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The litter tray

Confessions of a novice Kitten owner

43 replies

SecretSquirrels · 18/11/2011 14:12

We got a 9 week old kitten from the rescue centre a month ago.
Never had a pet before.
Here are some lessons I have learned.

1.Do not bulk buy kitten food in advance, the type may not agree with him and he will have the squits if he continues to eat it.
2.Do not buy fancy igloo bed, he will peep in once, wee in it and then sleep where he chooses.
3.The high sided litter tray was a good buy. Once he was used to it I put the lid on and it contains the - er contents.
4.He will hate the cat basket and poo in it.
5.If you try to familiarise him with it by leaving it around with a few toys in it he will go in and poo in it.
6.If he has done a poo somewhere he will do another on the same spot no matter how much I clean up.
7.Home made toys are the best. He loves boxes. DS stuck two boxes together at an angle with a hole cut through and stuck some foil on string inside. This is his number one favourite toy. He also loves an empty tissue box, primark carrier bag and a cardboard tube.
8.The fancy cat activity centre we bought is of no interest to kitten.

  1. He hates cellotape. I have stuck it around the base of areas I want him to keep out of and he won't push past it.

10.He doesn't respond to NO in any language or tone of voice.
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Fluffycloudland77 · 18/11/2011 14:23

They learn no eventually, I can keep our cat off the worktop if I see hes about to jump by saying NO! in my sternest voice. But he will try again if he thinks im not looking.

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SecretSquirrels · 18/11/2011 14:51

That's reassuring Fluffy, it's one aspect of cat ownership I hadn't anticipated. Although we've never had a dog I know enough dogs to know that if you put on your deepest, crossest voice they will do as they are told. The kitten just shrugs and does it again and again until he has to be banished from the room.

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DreamsOfSteamingHotMincePies · 18/11/2011 14:57

Yes cat beds of any sort are a waste of money! I don't know how the manufactures stay in business. I have never owned a cat that will use one Angry

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Fluffycloudland77 · 18/11/2011 14:57

We call it selective deafness. GET OFF THE TV! (no response)

Sotto voice, do you want this chew? instant attention.

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TheWisdomOfSolomum · 19/11/2011 20:16

Watching with great interest, I will be taking delivery tomorrow of 2 kittens that someone dumped on my friends doorstep.

I'm very nervous! It's like coming home from hospital with DC1 again.

What if they don't like me?

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Fluffycloudland77 · 19/11/2011 20:17

Wisdom, if you have hands to open pouches and tins they will like you.

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SecretNutellaFix · 19/11/2011 20:21

Welcome to the world of being Cat Staff. You will be treated to disdain on a regular basis and nothing will be fur free again. Occasionally you will be treated to a furball, be sure to treat it with the reverence it deserves.

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TheOriginalNutcracker · 19/11/2011 20:22

Mine responds to NO, by looking at me, cocking her head and then carrying on with what she was doing Hmm I think she has learnt that from the dc tbh.

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TheWisdomOfSolomum · 19/11/2011 21:20

Thanks (I think Grin )

It's been a long, long time since I had a kitten/cat. I totally forgot about the fur issue - I will have to hide the ironing pile from them as well as myself now!

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SecretSquirrels · 20/11/2011 12:45

We haven't come across the fur thing yet Hmm.
Wisdom, I found it very much like having a baby in the house again. Litter trays instead of nappies with surprisingly few accidents. Also the kitten progresses very quickly, one day he can't get up on a chair and the next he's on the table. Hence the NO.
He likes company. Follows me round like a curious toddler when I am doing stuff around the house.

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Sparklingbrook · 20/11/2011 12:51

The curious toddler thing doesn't always disappear. My 4 year old furry baby will jump all over the bed as I'm trying to make it, and has to investigate inside the kitchen cupboards when I tidy up. Cats are just nosey!

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aliciaflorrick · 20/11/2011 12:53

My kitten was MUCH harder work than my puppy, the first two weeks he came home I thought I'd made a huge mistake. But he's six months old and now and has matured (and calmed down) much faster than puppy who is the same age. He's also become very independent too.

My old cat knows the meaning of the word no and wouldn't even dream of sitting on the table or worktops, shout no at the kitten and he just puts two cat fingers up at me and carries on as if I hadn't spoken. My big fear is that he will walk on the cooker top when the rings are cooling down and burn his feet. I fear it will be a lesson learned but will also cost me some dosh down at the vets.

