To all cat owners...

[DMyst]

I just rescued a 2 month old kitten from a shelter and seeing as this is my first cat, i have a lot of questions and need a lot of advice.

The first thing that is worrying me the most is that he has gone almost 24 hours without eating anything. The shelter gave me a bag of kitten food that lasts for a week but he will not touch it no matter what. He did drink a bit of water thou... should i be worried? Should i try to buy him "wet kitten" food? Oh and how much do you feed a kitten and how often? Last thing i want is a fat fluffy cat. Oh and when are they old enough for treats?

Second thing is his behavior... for most of the first few hours he was really scared and crying... then he started exploring and calmed down a bit. I was able to pet him and give him a bit of affection when he was drowsy and falling asleep but when ever i try to approach him when hes fully awake he gets scared and hides under my bed for a good hour. When i fell asleep he started meowling at me and approaching me but the minute i made any sudden move he ran away. I was able to pet him and he purred in the morning when i was holding him but then i moved a tiny bit and he ran away and did not let me get near him anymore. Is this normal behavior? How long does it take him to get used to someone? I am starting to think that kitten was abused or something.

Last question... how do you discipline a cat when he starts clawing or biting stuff? Spray with a bottle of water? A little tap on the butt?

I tried googling all these questions but the answers were really vague.

Thanks guys

[Arbitrary]

If he hasn't eaten yet you need to head out and buy a small assortment of wet kitten food until you find something he's willing to eat. Just buy half a dozen different flavors.

[chaos]

My cat, Fiver, was the same way. He was very skiddish when we first got him home and he wouldn't come to us, was really scared when we made movements or anything, and didn't eat for the first day. Now, he is spoiled rotten and awesome at all times. He loves people, a little too much imo, and won't get off us, and he's getting fat. Shelter kittens/puppies have been through a lot in a short amount of time. The day before we adopted our cat, he had been neutered and had all his shots, shit is traumatic. Give him time, but you should be on top of the eating thing. He's taking water so that's good.

Generally, it's not a good idea to change their food. But if he goes more than 24 hours without eating, you need to try something. Get with a vet, they can help.

[chaos]

Also, get these, cats love them.

You can feed him treats as soon as he'll eat them. Ours started the first week. We just started giving him wet food once a week, he's 7 months now, and he loves that shit, so trying it may be a good idea.

We do the spray bottle thing for discipline, it works. I wouldn't recommend hitting a cat or any kind of physical discipline, the spray works. Use a stern voice and say no, don't associate tehir name with discipline, only use their name when they are being rewarded or called, etc. I am used to dogs so we used the same rules and it seems to work out fine.

[Lusiphur]

Cat's are fussy buggers at the best of times. Downright ornery at the worst.

I will echo the get a range of foods and see what he will eat. The 'new home' anxiety will be playing into the non eating so you are best just putting down some wet and dry food and leaving him to it.

That's the important thing. Leave him to it. Leave him to come to you. Leave him to get comfortable with where he is.

As for the scratching I shout at my pair when on occasion they dont use the post. Works for a bit but you will have to accept that with cats your furniture is going to get attacked.

[Lithose]

Get him declawed.

[tjac]

Originally Posted by DMyst

I just rescued a 2 month old kitten from a shelter and seeing as this is my first cat, i have a lot of questions and need a lot of advice.

The first thing that is worrying me the most is that he has gone almost 24 hours without eating anything. The shelter gave me a bag of kitten food that lasts for a week but he will not touch it no matter what. He did drink a bit of water thou... should i be worried? Should i try to buy him "wet kitten" food? Oh and how much do you feed a kitten and how often? Last thing i want is a fat fluffy cat. Oh and when are they old enough for treats?

Second thing is his behavior... for most of the first few hours he was really scared and crying... then he started exploring and calmed down a bit. I was able to pet him and give him a bit of affection when he was drowsy and falling asleep but when ever i try to approach him when hes fully awake he gets scared and hides under my bed for a good hour. When i fell asleep he started meowling at me and approaching me but the minute i made any sudden move he ran away. I was able to pet him and he purred in the morning when i was holding him but then i moved a tiny bit and he ran away and did not let me get near him anymore. Is this normal behavior? How long does it take him to get used to someone? I am starting to think that kitten was abused or something.

