Tag Archives: kitten

Happy at home

Bringing Home Your New Cat

Welcome home

Welcome home

One key to making successful shelter cat placements is managing the expectations of their new people. Here is some information, gleaned from various websites and the personal experiences of our adopters and volunteers, which we like to share with each cat adopter before the day they bring their new family member home. Have other ideas to help make the transition easier? Send us a comment below! You can never have too much good advice.

Welcome home!

Finding the cat of your dreams may have been easy, but fitting a new feline friend into your household usually requires a little patience and time.

To make your cat’s transition as comfortable as possible, we recommend placing her in a quiet, closed-in area such as a bedroom or a small room away from the main foot traffic and other pets, providing food, water, and a litterbox.  Let your new pet get used to that one area for the first few days, sniffing your belongings and finding hiding places.  Make frequent visits to play with, feed, pet, and interact with your new cat.  Then you can begin slowly introducing her to the rest of your house, including the other pets.  We recommend keeping cats indoors at all times for their health and safety, and that of the birds and other outdoor animals, BUT if you decide you want your cat to be an indoor/outdoor cat, do NOT let her go outside for at least two weeks after bringing her home, and then begin with short, supervised visits to the yard, so your cat can get her bearings and recognize her home turf.  Always put a collar with ID information on a cat who goes outside.

Cat Buddies

Cat Buddies

INTRODUCING A NEW CAT TO A RESIDENT CAT

Your resident cat will sense this “intruder” in his home; be sure to spend extra time with your resident cat, to help relieve anxiety and tension. Place your resident cat’s food dish near the door to the room where the new cat is confined.  Gradually move the confined cat’s food closer to the inside of the door.  Feed them at the same time so they are separated by only the closed door.  Some growling and hissing is to be expected – this is NORMAL and does not mean the cats will never tolerate each other!

When neither cat growls, hisses, or spits, you are ready to move on to the next step: confine your resident cat, with its own food, water, and litter box, to a location with which he is comfortable.  Allow the new cat to explore your home for brief periods, accompanying it to give it the comfort of your presence as it explores.  Then return the new cat to her “safe room” and let your resident cat out of its room.

It is a good idea to rub each cat with a cloth to transfer its scent to the cloth, then place the cloth with the other cat so they can get used to each other’s scents.

After several days of this, you may be ready to let both cats roam in your house for the first time; try to plan this for mealtime.  Feed the cats in each other’s presence, placing their food dishes a comfortable distance apart.  Some hissing and hesitation are to be expected; hopefully the food will distract them from each other.  Wait only a few minutes after eating to return the new cat to its “safe room.”  If either cat is too disturbed to eat in the other’s presence, return the new cat to its “safe room” and try again the next day.  You can gradually move their food dishes closer to each other; allow the cats to spend progressively longer periods together after they have eaten.  It is advisable to maintain one litter box for each cat, although when they have accepted each other, each cat will likely use both boxes.  Be patient; most cats learn to accept each other over time.

Some anxiety in the resident cat can be alleviated by ignoring the new cat in the resident cat’s presence, and referring to the new cat as “resident-cat’s-name’s friend, new-cat’s-name” (example: “This is Sneakers’ friend Pumpkin, Sneakers will love to play with Pumpkin…”). Sounds weird, but it works!

Cat + Dog

Cat + Dog

INTRODUCING A NEW CAT TO A RESIDENT DOG

Be sure the dog is restrained on a firmly held short leash and the cat is free to escape; do not allow the cat to come within the dog’s biting range.  if your dog guards its food, the cat may risk injury if it approaches the dog’s food, and it may be necessary to move the dog’s food or confine the cat.  If the dog acts aggressively toward the cat, use corrective behavior techniques with the dog.  Dogs can usually be trained to ignore, or even play with, cats.

 

COMMON ISSUES WITH A NEW CAT OR KITTEN

 

My kitten doesn’t use his litterbox!

Sometimes cats and kittens are a bit overwhelmed when going to their new home; if they are allowed to roam in too large a space, they may take some time to learn where the litterbox is, and this can lead to accidents.  If you confine your new cat to one room at first, you can then gradually move his litterbox out of that room and into your preferred location, by moving it a few feet per day. The cat will most likely follow the box!  If you witness your kitten missing the box, you can place the kitten into the box and move its paw in a scratching motion – this helps the kitten associate the box with a place it can bury its waste.

My cat uses his litterbox, but sometimes she prefers to use my houseplants!

Fresh dirt can be irresistible to some cats looking for a burial spot; to discourage this behavior, cover the soil surface with pinecones – big and spiny are best.

My cat has runny stools!

This is an extremely common situation for cats and kittens moving to a new home; cats have very sensitive digestive systems, and just the stress of a big change can be enough to bring on diarrhea. Changes in diet that occur in a new home can also contribute to this problem.  It will usually clear up on its own in a few days; be sure the cat has enough water and easy access to the litterbox. If the problem persists or worsens, consult your veterinarian – although shelters do their best to prevent and eradicate diseases among cats, there are a number of minor things that can cause diarrhea; most are easily treated once identified by a stool sample.

