New Kitten - Best .................

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Ok so we got our gorgeous little boy TEDDY yesterday and i was after some suggestions on:

Best Food
Best Kitty Litter
Toys
Introduction Techniques To Our Dogs

We don't have a lot of $$ but we want whats good for him as we do with our dogs, with the wet food does he NEED kitten food or is that a gimmick to get me to spend more on smaller packets?

Also once i know he's ok with eating the biscuits without being a little soggy what else can i feed him, steamed chicken, mince???

I am going to do 1 dry meal 1 wet or should i do a mix of both in the morning and night?

How do i introduce him to our dogs, we took him near them last night he hissed, backed away and bit me (not his fault our big dog is 10x his size)
So whats the best way to to do?

Also is there any truth the the PUT BUTTER ON THEIR FEET SO THEY DON'T RUN AWAY???

We will get him desexed when he's older and right now outside time will be limited to once or twice a day while we are out there, i hope he's careful near the road if he gets over/under the fence.. ahhhh

We are getting him a scratching post, i have scratched his feet through the kitty litter box, should i get him a collar and is he too young for a flea collar?

Thanks in advance.

[Sibbie]

Yay! Boy cats are great, so much more affectionate than females!

Best litter I found is the recycled paper one, it doesn't smell like the others. Foodwise - I give my kitty optimum (I think?) and the little sachets of whiskas. Mind you she only ever has a teaspoon of that, and mostly just licks the gravy off lol she likes her dry food better. I think the kitten food is good for them while they're little, when I was giving my cat the adult stuff at first she had a bit off an iffy tummy so I just kept her on the kitten stuff before settling on the optimum and she seems ok (she's almost 12 months now). Sometimes she has chicken or other meat but tbh she's never that interested in it. So I guess just offer him food and he'll decide what he likes

Wrt the butter thing, I don't think that works. I would keep him inside mostly, and when he's a bit bigger let him out on 'supervised' visits lol till he's used to it. Then when he seems ok let him go for it, but feed him around dusk so he knows to come back in at night

Don't get him a flea collar, they aren't very good for little kitties, can be toxic!! I think they make kitten spot ons for fleas

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Enjoy your new friend!!

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Thanks hun... he's eventually going to be an outside cat then he will sleep in the laundry or bathroom at night (well i think the whole house now he's here and so damn cute) so i will def get him used to coming back for food at night.

Will just see how he goes, i bought the kitten sachet for the wet food, gave him a little of it then put it in the fridge, i think those will last a couple of days.. i just got the whiska's dry kitten food for now but will check out prices and go from there.

[PumpkinZulu]

Definately yes to at least one meal of wet food! Not whiskas!!! We do mince, sometimes chicken, and one meal of advance dry food, but that is pretty exxy. Make sure he always has a full bowl of fresh water! Cats need lots of water lol. We use a crystal litter, it works well but our kitty spreads the little crystals around the house when they get stuck in her toes. A bit annoying! Enjoy, cats are THE best pet!

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Any reason NOT WHISKA'S hun?
How do you cook your mince, do you just steam your chicken.. listen to me i sound like a mum starting her bub on solids.
The cheeky little bugger is hiding in the house somewhere he must be content he's not sooking..

[PumpkinZulu]

Whiskas is soooo nutritionally unsound, it's pretty much kitty junk food, full of salt and crap. No need to cook any meat you give your cat, just raw like nature intended. Chances are as an outdoor cat, he'll be eating few birds and things anyway. It's very important that cats eat wet food, as a diet of just dry food is very bad for their kidneys, as it's not how they are built to et and digest. Kitty will love raw food, meats etc. Depending on what he was fed prior to getting him, he may turn his nose up at it at first, as it won't have all the preservatives, flavours etc, but all cats are notorious for being sensitive to food changes

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Thanks hun, i will give him these bicuits and try the wet food we bought him and then will introduce mince and chicken, atleast the nights i cook those he will be eating well

[Cranky Kitten]

We use crystal litter and a high sided tray for our cat Finn, which works well and he doesn't spread it too far (usually just the laundry).

He is an indoor cat though, so his food requirements are a lot less, he does well with just a bowl of dry food every night but enough so he takes the next day to eat it as he wants to. Definitely make sure you have plenty of water available (Finn has his bowl but for some reason prefers to lick the floor of the shower after we get out in the morning, the weirdo).

Have you thought about keeping him indoors though? Reason I ask is that cats are natural hunters, which is bad for any native wildlife in the area and male cats (even desexed) can get territorial. Which may result in some hefty vet bills from him getting into fights with other cats in the area, or the danger of him running across the road at the wrong time.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Have you thought about keeping him indoors though? Reason I ask is that cats are natural hunters, which is bad for any native wildlife in the area and male cats (even desexed) can get territorial. Which may result in some hefty vet bills from him getting into fights with other cats in the area, or the danger of him running across the road at the wrong time.

We would like he to be an outside cat, we live on 4 acres and we would like him out there with the girls and the dogs to watch for snakes, we also want him catching any of the field mice that are running around the place.
He will be kept inside over night and TBH i don't think he will be catching anything our dogs aren't already trying to
I haven't really seen any cats around so am hoping once he's desexed he's not wandering off a couple of k's away into paddocks looking for trouble.

