carriers. Daily, I check my cats fur ph, whiteness of eyes, teeth, ears and behind. Also, if they eat & are social.
Have a great relationship with your vet.
Have fun!
 
Don't forget a cat tree. Something that is hi and they can climb and scratch and know that it is theirs. Expensive but worth it. They will find cozy hi places to sleep and if you can, put it in a sunny window so they can look and watch the action outside.

I feel so strongly about this that I feel I have to say it again. Please do not declaw. My vet refuses to do this procedure although in the past he has. No longer.
 
I will definitely look into the cat trees, sounds like a lot of fun for them.

I promise I will not declaw, when I found out what declawing really was like there is no way I could do that to them.
 
My cats love their tree. it has real bark and sisal for all their scratching needs. Also they have Scratch Lounges, which is a cardboard box with a scratcher in it, they are crazy over these, they sleep them, then wake up and scratch in them and of all their fancy beds and trees they couldn't live without these simple lounges, found at Petco.
 
DONT DECLAW CATS!!!

firemedic said:
You can always get them declawed at your vet. I know some people are against that, but it saved our furniture.
Click to expand...

Don't do it! Read this article first!
Four Ways Declawing Made My Cat Less of a Cat | Catster

You can teach them not to claw at stuff. Take an empty soda can, put some pennies in it and then when they scratch shake it at them. Cutting off a cats claws is like cutting off the tops of a persons fingers.

If you can't take it then don't get a cat! I'm sorry to sound so angry but it's cruel to do it to them.

Please don't do it.
 
hrcfitness said:
You can teach them not to claw at stuff. Take an empty soda can, put some pennies in it and then when they scratch shake it at them. Cutting off a cats claws is like cutting off the tops of a persons fingers.
Click to expand...

I'm going to try this. I really want a new couch but can't get one until I can get the %#^* cats to stop clawing!
 
declaw

I do not know any vets that would declaw a cat. It is cruel. Get scratching posts & be firm when you say no when they scratch somewhere in appropriate. I have 3 cats & have always had cats & dogs, it takes time & persistence with the scratching but be patient. Get scratching posts &put them near the places they scratch.

Karen
 
burnmarie said:
Thanks for all the info! They are very entertaining to watch , but they are into everything. I have one very large litter box right now and they seem to be okay both using it. I will get another when they get bigger though. The claws are the worst thing, they dig them into everything. I'm scared to cut them myself though.
Click to expand...

Their claws are very easy to cut! They will fight you at first but then get used to it. Just get some little fingernail clippers, set the kitty in you lap, hold their paw and gently press on the pad. Their nails will come out...now just clip off the tip...no big deal!

I should say just the pointy nail tip, don't go to the quick of the nail.
 
A little spray bottle with water in it can be great for helping to train them not to claw legs or to dig their claws into things. Its the noise that really deters them, you don't have to spray them. It makes a hiss sound, they tend to run away from it. Its a sound they don't like. I trained my kitty not to bite or scratch ankles that way and she is still really good at defending herself if she needs to in other situations.
 
I adopted a feral kitten.I was told that her and her 3 siblings were born in the wild.Eventually they all started to sleep on my porch every night.The other kittens died from car accidents and the mom was very annorexic and left my kitten.She is no longer feral and purrs when I give her a bath! I have been very lucky with her.She responds immediately when I say no.My other kitten 9 months never would listen to me.Squirt bottle does not work.She hops on the counter when I make her food,say no,jumps down,then jumps back up.She also steals my food like pizza,bread,lunch meat,etc and growls when I try to take it from her.I found the solution!Lift her head up say no in her face(not so loud )I guess its true that tri colored are more aggressive.Now I know why she would never look me in the face

Laura

http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-a-Cat-from-Biting-and-Scratchingto scare her)
 
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