Pet Paradise

[samls324]

Show off pics of your pets, tell stories, anything you want to share about those special animals in your life 🙂 Post as much and as often as you want!




Here are are my fluff babies DJ and Gunner (also called Lulu or Lou). They are mother and daughter. DJ is my baby and Gunner is a daddy's girl. They are approximately 9 years old and very spoiled!

This is DJ. She loves to be near me.

Miss Gunner Lou loves her catnip carrot

[pixiedust2]

@tsavorite

[tsavorite]

@pixiedust2, This is the exception that proves the rule!  🙂

[anaa]

So cute!!!

[samls324]

Oh my gosh that hat is adorable!

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness! Thank you ladies so much for all the advise @tsavorite @curlieq @vhm333 @alexasteph @ZombieMetroAnt

My mom found a box of discarded kittens at the gas station last week and has been taking care of them and looking for willing parents.

Im actually allergic to cats that's why I've never had one but I read you can acclimate and your body can adjust especially if I kept it indoors and not let it pick up outside elements. Yes, im allergic to everything. Eeesh. 

I got one one litter box, cat condo thing and a bunch of little cute ball toys that shine, crunch, and all around look like a good time. Oh, and a break away collar. I picked out a little girl and she's grey and white. I'll take pictures when I get her. If she's an indoor cat do I need to spay her? Sorry, I literally know nothing about cats. 

Does anyone have one of those self cleaning litter boxes? Cleaning it isn't the issue, just curious since it's closed and looks pretty cool. I have hardwood floors so am I going to have litter all around the box from her ins n outs? Maybe a rug there? 

[anaa]

I'm very allergic to cats and I now have four running around.  I can't say I've acclimated to them, but I use Flonase and it's pretty manageable...unless I pet one and rub my eye.  Itches for hours!!  You do have to spay females because they go into heat and will try to get out.  She will yowl and drive you crazy!!  The younger you do so the better, but a vet can advise you.  I have the standard litter boxes and use clumping litter.  Good luck!  Thanks for taking her in!!

[tsavorite]

@Anonymous,  She sounds adorable!  I hope that your allergies will let you keep her.  You may need to take antihistamines like Zyrtec.  Some people give their cats baths to get rid of dander.  Ask the Vet.  There are special shampoos and conditioners for cats. I want to second and third the recommendation for World's Best Kitty Litter, available online, at Petco, and pet stores like that. It is so much better for my allergies than clay litter and dust!  You have a long time to figure out what type of litter box system that you want to use.  You can try out whether you prefer sweeping your bare floor or having carpet around the litter box.  Girl kitties need to be spayed because otherwise they keep going into heat until they get pregnant. If you spend one cycle with a kitty in heat it will convince you to get her spayed.  It's miserable.  String, thread, dental floss, and other things like that if swallowed by a kitty can cause a surgical emergency that you want to avoid.  You can be happy with one cat.  If you are away from home a lot, you may want company for your cat.  Some cats seem to want to be an only cat. If you have more than one cat, Vet, food, and litter box expenses naturally increase. Regular Vet care, at least once a year, is important. You should get the kitten checked out and immunized. My kitties love toy mice that rattle, and the Galkie Kitty Tease (online), which is a denim butterfly on the end of a line attached to a fishing pole- like rod.  It's like fly-fishing for cats instead of fish. The cats chase the denim butterfly. I've never seen anything that cats like as much! Good exercise. Remember, no cow's milk! There are dry kitten foods (that have too many calories for adult cats.) You may want to look on Amazon at "Think Like A Cat...," about raising a kitty, by Pam Johnson Bennett. I'm reading one of her books and she sounds like the real deal to me. I'm reading "Cat vs. Cat," about multi-cat households. By the way, your Mom is an angel to help those kittens find homes! Allergists say to keep the cat out of your bedroom and off your bed if you are allergic.  

I wish you the very best!  If I can answer any questions, I would be glad to! 🙂

[Anonymous]

@alexasteph @k617 @lachaton @samls324 

I have been reading up like crazy. I have an appointment next week with the vet to get started on the kitty package. 

The litter box sounds like it's going to be trial and error but I'll get another one so I have two for her. I haven't picked out a name yet but I'm really excited to get her home and acclimated with my pups. 

[vhm333]

@tsavorite brings up another great point! Do the introductions slowly and carefully. You want to keep them in separate rooms and even without dogs, you'd want to keep the kitten in a room at the start. Get them used to each other's scents. If there's a blanket or something you can keep with the cats and alternate it might help. Leave the kitten with something that smells like the dog and something you've worn so they don't get lonely and can smell you as well.