I guess we just have to wait and see how he is, hopefully he is a well behaved little man.

[skybie]

our cat only gets dry food, he's allergic to fish and gets whatevers on special with no fish in it when i go to the shops, and then i mix it in with a bag of optium.
litter wise i just use the no name stuff, but for a little kitten i'd go dr harrys recycled paper so the dust doesnt go up his nose.
and having seen ur precious teddy i would highly reccomend visiting ur vet and getting some sunscreen for his nose and ears, do not put human sunscreen on him!! he's honestly not really suited to be an outdoor cat given how white he is, but if u want him out there then u really do need to protect him from the sun, would hatet to loose him due to skin cancer b4 his time is up

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Thanks skybie, we didn't want a white cat but he chose Ava and has been happy to go near her so we thought it best to go for one that seemed comfortable with the girls, will pop into the local vet and see what they have.

Thanks everyone, your all so helpful.
Clever little bugger has already figured out the girls can't get up the steps but he can so he climbs through the gate and has fallen asleep at the top of the stairs, it's quiet warm up there so have left him some water but he seems quiet happy
The girls love him.

[kawazuki]

my vet always recomended roast chicken or BBQ chicken and steamed fish.
so i used to steam flake and some bbq chick then mix it up and serve with kangaroo mince/mix

my cats always loved it
always had dry biscuites out for them
and planty of water. never did the milk thing.

though my last cat was trained like a dog, he would come when called, walk on a lead and sit on command, we were just sarting to train him to go outside for the toilet but he got hit by a car and we had to get him put down. i will be getting another one

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

my vet always recomended roast chicken or BBQ chicken and steamed fish.
so i used to steam flake and some bbq chick then mix it up and serve with kangaroo mince/mix

my cats always loved it
always had dry biscuites out for them
and planty of water. never did the milk thing.

though my last cat was trained like a dog, he would come when called, walk on a lead and sit on command, we were just sarting to train him to go outside for the toilet but he got hit by a car and we had to get him put down. i will be getting another one

Aww Kawazuki
Teddy is loving his hiding spot upstairs but is coming to us and seems ok near the girls, am teaching htem if he wants to go let him go and no chasing, it's onyl day one so i think they are doing very well.
Tonight he will get bisuits and some sachet food will use what i have then he can have chicken and mince etc.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

UPDATE: Teddy is a much loved member of the family already, he seems very happy around the girls and has already figured out if they are annoying him to take off up the stairs as the girls can't get past the gate.
DD1 likes picking him up and he seems ok with that but we are teaching her how to do it so she doesn't hurt him.
We bought him a scratching post with a little ball attached and as he gets older i will make him a scratching/climbing post.

Going to fill up a water bottle to spray him near my curtains but in the meantime he's running around the house during the day, hiding on the stairs then sleeping in the bathroom at night.
He's NOT a fan of the dogs so need to work out a way to introduce him to them.. any tips?

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

UPDATE: Teddy is a much loved member of the family already, he seems very happy around the girls and has already figured out if they are annoying him to take off up the stairs as the girls can't get past the gate.
DD1 likes picking him up and he seems ok with that but we are teaching her how to do it so she doesn't hurt him.
We bought him a scratching post with a little ball attached and as he gets older i will make him a scratching/climbing post.

Going to fill up a water bottle to spray him near my curtains but in the meantime he's running around the house during the day, hiding on the stairs then sleeping in the bathroom at night.
He's NOT a fan of the dogs so need to work out a way to introduce him to them.. any tips?

[Cranky Kitten]

Have you got a flywire door in your house? Sometimes it can help to have one person outside the door with the dogs on a leash, and another inside with the kitten and the door between them - they can see and smell each other but not get to each other. Give both lots of praise (and maybe some treats) when they check each other out calmly. Gently reprimand for any aggressive behaviour.

It may take a fair while for them to get to know each other, and you may find that tolerance is the best you can hope for, but it's worth doing.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

CK - yeah we have a fly screen door, am trying to get them close enough without wanting to hiss and scratch, dogs have already ripped a small hole in it now so will just have to persevere... he's only been here a couple of days and seems quiet happy so the dogs will just take time

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Any other tips on the cat & the dogs?

Teddy is doing VERY well, he's using the litter box and have only found 1 surprise when DD1 shut the toilet door.
He's going up to the girls, sitting with them and when DD2 gets a little rough he just walks away and hides upstairs.
DD1 picks him up and he doesn't scratch or hiss at her and he seems to have his own little routine.

When i come downstairs to get the girls in the morning he cries to be let out, he has a cuddle with the girls back in our room then wanders off and does his own thing, we get him some fresh food and water he eats a bit and then chases the girls around.
Gets annoyed with them and goes to hide upstairs, eventually comes down when they are in bed and follows me around, plays with the girls when they wake then goes into hiding, comes down again just before the go to bed, cuddles DD1 then lays on the couch with DP or I then back into the bathroom over night and we have never heard him cry... how lucky are we that this gorgeous little man chose us