Buying a kitten
 

I'm probably going to buy this little one tomorrow

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7.../kitten001.jpg

The only thing i'm worried about is leaving him on his own whilst we are at work. My fiancee leaves for work at 9 and i'm normally home by 1ish. Is this too long for a kitten to be left on his own?

He'll be left in the kitchen with plenty of food, water, litter tray and toys!

Anyone experienced with kittens?

Had 4 Persain kittens at one time or another,still got two of them 17yrs later.We made sure we picked ours up on a Saturday so that we were there for a full weekend with them. Showed them their litter trays and food/water, and apart from the odd mishap there were no problems.

Yes that would be good but we work weekends. we'll spend quite a few hours with him tomorrow as we are collecting him in the morning and have the day off. We have wooden flooring so little mishaps shouldn't be a problem.

As above - we spent the weekend with our new cat when we got him. The first few days in the house on his own he was locked in the kitchen. Then as he got used to place we gave him free run of the house when we were out

Never had an accident outside of the kitchen the whole time we owned him

So I suppose its quite important to keep them to one area of the house until its
a little older.

Wouldn't exactly use the word "experienced", more just experience!

Other half got a new kitten about a year and a bit ago.
When it arrived it was 9 weeks old, and came from the cat protection league I think - a silver tabby.

My own experiences were quite good in that it knew exactly what the crapper tray was for!

Seemed to know that the scratching post was just that

Other half took I think 3 days off work under advice from the place we got it so get it settled in and not leave it on its own at the start.

All good so far, but when the fecker was left on its own

Leather chair & sofa completely fecked with scratches

Carpet plucked to feck in one particular spot when it wants "attention"

Its since been "readjusted" and now no longer climbs the curtains - all achieved in that it learned to associate curtain climbing with a good drenching with water!

The best one of the whole lot is the christmas tree last year.
I distinctly remeber it applying power to all four paws from one end of the living room, and about half way across jumping right into the middle of the tree

However, now that its a bit older its somewhat wiser but still manages to find ways of attracting attention.

It also kept sticking its back up as a kitten which is hilarious.

Its never spat at me or the other half or kids once, despite the tormenting I give it - not in a bad way I have to say, just constantly teasing it etc.

Its also not allowed outside

Word of warning:
Its crapper tray is kept in the conservatory which I don't go near.
This kitten only gets dried food under the vets advice and boy its doesn't half reek when it unloads

The vet did say to avoid "wet" foods if possible. And to especially avoid kitcat. But seek advice from your own vet on this.

Good luck

Shaun

Once we had shown them the tray etc, we just let ours get on with it and roam all over. We have always fed ours on dry food, lots of water in the mass market jelly type stuff.Even now ours still love destroying the christmas tree, fun to watch :lol1: but the novelty soon wears off when you have to re-do it every morning:(

I've had more litters of kittens than I dare to recall tbh! I've just sold my last litter about 3 weeks ago!
Anyway, my advice to anyone buying a kitten from me is this: Firstly, keep it on the SAME food thats its used to so far. I personally feed mine of Whiskas Kitten Food - so each of my kittens go with a tin of that! Secondly, when you get home, let the kitten have a wander around, get its bearings. Pick a place for the litter tray - put the kitten in it and then don't move it! pref in the same room as the food - but this is not always possible with kids or dogs (as dogs just LOVE the taste of it - YUK!)
Your new edition should be fine for those few hours - just make plenty of fuss of it when you get home!
Once you've had it in the house for about a week - take it to the vets for the first jab. Also remember that kittens harbour fleas - so be sure to treat it at the vets for fleaing and worming (ask the person your getting it from if this has already been done).
And lastly - enjoy it!

Urban - If that was the only advice and information I got on kittens it would put me off for life!!:D

Ms Gooner 1 - Thanks for the information. Makes me feel better hearing that. I'd like to keep it on dry food if I can as the other stuff stinks and in the summer tends to attract flies and maggots!! I'll make sure he has plenty of fuss when I get home. He'll have plenty of toys too.:)

I feed our cats dry biscuits in the morning and tinned food in the evening - never any problem with flies. And IMHO the biscuits smell much worse than the wet food! (The special ones you can get that are supposed to clean their teeth and gums are the worst...)

If you don't already have a regular vet, ask neighbours who they use and then ask the vet for advice on flea treatments, worming and vaccinations - they should be only too happy to talk you through the routine. Consider pet insurance too - cats can do some amazingly stupid things - and do get him neutered. He'll be happier for it, is less likely to mark 'his' territory indoors, and as I'm sure you know, there's plenty of cats in need of good homes out there already. You don't want to share a home with a tomcat in heat. Really.

