Cat in the house.

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Don,
Kudos for adopting a kitten. They are actually pretty easy to incorporate into a household.

First order of business: Get a cat box and fill it with litter. DO NOT get the clumping clay or silica gel litters (litter pearls). These are coated with silica and your little cat will ingest silica when it grooms itself. These litter cause digestive tract cancers and diseases because of the silica (glass is silica, for example). Get a natural litter like corn cob, e.g. Nature's Miracle, etc. A non-clumping clay litter is okay, but the corn cob ones are the best. Put the cat in it several times a day and see if it can figure out how to do it's business. Generally they are very quick to figure this out; cats bury their scats by instinct in the wild, so it is natural for them to use a litter box.

2nd order of business. Give your little cat it's own room for a week or so to live in and keep the door closed. Let the cat feel that the room is it's safe place. Put the food, water and litter box in there and let it get secure with the room by itself. DO NOT continue to enclose the cat in the pet transporter; cats need to move to be healthy, both psychologically, emotionally and physically. They also need exercise to develop their muscles and bones, to do this they have to MOVE. A cat is one of the nature's great athletes and needs to move to be fit and healthy. A spare bedroom, office, study, bathroom, or even your bedroom are are good ways to do this and give your cat an opportunity to come out and explore around when it feels secure. If in a bedroom, your cat may want to hide under the bed for a day or so, this is natural. They will come out when they feel secure. My cat Lucky, who has been with me for almost five years, still hides in the bed in my bedroom when he gets scared. All cats need a place where they can feel safe and secure.

For feeding, as your cat is still very young, you can mix some wet food with water or canned chicken gravy to make it easier to feed itself at first. Get real kitten food, not dog good. Cats have to have the amino acid taurine in their diet or they get heart disease. This is added to commercially available cat foods. They also need a lot of fat in their diet, especially when they are kittens, so use kitten food (Nutro Max would be a great start). You can also get some vanilla Ensure to give to the cat by syringe to give some calories. A ml or two is enough. (NO Chocolate; chocolate is very toxic to cats and dogs) Be sure to put fresh water down every day for your cat in a small bowl. You will need to allow your cat to eat several times a day; cats do not eat like we do; they tend to nibble all day long. This is part of the reason they poop a lot; cat have short digestive tracts and food passes through more quickly than in people.

When it gets older and it's teeth come in fully, you can start giving it hard food. Consult a vet for how best to nourish such a young cat.

As your cat is only a few weeks old, it is VERY important you handle the cat with love and physical affection several times a day so that it imprints on you as it's mother, and gets used to human contact. Give it a LOT of love and physical affection, hugs, petting, cuddles, etc. so that it will socialize, otherwise it will become feral. The cat needs this for it's emotional development and you and the cat will bond as a result. Play with it a lot, give it a lot of love, and it will be a happy cat and reward you with wonderful, unconditional love.

Cats by nature are pretty highly-strung predators, and they need their own time to settle in. Most of all, they need to feel secure and safe in their new home.

Thanks Stephen for writing such a detailed post. Cats are cool and can be very loving.

[DonBattles]

I have been to a vet already and was told the kitten seems is healthy but was to young for shots just yet. I will be taking Smoke back in four weeks or so at which time shots will be given and blood samples for testing. As for the feeding I'm doing it by bottle and giving him GNC Pets Ultra Mega Premium Milk Replacer for Kittens. I was told at six weeks or so weening him to wet food and could mix in the replacement milk to start. I do handle the kitten and play on a regular basis usually right after feeding. He's very playful and I do enjoy the interaction time put my free time is very limited.
So it looks like I need to get a litter box and consider what room to place him in, I'm thinking the bathroom as my wife's already upset about the multiple accidents on the carpet. She's been pretty good about it thus far but I keep getting "that look" as I'm wiping things up In the end I'm glad I brought him home and I'm sure it will all soon be much easier. And thanks to all for the kind works and encouragement, I would just like him (and me) to be happy.

