| Paw Colors | Points |
|---|---|
| Grey | 0-49 |
| Red | 50-149 |
| Orange | 150-299 |
| Green | 300-599 |
| Magenta | 600-1499 |
| Purple | 1500-4999 |
| Blue | 5000-9999 |
| Brown | 10000-24999 |
| Black | 25000+ |
I am getting a kitten to bring home from my friend (When they are old enough) I was wondering what to do to take care of it because it will be my first cat. Should I let it outside if it is declawed? Should I even get it declawed so my furniture isn’t scratched up? How often should I feed it? Will it be okay around my old lazy golden retreiver (and possibly poodle we are getting rid of him though) if it is growing up around him its whole life? Should i empty a room for it so it feels comfortable?
Keywords: care, do, how, kitten, new, stuff, to, use, what
Answers to this question
7 Answers
5
These are all great questions.
First off for cat care, feeding. You should start your kitten off on kitten food, and preferably a brand like Wellness Core, Blue Buffalo, or EVO for top brands, OK foods such as Iams, Eukanuba, or California Natural. I would never in my life feed my cat or kitten Meow Mix, Friskies, Special Kitty, Purina, etc. These are low quality, fatty, unhealthy foods that no cat should have to eat. If you can not afford top of the line brands, Iams is probably the most inexpensive \\\”OK\\\” food brands, and I wouldn\\\’t feel terribly guilty feeding it to my cat.
Depending on if you\\\’re getting a long haired or short haired cat, you may want to think about grooming. All cats, long and short haired need plenty of coat-attention. For a short haired cat, brushing once-a-week for 20 minutes while watching TV is a good idea. If you want even less fur–because short haired cats can shed a LOT–you can try brushing every other day, or even everyday. Long haired cats need even more grooming. At the very minimum twice a week. Every-other-day would be even better, and everyday the best. In the shedding season, special de-shedding tools such as the furminator are great to use.
Cats–especially kittens–need lots and lots of attention! Make sure you\\\’re ready to give it to them. Getting two kittens is always a good idea. But having dog around can help, too. Most all kittens are OK around dogs. It\\\’s the dog around the cat I\\\’m worried about. I\\\’d be careful, watch closely and see how they react to each other. My dog and kitties get a long just fine. One of my cats grew up with my dog, and they\\\’re best friends. It all depends.
Before ANYONE gets any kind of pet, I always say make sure you\\\’re financially well. Make sure you will be able to afford multiple vet visits for shots, spaying/neutering, and also whenever your pet is sick and annual check-ups.
NEVER EVER declaw cats! It\\\’s a painful, inhumane process that can have long-term bad effects on your pets. It\\\’s extra dangerous with an outdoor cat! It\\\’s best not to let your cat outside, either. Now, as much as people say that outdoor cats only live three-five years, I do think they can live much longer. I\\\’ve seen some that lived till they were 14/15 years old. I\\\’ve also seen some not older then 14/15 months old who\\\’ve died out there. Your cat is safer indoors!
Supplies:
Litter Box
Litter
Lots of fun toys for your cat to go nuts with(such as scratching posts, little balls with bells in them, etc.)
Healthy food for you pet to eat
And attention
I hope all goes well as a first time cat owner. If you have any more questions and can cat-mail me.
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Make sure you read this page before you even CONSIDER declawing your cat: http://www.declawing.com/
Declawing is an inhumane procedure that is illegal in many other countries, including nearly all countries in Europe. American vets have lobbied against attempts to outlaw it in the USA and Canada because it makes them a lot of money, but it\\\’s a cruel thing to do to cats and can result in behavior problems like defensive biting and fearfulness as well as physical problems like infection, permanent limping and eventually arthritis.
You can train your cat not to scratch your furniture by providing scratching posts for it to use or use a nail trimmer to keep them blunt so they can\\\’t do any damage, or use a product like softclaws/softpaws claw caps to keep your cat from damaging your furniture. Declawing should be the absolute LAST thing you consider, not the first. Vets may try to sell you on it calling it a \\\”routine\\\” procedure like spaying and neutering but it is ANYTHING BUT.
For some good information for first-time cat owners, you can try this website in the source below
Source Link: about cats
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1 DONT let it outside your cat can live an average of 3 years longer 2 DONT get it declawed.3 yes you can have your kitten around a dog 4 YES you should let your kitten have 1 room for a while, but there is no reason to \\\”empty\\\” a room for her. dont let your cat hang around too long without her \\\”partner(s)\\\” cuz she will not want to share \\\”her\\\” house with them.5 I LOVE WARRIORS AND YOUR NAME!! ill friend you!! the black slashes around my \\\” \\\” or \\\’ \\\’ are normal the site is acting up there is no way to avoid posting them!!
Source Link: dos and donts
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i am having a kitten too so i was so nervous so i searched on google for cat information and your cat could die or have bleeding if u declaw her because cats need them to survive and even if they fell from a high place they will land on their claws and its very important to them…….!!!!!!!!
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You can declaw your cat, if you really feel you need to, but leave its back claws alone. If your cat ever got outside it would need its back claws to survive. If possible, don\’t declaw your cat at all.
Comments to Answer
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There is NO reason you should have to declaw a cat. Soft Paws is an alternative.
5
Even a cat with back claws is very vulnerable outdoors. They cannot defend themselves against attack by other animals as well, they typically do not run as well because the structure of their declawed paws is damaged and they do not climb trees as quickly to get away because they cannot grip the bark with their front paws without claws, or climb trees at all if all four paws are declawed. A declawed cat should NEVER be allowed outside unless it is closely supervised in a situation where it cannot get away (i.e. in a well-fenced garden with supervision, on a harness and lead, etc). Of course a cat should never be declawed anyway!
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NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER declaw your cat its cruel!! would you want to go through your life without fingernails??!!??!!
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