But don't forget - enjoy! He'll be an endless source of entertainment, make sure you play with him whenever you can and make sure he gets used to being handled from an early age. One of my cats loves a cuddle, but the other hates being picked up and will always struggle to get away which is a shame.

AndyC did the one that hates being picked up get any fuss when it was a kitten? Is it just lucky to find a cat which will allow you to cuddle them or is it a lot to do with how much you handle them as a kitten.

with regards to food - its OK to always have dry food - so long as the cat drinks water - about 80% (or something like that) of whiskas is actually water based which gives the cat the fluid it needs. NEVER give a cat milk! Cat milk is fine - but not our milk! :nono:
The only time in the summer you'll have a prob is if you put too much food down and yes, sometimes the flies get to it - but again - esp in the summer - cats need fluid!
Good luck! Post some more pics when you get it home - ps - what ya calling it?

I don't know, we got them when they were almost a year old. Jasmine is a very nervous cat all the time anyway; as I'm sure you know, cats have a very rigid hierarchical society and she's firmly at the bottom of it. Our other cat Jess is only one step up the social ladder compared with the other cats in the neighbourhood, but she comfortably 'owns' the house and is much more sociable. I suspect that, because of her social standing, Jasmine likes to always be in a position to make a run for it - ie. all four paws firmly on the floor.

That kitten looks exactly like one of mine. (I have 4).
In addition to what's already been said with regard to fleas. Its advisable to treat the home as well as the cat. The reason being that they only jump on the cat to feed, and they will breed and lay eggs etc around the home.
It's best to get a long lasting insecticide containing growth inhibitor, such as VetKem Acclaim, or Indorex. Staykil works as well, not as good as the other two but much safer for pets.

If the kitten is going to be left on its own while you're at work, have you considered getting two? (company for each other and will prevent feline depression, lonliness etc). Its not that much extra cost to keep two, and when they grow up together and play together it will provide endless amusement for you as well.

We want to call him Leo as he is a Bengal and remind us of Leopards.

I'd love another to keep him company but just the one is going to set us back £200 and thats without the rest of things we have to buy. As soon as I get him i'll send some pics of him.

Can they eat dry food straight away or is there a certain age they can start eating it?

Not sure about the food - because I have always fed mine on wet food - however, I'm quite certain that there would be a dry mix kitten food - but because he's a bengal as opposed to a general moggy - maybe you'd best speak to your vet and see what is best for his breed!

we had a cat around where we used to live that was renowned for being aggressive to other cats and had made one other cat terrified of going out and it suffered from stress after it's first meeting with the said bully so as to say it was top dog.
then we rescued a ferrel kitten from a farm where the mother had abandoned it and we had to feed it with a syringe it was that small! we called it salem and it grew up and turned out to be long haired which was really soft and loved a good fuss, and you'd think it was as soft and soppy as they come when it was in the house but as soon as it went outside it's attitude changed, it became rambo in drag it just didn't care.
any way salem did eventually meet the above bully and my god did she kick it's arse! the hair stood up the ears went back the claws were out i've never seen anything like it.
the bully obviously lost his place at the top probably embarassed about being beaten up by a girl and salem took his place.
the sad thing is she had 2 kittens and then just left leaving us to bring up her kittens bloody charming! we used to see her around quite often and she took up home in another house just down the road from us so at least she was being fed and looked after.
it's when they go missing and you don't know where they are or what has happened to them that i don't like.

hi

i have 2 bengals (among others)

they are not good at being left on their own to be honest - they are not solitary cats. read up about their breeding - they love company :)

we had 1 at first, and left him on his own for about the same period of time you're considering... he was fine, but got bored quickly, which is why we got him a play-mate and he's been much happier

we'll give it a go and if he seems unhappy or bored we'll have to get him a friend. Let's hope he'll be OK.

Royal Canin do all sorts of dried food for different breeds and kittens. Get him a little moggy chum! :) There seems to be quite a lot of kittens about at the moment. Try Cats Protection. :thumb:

We've had a pair of little *******s for 14 years - twins - apparently.

You couldn't meet 2 more different cats - they will be what they will be - to try and second guess what they will turn out like is pointless :). One will jump onto your lap and sleep all night - If you can get the other one to remain on your lap for more than 2 seconds you're a better man than me :).