When you do introduce them, do it slowly at the beginning. Your job should hopefully be a bit easier since it's a small kitten and animals are quite good at recognizing babies of many species. Either way, depends on the size and energy level of your dogs, the best way to protect the cat at the start is to introduce them slowly after they get used to scents. Keep the dogs on a leash, or completely controlled. Let the cat approach them at leisure and just sniff around. Praise the dogs while you're keeping them from lunging and give them treats/rubs or whatever they enjoy. Lots of attention. Separate them after. You want to repeat this process a few times extending the length of time. The first time you test without a leash, stay close to the dogs. 

If you have small dogs this might not be a big issue, but a medium size or big dog can do massive damage to a kitten accidentally or just through playing. I'm sure it'll go great, especially since the kitty's young. 

They might not be best friends, but coexisting is still a win. You're already a pet owner so I think this will be a breeze for you. Dogs aren't necessarily easier or harder, but they require more initial training and time I think so if you've done that, you'll do great here. Plus a lot of food that's either bad/toxic for dogs is bad for cats as well (onion, garlic, raisins/grapes,, cherry seeds etc.) The Pet Poison Hotline is awesome for that. I also second many of @k617's recommendations - I love the Cat Site. I definitely lurked there quite a bit. 

The kitten might be totally fine or might be scared shitless when it first arrives to your place. Take it easy and spend time alone with the cat. Don't hold or anything if the cat's skittish but talk to it a lot. I know that sounds silly, but let it feel your presence in a calm way. The kitty might cry a lot at the beginning or get lonely a lot, but it'll get the hang of everything soon. 

Best of luck really! I can't say that enough.  

[tsavorite]

@Anonymous,  It's my opinion that one small kitten doesn't need two litter boxes to start off with.  I think all the advice about multiple litter boxes is for multiple cat situations.  Unless you have a huge house or apartment and you want to have a litter box in close proximity to the kitten. You have time to get a second litter box later, if you want one.  I recommend keeping the kitten in the room with the litter box until you are sure that the kitten is used to using the litter box.  If she makes a mistake and "goes" outside the litter box, pick up that stool and move it into the litter box so she gets the idea.  You can also mimic digging in the litter in front of the kitten. Kittens want to dig too.  

A good way to introduce other animals is to first keep them in separate rooms until they get used to the scent of the other.  To bring them in the same room, putting the kitten in a closed cat carrier in the room with the dogs will help them get used to her. These steps take time.  I hope that you can find good advice on how to introduce your kitten to your dogs, since it sounds like they are not used to cats. You probably  will need to be protective of the small kitten at first.

I think it is very important to have an cat carrier to take your kitten to the Vet, or anywhere in the car.  You probably already have dog carriers for your pups. 🙂

[vhm333]

You've gotten tons of great advice already, but just a note about the self cleaning ones - Some cats may be scared by them. The two times you especially never want to scare your cat are during eating and elimination. A cat that's scared of the litter boxes will be much more likely to have accidents or go elsewhere and will have a harder time trusting other boxes. 

There is also a gross but really important thing to keep in mind. Your pet's stool and elimination habits are very strong indicators of health and illness and if there's anything wrong, you may not realize it. 

As a warning - kitten poop stinks so so badly. BUT it gets way less stinky when they get a bit older which happens too fast anyway. 

I read a study that suggested names ending with an "EEE" sound "Barbie etc" are more easily learned and recalled by cats. In case you're down to two options or something haha. 

As for the allergies, I highly recommend an air purifier in the home. It does wonders for allergies. I would also say brush and get rid of fur often and quickly so it doesn't hang around and bother you. I use a brush called the "Furminator" that does wonders for shedding. They go through shedding seasons around fall and spring, but each cat is different there of course.

You and your mom are awesome people for rescuing the fur babies 🙂  

[alexasteph]

I agree with @k617 about getting her spayed and keeping her shots current. The situation these little kittens were found in is exactly why it's so important to get cats fixed when they are adopted. Some shelters won't adopt them out until they are fixed. My guy was neutered and had his first round of injections before he was even eligible for adoption. I've never had a cat who wasn't fixed, so I can't speak from experience, but I have heard of cats who escape when they are in heat and come back with a litter. 

Keeping them up to date on their shots is really important too. Some might prevent them from developing an illness, so whether they are indoor or not wouldn't matter. Also, if you would ever need to have her boarded she would need to be updated on her shots. 

I can't wait to see pictures of this little sweetie! She will be such a fun addition (even with the allergies... Yes, you can develop the antibodies specific to your cat! It may just take a little time). I've had cats my entire life and will never be without one. I'd have 2 if I weren't living in an apartment and needed to pay pet rent...