I know keeping him out of the kitchen is the answer, but when you're busy serving up dinner, sorting out DCs, sometimes you forget.

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SecretSquirrels · 20/11/2011 15:00

aliciaflorrick - I'm worried about the hob thing too although he hasn't got as far as jumping onto a worktop yet. Keeping him out of the kitchen is unrealistic though, he is in fact confined to the kitchen and utility rooms unless supervised.

Thinking ahead, at what age do people let their kitten outside I wonder? He's 3 months old and had his jabs but is far too little and daft to be let out yet.

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Rollergirl1 · 20/11/2011 17:08

I am lapping all this up. We are bringing home 9week old kitten in 2 weeks. He is a silver tabby who we are calling Casper and we can't wait!

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Sparklingbrook · 20/11/2011 17:17

There is a flurry of new kitten aquiring on Mumsnet at the moment. Envy

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crazynanna · 20/11/2011 17:29

Uh-oh.....here's Sparkling and her green face emoticon Grin again.

First week with Poppy has come to an end already! And I cannot believe how much she has grown in that time. Her tummy looks like she has swallowed a small melon!
Definitly spoilt...sleeps with me evry night on the other pillow,but has to be touching me somehow. Claws are getting sharper...and so are the teeth!
The sideway kitten preance is my favourite thing,and she can now get up and down the stairs. She looks through the glass back door onto the garden with such longing...but at 9 weeks she has a way to wait yet.

No accidents in the house (touch wood),but I do wish she will hurry and get thr hang of scraping the litter over her pooh....litter showers are not my fave thing!

All in all....I luff her Smile

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Sparklingbrook · 20/11/2011 17:41

I am trying to keep away from the 'Litter Tray' section crazy! I just can't stop myself.
Have you bought her any Christmas presents yet? I think maybe the tree will be all she needs!

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crazynanna · 20/11/2011 17:46

Oh Christmas pressies! I am thinking she may think the cooked turkey is just that! Hmm
She doesn't play with any of her (still pristine) toys....just a scrunched up piece if silver foil and one of my old socks.
Not for Chhristmas,but I saw in Tescos Whiskas kitten milk...what do you think? Does she need it/would she like it? Or am I tempting fate again to feel guilty over runny tummy?

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Sparklingbrook · 20/11/2011 17:52

She may like it but it's not necessary and if her tummy is ok now I wouldn't. My cat's never had any. But she is partial to a small blob of vanilla ice cream on special occasions.

Cats are very hard to buy for!

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crazynanna · 20/11/2011 17:57

I know,they are hard to buy for! There are 4 sections of food and treats for dogs...and 1 for cats!
She ran through dd's legs today and got orange juice spilled on her back for her antics. I quickly had to flannel rinse her and dry her before she licked it off and squirted her litter tray later Sad
She has claimed my favourite towelling dressing gown as hers Hmm I loved that dressing gown Hmm

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iklboo · 20/11/2011 18:01

You can get a Dreamies advent calendar for pusskies now. Grin

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Marlinspike · 20/11/2011 18:06

Another rule of cat ownership....

....the number of seconds a kitten can conceal an uneaten worm tablet in their mouths before spitting is disdainfully at your feet is in inverse proportion to their size. This is true even of you are clamping their tiny mouth shut!

I speak with the experience of having acquired 2 sisters 5 weeks ago. Can't grind up the tablets in their food as then I couldn't be sure that one would have a double dose and the other nothing at all. It was a little easier when I swaddled them in a towel before shoving the tablet into their mouths, but I still bear the bloody scars!

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crazynanna · 20/11/2011 18:15

About worming....
Mine was wormed when I picked her up (last week)
Do I do her again? Soon? Smile

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Marlinspike · 20/11/2011 18:17

I think every month up to 6 months - not sure of the frequency after that.

The vet also gave me a dose of flea zapper stuff, but I can't see the point of that as mine aren't going outside yet (they're 13 weeks now).

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MartyrStewart · 20/11/2011 18:21

Pic of my kitty on profile. Her mum was a stray who abandoned her at 4 weeks old, then she got cat flu at 5 weeks Sad

She recovered against the odds and now rules the roost. Our Lab won't eat any chicken/treats we put down for him unless kitty has had her fill Grin

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