Last question... how do you discipline a cat when he starts clawing or biting stuff? Spray with a bottle of water? A little tap on the butt?

I tried googling all these questions but the answers were really vague.

Thanks guys

If he came from a rescue, I'll assume they had a vet check him over, and he should be healthy. Still, it wouldn't hurt to take him to your own and get that initial checkup done and relationship established. Just don't pay too much~

As for not eating, he's probably stressed out, so it's not abnormal, but it could be harmful if it goes on for a few days, particularly if he's not drinking. Hopefully he'll be doing both very soon. Wet food might help, but I wouldn't use it regularly for the long term. Dry food is better on teeth.

I wouldn't worry about over feeding a kitten. Instead make sure they have as much as they care to eat. You can worry about cutting back the diet once he's older and more robust.

The skittishness will go away. More likely than not, once he starts eating, he'll realize where his food is coming from and where his love should go.

As for behaviors, biting can be part of play. I would encourage play biting. It might seem counter-intuitive, but if the cat uses its mouth for play, it won't develop a tendency to bite for other reasons. As for clawing, claws generally stay retracted during play. You might need to keep them clipped to prevent accidental scratches. I've always trimmed my cats' claws, and never had need to get them removed.

Some people resort to water bottles and other methods to break bad behaviors, like scratching furniture . A clap of the hands or flick to the nose can work too. But if you keep his claws short, it shouldn't get to be a terrible problem.

[chaos]

I use Banfield, they are reasonable and convenient.

Also, I had no idea how inhumane declawing is, that shit is fucked up.

[Sharmai]

I am very inhumane. I just had my cats declawed. Front paws only thought I did inquire about the back claws. Now I just need to figure out how to get my girlfriends dog to pee and poop where i want it to. I swear she excite pee's pretty much anywhere and dogs have short memory so if we don't catch her immediately and take her outside it means nothing.. Sigh...

[tjac]

Originally Posted by Sharmai

I am very inhumane. I just had my cats declawed. Front paws only thought I did inquire about the back claws. Now I just need to figure out how to get my girlfriends dog to pee and poop where i want it to. I swear she excite pee's pretty much anywhere and dogs have short memory so if we don't catch her immediately and take her outside it means nothing.. Sigh...

I've noticed that a lot of pets' behavioral problems reflect problems stemming from their owners.

[Black_Death]

We rescued a kitten (a stray actually) around Thanksgiving. We never had a problem with him not eating (we fed him leftover turkey initially), but for the first couple weeks he was very skittish and lethargic. After that initial period he went crazy and now he is retard ninja cat.

I would just give him affection when he approaches you and let him have some space. Please don't get him declawed either...its like cutting your fingers off at the last joint. Just keep his nails trimmed and you will be fine and it is easy to do.

[Sharmai]

Originally Posted by tjac

I've noticed that a lot of pets' behavioral problems reflect problems stemming from their owners.

Well its my girlfriends dog and we just got it.. odd I wonder kind of behavioral problems she has..

[Lefazz]

Has it been dewormed? Also if it's shaking it's head it might have ear mites. I would think the shelter would have taken care of both of those, though.

And don't get it declawed. That's cruel.

[Senen]

Ya I'm not big on declawing we took our cat in to be declawed and later I found out that they don't just take the claw/nail out. They actualy cut the first knuckle off which removes the entire claw bed. The vet that did ours would only do the front claws, cats need there claws for self defense,tree climbing etc especialy if you leave the cat outdoors. If its stricktly an indoor cat it will be ok if you can get passed the your cutting off part of the cats toes deal.. Other wise I'd just get a pair of the nail trimmers and keep them trimmed down.

[Etoille]

Originally Posted by DMyst

I just rescued a 2 month old kitten from a shelter and seeing as this is my first cat, i have a lot of questions and need a lot of advice.