[samls324]

@Anonymous I have a CatGenie. It uses washable granules. You can hook it up to your washer or a toilet. It's not cheap ($240 on Amazon), but it works great. 

My husband is also allergic to cats, but he's lived with them his entire life so it's not a terrible allergy. He's been getting allergy shots once a week to help with it.

yes- spay your cat! 

Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions. I love kitties haha

[lachaton]

@Anonymous FWIW we used to have a cat when I was growing up - he was great. I have a family member who's allergic but he was fine with our (outdoor) cat. Obviously can vary from one individual to another, but we had our beloved, grumpy fluffball for 14 years.

[k617]

Yes @Anonymous you should definitely spay her even if she will be an indoor cat. I think if you don't spay her she'll go into heat and there are risks associated with not spaying your cat. I would also keep her shots up to date (FVRCP) but according to my vet, rabies shots are optional though my cats still get theirs updated every 2 years.

Excerpt from http://www.hartz[dot]com/Cats/Health/Medical_And_Preventive_Care/the_importance_of_spaying.aspx about consequences of not spaying:

• It is not uncommon for un-spayed cats to suffer from ovarian cysts and uterine infections due to constantly fluctuating hormone levels.
• Spaying your cat will reduce the risk of mammary cancer as she ages.
• Spaying your cat will not impact her ability to grow and does not cause your cat to get fat.
• Unspayed cats might call loudly, mark the house with urine, and do everything they can to get out and find a mate. If she does find one, odds are good she will get pregnant.

Also, if kitty decides to bolt out the door one day and she isn't spayed, then she could potentially get pregnant!

The self cleaning litter boxes will depend on your cat. We have friends whose cats have been using a self-cleaning litter box from when they were kittens, so they don't mind it. I have other friends who tried to have their cat use a self cleaning box but the box made weird sounds and so kitty got afraid of it and won't use it anymore (and when that happens, they resort to other things). My personal motto with litter boxes is "if it works, don't try to change it"...the litter box is something you do NOT want to mess with. I've had 3 different types of litter boxes throughout the almost 4 years we've had our girls, and I think we've finally found a good combo. We have one high top litter box and one top entry litter box. Our one cat is an aggressive digger, so the top entry box gives her more privacy AND prevents litter getting kicked out of the box. We might eventually replace the high top one with another top entry, but so far this works for us and we  haven't come home very often to a massive pile of kicked out litter anymore, so we'll keep things this way for now.

Having litter all over the place is just something that you'll learn to deal with having cats. Or, if you're lucky and you get a cat that is super tidy (like my other cat who digs and covers very gently, and gracefully hops out of the litter box with minimal litter tracked), maybe not so much. A mat might work but again... cats get weirded out by odd things. ONe of my cats refused to go in the litter box through the front when we added a mat to the entrance. So rather than tracking litter and having the mat pick it up, she started entering the litter box from the side and tracking litter that way... haha. In our current house our kitties' litter boxes are in a tiled laundry room so we can go a couple of days without doing a full vacuum but when we were in the townhouse where their litter box was in a hardwood floor bathroom, we vacuumed pretty much once per day (in that area, at least). We use World's Best... odorless, light, easy to clean, and less dusty/harmful for kitties compared to conventional clay based litters.

Honestly, even though my cats sometimes will make a mess (and my black cat just had poop stuck to her butt the other day when we got home, which meant bath time) I don't know what I'd do without them. I'd never had a pet before adopting our two, so when they were kittens and crazy, it was a bit overwhelming for me since they were always getting into trouble and were so loud at night. Now that they're 4, they're much calmer, cuddlier, but independent at the same time. If you want great resources, I frequented the Cat Site and lurked their forums, lots of great info and knowledgeable people there!!

[vhm333]

I always have to laugh about the World's Best litter - I tried so hard to get them to use it as kittens and one would get in the box and sit and eat the corn haha. The other one just followed suit and didn't use it. 

Cats are weird ❤️ 

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone! 

I might be adopting a kitty this weekend. Can someone help me with where it goes and how a litter box works? I'm getting anxious about the litter box and it not being sanitary. Sorry I have no clue about being a cat mom. All tips welcome! Food, toys, things they need?

[vhm333]

@Anonymous are you adopting a young kitten? If you are I strongly recommend getting a pair of kittens instead! I adopted mine two years ago and I was completely new to being a cat mom. I lived alone so the cats really kept each other out of trouble. Young kitties get really lonely and can be destructive if bored, but they always stayed together. It was so much fun watching them learn from each other as well! When one caught on to something, the other would learn from observing it. Plus cats need to know how to play and hunt and what not. And their little play squabbles are amazing! 