We've had a new kitten for approx 4 months and he's growing into his name - Ghengis :lol1:

And Ghengis is the spitting image of your potential new ankle biter :)

Had Murhpy for nearly 4 weeks now.

When we first got him.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture110.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture098.jpg

And Now

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture119.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture108.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture121.jpg


He was already litter trained when we got him at 8 weeks old!
Not had one accident yet. He's knowcked things over and, like any kitten, is always looking to get into mischief! :rolleyes:
But he loves his cuddles, so we can never stay mad at him for long. :D
We left him on his own the first week when we wnet to work. My mrs only works 2 miles away so she comes hom at lunch just to check on him.
We feed him dry food and cat milk as he won't touch water at the moment.

Considering how f&cked my hands are now from play-fighting, he's worth every minute. :thumb:

Lovely looking little chap for sure. :)

Cats are usually alright if left to their own devices during the day. Although a kitten might be a bit more lively they usually spend most of the day asleep anyway. You might just risk a bit of furniture clawing, we put blankets over the chairs to stop that.

Les

So it does not look like we are buying the kitten. I found out the mother was Bengal and the father was Persian. Not sure if it would have been a good idea. I'm going to keep looking. I might spend a little more money and buy a pedigree.

If it's not a dumb question... why?

Moggies make arguably the better pets - their more diverse background means they're less likely to suffer from health problems that in-breeding can cause. A cat's pedigree just means that its parentage can be traced, it's no guarantee of 'quality'.

If you're not planning to breed or show the cat, pop down your local RSPCA, Cats Protection or Blue Cross centre and pick one up there. The myth that they're all 'difficult' or 'problem' cats with a troubled background is complete b.s; ours originally had to be re-homed because the owner's daughter was allergic to them.

Do also consider getting two so they can keep each other company if you're out at work a lot - it does mean two lots of food and vets' bills, but you're also doubling the chances that you'll get at least one that turns out to be affectionate rather than aloof.

I didn't realise this. I was told that breeding two pedigrees could cause problems. I don't know too much about cats. Thanks for all the info its great help.

It's more a problem for the breeder; a litter of pedigree kittens is valuable, whilst a litter of 'wrong' parentage is just a responsibility. Either way they have to be fed, attended to, vaccinated and found homes, so a breeder will often keep a female cat indoors when she's in heat in case she goes out and finds a mate.

There's no stigma attached to inter-racial 'encounters' in cat society ;)

I guess also you might find that a cat whose parents are pedigrees would inherit some of the health or behavioural problems associated with their parents. Persians, for example, have flattened faces which can cause respiratory problems - but the photo you posted shows a kitten with normal proportions, so I couldn't see that being a problem in his case. (In fact I don't know how you could resist those blue eyes - I'd have him in a moment if I didn't already have cats of my own!)

My first cat was a Siamese, when I must have been about 8. She was intelligent, affectionate and talkative - characteristics of the breed that you either love or hate - but it has to be said that she was in and out of the vet her whole life too, with a persistent chesty cough and, later on in life, obviously painful arthritis for which she had regular doses of steroids. She also had a habit of pulling out her own fur with her teeth, which was an odd trait but not unheard of.

She lived to a ripe old age, though, and we all loved her to bits. But it has to be said, my two moggies are much healthier. They're 9 now and have only had a few injuries to contend with, up until a few weeks ago when one of them started to 'tick' as she walks around - the vet reckons it's a loose tendon sliding about, but it doesn't seem to bother her or stop her catching the local wildlife :)

If you're not around during the day, consider a slightly older cat rather than a kitten, as kittens have small stomachs and need regular, small meals that you'll need to be around to provide. They're not really bright enough to dip in and out of a big bowl full of food when it suits them! Ours were about 12 months when we got them, which is old enough that they can settle into a routine of 'breakfast' + 'dinner' and be left alone between the two. Rescue centres will tend to have more older cats too, and they do sometimes struggle to find homes for perfectly good pets because, unsurprisingly, everyone wants a kitten.

Again thanks for the all the information. I understand where you are coming from with an older cat but like you said its nice to see them grow from a kitten. I feel pretty gutted I didn't buy him now and wished I bought him today. Apparently someone else went to buy him this evening.:(

I wouldn't get too hung up on pedigree.

Ghengis is half cat (his mum who we met) half rabid dog (His Dad who is yet to be caught).

as far as I can work out :)

ps And he was free to a good home - And I'm not kidding he looks like the twin of the cat you visited.