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

[alexasteph]

That's a brave bird making his way in to a thread full of cats 😉

[vegchililover78]

What a pretty bird!

[starsandbucks]

I couldn't get all three to look at me at the same time but I rarely can get them all in the same photo so I'm calling it a win. 😄

From left to right: Mona, Ruthie, Pumpkin 🎃 

[samls324]

So cute!!

[EvangelineDamon]

PUMPKIN!!!!

I hope that sweetie has been well.

Mona has some great stank eye going on. Such pretty girls.

[tsavorite]

@starsandbucks, Models with a lot of attitude! 🙂

[liv545]

This is my baby who was named Rigby intitally,although we call him Baby Terters now which is a complete digression from Potato. I must say Target has epic deals on clothing and accessories for the whole family, fur babies included. This boy is my second child and at almost two, we have hopes that he may stop destroying everything soon, lol. It is impossible to be mad at him anyway. Also, wouldn't make a difference because he doesn't do apologetic. #sorrynotsorry

[pixiedust2]

@liv545 Well Baby Terters is just adorable!!! His lil tail curling up the back is the best 😄

[tsavorite]

@liv545,  Why are Pugs so darn cute?

[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...