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by DonBattles

In the end I'm glad I brought him home and I'm sure it will all soon be much easier. And thanks to all for the kind works and encouragement, I would just like him (and me) to be happy.

You my friend are a saint. It will get much easier and you will have a friend for life.

[Puma Cat]

Thanks, Joe.

Yes, cats are way cool...you can probably tell from my avatar i am a cat person.

Some other tips for Don...

Get a cat brush at your local pet store, the kind with the plastic teeth or steel pins with the little ball on the end. Brush your cat regularly; cats actually have two types of fur coats; a soft, very light, fluffy undercoat that is shed during warm weather. This is what comes out when brushed, or what they ingest when they get hairballs. Their top coat is a "hard" coat, and really does not come off or shed very much at all. Brushing also brings the oils up to the coat to keep it shiny and healthy.

Also, talk to your cat: call it by name and talk to it a lot. Cats, for the size brains they have, are remarkably intelligent and they will talk to you. Get to know their specific vocalizations and what they mean. They know exactly what they are thinking and communicating to you. A dog's first response when called is to come, a cat's first response is to answer.

They will very quickly get used to a specific schedule and settle into a routine. They become so routine you can almost set a clock to their schedule.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by DonBattles

I have been to a vet already and was told the kitten seems is healthy but was to young for shots just yet. I will be taking Smoke back in four weeks or so at which time shots will be given and blood samples for testing. As for the feeding I'm doing it by bottle and giving him GNC Pets Ultra Mega Premium Milk Replacer for Kittens. I was told at six weeks or so weening him to wet food and could mix in the replacement milk to start. I do handle the kitten and play on a regular basis usually right after feeding. He's very playful and I do enjoy the interaction time put my free time is very limited.

Don, thanks for the reply. See if you can get your wife (and/or kids if you have them) to play with Smoke. It will make the transition and bonding for all easier. Your wife will be more accepting of any "accidents" if she's bonded to the cat. Sounds like you're doing exactly the right thing with him with respect to feeding.

Originally Posted by DonBattles

So it looks like I need to get a litter box and consider what room to place him in, I'm thinking the bathroom as my wife's already upset about the multiple accidents on the carpet. She's been pretty good about it thus far but I keep getting "that look" as I'm wiping things up In the end I'm glad I brought him home and I'm sure it will all soon be much easier. And thanks to all for the kind works and encouragement, I would just like him (and me) to be happy.

Yes, I would get the litter box ASAP (like today or tomorrow at the latest), Smoke will very likely start using it right away, and once that happens, it will not matter what room you keep him in as long as he has access to his box in that room. Once he starts using the litter box, it is very unlikely you will be having any other incidents. Cat will exclusively use the litter box for their business once they figure it out. It is pretty remarkable how quickly a kitten will figure out the litter box and start using it.

You gotten some good suggestions on how to help Smoke settle in; if you follow it, you will find that you, Smoke, and the wife will be pretty happy pretty quickly.

[joeinid]

Smoke can be your audio buddy

[Puma Cat]

Don, I was just thinking...if he's still very little, a good thing to do is to get a cardboard box (like a 14 X 14" or thereabouts) for him and put a blanket in it for him to sleep and hang out in. It should be big enough for him to move around and sleep in different positions, but stay warm when sleeping. You can put it in whatever room you are keeping him in until he gets settled in the house. Your cat box should also be not so tall on the sides so that he cannot get into it in his own. As he is a little kitten, a small litter box for now will be fine, but at some point you will want to get a larger one for him. My cat Lucky is 17 lbs and a big cat, so he needs a pretty big box. The pet store will have suggestions for his best accomodations.

[chessman]

Lucky is the most aptly named cat of all time.

[Puma Cat]

Ha! Another friend of mine said that, too!

[chessman]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Ha! Another friend of mine said that, too!

You have to be on the top of the owner's list in the cat world.