It was an amazing experience and I'm so thankful for it every single day. I hope you enjoy every moment with your new baby! Try not to play with your hands too much when they're little. You don't want them growing up and getting used to it. Lots of scratching posts and high spaces. A cat tree is wonderful. As for toys, I have a million recommendation, but when they're very little, everything is amusing - one of mine is obsessed with water bottle caps. 

Get used to the tough things early, like trimming nails etc - they grow used to it. For litter box, I would suggest investing in a kitty locker. I use clumping litter by purina but it was a trial and error process finding something that didn't make a mess and they were good with. Even with one kitten, your life will be a bit easier if you have more than one litter box. 

Food depends on age and is one of those subjects that lots of people seem to disagree on so I take the middle road and go wet in the morning, dry in the evening. Make sure to avoid foods that are dangerous to them and be careful with floss. Mine are obsessed and will seek it out so I have to keep it hidden at all times. 

If you're getting your kitty microchipped and neutered/spayed, get them done at the same time. I made the mistake of doing it separately and they were awake during the microchipping - those screams are forever implanted in my mind. 

Take a look at the dangers in your home like wires etc. If you have blinds, be extra careful with the string. One of mine got caught on the string and I was home when it happened and cut him loose but if I wasn't, the results would have been scary to imagine. 

I've grown to seriously adore cats and I have learned that they give you what you give them. They're not pack animals so they won't automatically follow you or want to obey you, but they are not entirely solitary. Pay attention to them, spend time with them and don't assume that they can be alone all the time because they're cats. They can get very lonely, especially when they're little. 

Don't declaw, don't punish. Cats respond better to positive reinforcement and there's always ways to teach them. Be patient with them. Watch Jackson Galaxy on YouTube. 

That's a lot so I'll stop for now, but really, they've been the most enriching part of my life, and I have lived a colourful life so that's saying something. I love dogs too and I've always had dogs before and I have one now but bear in mind their differences.  Once you love cats for what they are and treat them accordingly instead of wanting them to be dogs, you can really appreciate them for their silliness and quirkiness and lovable-ness. Don't be anxious! There will be lots of trial and error, but you care enough to prepare - you're already ahead of lots of people. 

Oh and if you're getting a young kitten, don't bother with the cat nip till they're a bit older. They don't respond and it's a bit disappointing if you try. 

Have so much fun!! 

[k617]

Agree with so many things you said @vhm333! We were also going to adopt one but the lady running the rescue persuaded us to get two. At first I thought it would be way more $$ and lots more work, but honestly, I don't think it make much of a difference in that aspect.

@Anonymous : If you can take two, I would highly, highly recommend it. Rather than taking their boredom out on a poor piece of furniture, or getting into serious trouble, I found that having two kittens meant they always had each other to play with and tire out.

And anything you want to be able to have them do later in life...like tolerate nail clippings, brushing (my cats don't like it), and baths... start early, so you won't dread having to do them. I clip my cats' claws, give them baths when they're really dirty (like poop stuck to butt fur) and people are amazed I still have both arms when I'm done. Honestly, my cats will protest, but I don't recall the last time I was clawed when clipping their nails or giving them a bath.

And yep, please don't ever, ever declaw a cat 😞 It hurts them since on us it'd be like removing the fingertip above the first knuckle... it's not just removing the nail. Declawed cats could be scarred for life and might have issues with using the litter box since it will hurt their paws when digging.

[tsavorite]

@Anonymous,

Congratulations!  Are you the one who is enthusiastic about  adopting a kitty?  Is it a kitten, an older kitten, or a full grown cat? What's it's background?  Does she already use a litter box or litter tray? Don't worry, there is lots of advice available to you. Kittens aren't born using litter boxes, but they are quick to learn, usually taught by their mother.  I've taught kittens to use litter boxes too. If you need help with that, I'd be glad to explain. It's easy. A lot of the advice you are seeking might depend on the age of the kitty.  I'd be glad to help. One piece of advice: most cats and kittens do not tolerate cow's milk.  Good luck with your new friend!  🙂

[curlieq]

cats are wonderful...congrats on the new addition! i grew up with dogs, so our first and only cat has been real fun. don't worry about nice, expensive toys, they'll be more excited about the packaging anyway! our cat looooves cheap toys...sparkly balls and anything that crunches. and plenty of cardboard boxes!! (Sephora boxes happen to be a perfect size for a kitty nest) 🙂