The first thing that is worrying me the most is that he has gone almost 24 hours without eating anything. The shelter gave me a bag of kitten food that lasts for a week but he will not touch it no matter what. He did drink a bit of water thou... should i be worried? Should i try to buy him "wet kitten" food? Oh and how much do you feed a kitten and how often? Last thing i want is a fat fluffy cat. Oh and when are they old enough for treats?

Second thing is his behavior... for most of the first few hours he was really scared and crying... then he started exploring and calmed down a bit. I was able to pet him and give him a bit of affection when he was drowsy and falling asleep but when ever i try to approach him when hes fully awake he gets scared and hides under my bed for a good hour. When i fell asleep he started meowling at me and approaching me but the minute i made any sudden move he ran away. I was able to pet him and he purred in the morning when i was holding him but then i moved a tiny bit and he ran away and did not let me get near him anymore. Is this normal behavior? How long does it take him to get used to someone? I am starting to think that kitten was abused or something.

Last question... how do you discipline a cat when he starts clawing or biting stuff? Spray with a bottle of water? A little tap on the butt?

I tried googling all these questions but the answers were really vague.

Thanks guys

Sarah's Guide to Kittens:


1. you absolutely need to take him to a vet in the next couple of days. most cats you get from a shelter will have at the very least been exposed to some form of internal parasite. I just got a kitten 2 weeks ago (had cats all my life though) and was shocked to learn that his stool sample came back from the vet negative (the shelter was the most immaculate shelter ive ever seen though).

take the kitten to a vet. regardless. take along your records of any vaccinations the kitten has had and your vet will tell you anything missing that needs to be done. at 2 months he'll likely have had or need a distemper - rabies isnt until about 4 months.

if the shelter did not, also ask your vet to microchip the cat.


2. kittens will adjust to you and their new surroundings in time. this depends largely on personality. some kittens are very outgoing and will explore everything come up to new people in a new house while adjusting - some will be more passive.

give him time and go slow. let him approach you. and get down on the floor. get down on his level. this makes you seem less 'big'. he'll come around. 2 months is still pretty young.

did they neuter/spay the cat? some states (like VA/MD) have laws saying an animal may not leave the shelters possession until it is spayed/neutered. and they do pediatric spays/neuters at 2 months (SIGH) now. which is a little young. most vets will want you to do it at around 6 months.

if the cat was spayed/neutered due to state law requirements this can also contribute in some cases to any 'shy' behavior. some will be affected some wont be.

3. personality. some cats are just shyer than others. cats, just like people, have their own personalities. you, as an owner, will help mold that personality but if you got the kitten who in his own litter was a 'quieter' one then thats just him. nothing wrong with him.

4. the not eating. again hes adjusting. you can try some baby food (yes baby food) - like chicken to transition him. its soft on the stomach and he should like the texture.

as for what he should be eating - cats are natural grazers. put down some quality KITTEN food down for him to nibble at on his own time. like Iams or Science Diet.

he'll be old enough for treats right now and its not a bad thing for a COUPLE a day. no more than that.

5. boundaries. kittens are like kids. you want to reinforce boundaries and the litter box. dont let him have free run of the place right away. he should sleep in a room that is totally his with the litter box at night for a week or two. if youre not home during the day it wont be a bad thing to confine him to that room for a week or so while you're out. gradually increase the boundaries to where you want them to be. clean the litter box every day. if you see him using the litter box - reinforce the behavior with a "good boy/girl".

6. invest in a water bottle. my kitten learned after a few squirts that climbing the screen door to the deck all the way to the top wasnt going to make mommy very happy. was the best 3 bucks we ever spent (on the over priced squirt bottle we got last minute from lowes that was sold out of the crap ones so we had to get industrial strength).

NEVER hit your cat - even a tap on the rear. you want them to associate hands with loving or playful touches. if he does a behavior you dont want (ex scratching furniture) before you bust the water bottle out pick him up and move him and say no. if he doesnt listen and goes right back to the behavior say no with a squirt of the bottle. this way he learns "no".

7. Kittens are babies. they explore with their teeth and their claws. expect to get scratched and bitten some what. if the play becomes too rough or is malicious thats one thing but remember this is play for them. even when theyre driving you batshit, theyre playing.

fin.