My kitten is sneezing and has runny eyes and nose!

One of the most common ailments to strike cats and kittens right after moving to a new home is the upper respiratory infection, or URI. Again, stress is the culprit; kittens that showed no symptoms prior to being placed in the carrier for transport, can begin showing symptoms in a matter of hours after arriving in the vast, scary, unknown world of your house.  Usually, the kitten’s immune system will fight off the URI in just a few days without any veterinary intervention. The closest human example is the common cold; when we are stressed, we are more susceptible to infection by the virus, but generally fight it off quickly with just a bit of chicken soup. (Yes, go ahead and give chicken soup to the kitten if it makes you feel better). If your kitten is not listless or dehydrated, and not running a very high fever, there really won’t be much else you can do to help them get over the “cold” besides cuddling and petting them (OK, OK, and chicken soup).  If, however, your kitten’s nose or eyes begin secreting yellowish or greenish mucous, or the third eyelid begins showing prominently, or your kitten is extremely listless, he may be suffering from a secondary bacterial infection – those CAN be treated with a course of easily administered antibiotics, so definitely take him to see the doctor, and “supercharge” that chicken soup.

My kitten is shredding my couch!

Inappropriate scratching CAN be cured. The first thing is to provide several appropriate scratching places so your kitten can choose the material it likes; sisal posts, corrugated cardboard pads, even logs have been used with success.  Then, to discourage the unwanted scratching, wrap the chosen item in tape, sticky side out – cats DESPISE this feeling on their paws.

My cat won’t come out from under the bed!

She is undoubtedly frightened and disoriented by being in a new place; use this room as her “safe room” for the first few days, and go in and talk quietly to her, read her a book, play music for her – but DON’T force her to come out.  She wants to be friends – she’s just not sure what to expect. Take your time and show her you’re not a big, scary monster, and that she now belongs with you – no more cages or uncertainty!  Cats can be a challenge, but a little patience works wonders.

Here’s a good article on cat communication: http://www.wikihow.com/Communicate-with-Your-Cat

Image Credits:
Cat Buddies: Copyright © 2003 Kim Gillen, available under CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported.
Cat + Dog: Copyright © 2010 Sean Gillen, available under CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported.

Single Kitten Syndrome – yoo haz it?

Crazy Kitteh

Crazy Kitteh

Kittens are like hyper-wound balls of energy, and work off their energy best when having another animal to play with. Two kittens around the same age do well together because they are both at the same stage of development, and both want to POUNCE and TUSSLE and ROLL and RACE AROUND.

In the absence of a second kitten, one kitten will turn their attentions either to another animal in the house – and hopefully that animal will enjoy the activity – OR in the absence of a responsive animal, will turn their attentions to their people and surroundings.

When I was 8 I begged and begged my parents for this one fabulous kitten… they relented, and I had my first Maine Coon, wow! He was an awesome cat and lived for 24 years, BUT his kittenhood in a home with no other kittens to wrestle with and pounce on was a HOLY TERROR!

He would race down the hall, up one side of the living room drapes, tear across to the other side, then slide down with his claws SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEing through the drape material. Then it was off for a bounce and a flying squirrel leap onto the wall, with a slow slide through the wallpaper with the claws. Then three sideways leaps and a POUNCE and CHOMP on whatever ankle happened to be walking past. You get the idea.

We found out later from our vet that he was suffering from “single kitten syndrome” – he needed to work out his kitten energies on a member of his own species rather than on anyone stumbling to the bathroom at 2:00 a.m. Just something to consider, and maybe talk it over with your vet.

Can’t help it, you only get to have one kitten? You can help simulate a kitten buddy by putting a plush toy on the end of a sturdy stick, and using it to “wrestle” with your kitten. Another plush toy in kitty’s favorite sleeping spot can substitute for a cuddle buddy. Finally, playing with wand-style toys encourages your kitten to run and leap and work off some of that endless kitten energy.

One important tip: do NOT use a hand or foot to wrestle with your kitten. Sure, it’s adorable when your little 2-pound fluff-ball is ferociously attacking your fist – everyone laughs! Fast forward a couple of years, and you now have a beefy 16-pound kitty, who learned that attacking your body parts is both fun and acceptable. Not laughing now, are you? Ow.

Here is some additional information from PAWS Chicago; they feel more strongly about the issue than we at Forget Me Not do, and we trust you to decide what is best for you and your family.

 

Underweight Pets

Underweight dog

Underfed Oatmeal at her January 15, 2011, arrival at the shelter.

If your pet looks like this, make sure that you’re feeding them enough; check the package on their food and make sure that you’re meeting or exceeding the feeding recommendations. If you are, check with your veterinarian: weight loss can be caused by parasites, thyroid disorders, diabetes, and other serious but treatable conditions.

Normal-weight dog

Oatmeal on January 23, 2011, after gaining weight from proper feeding at the shelter.

Since her arrival at the shelter, Oatmeal has filled out nicely and has been adopted!

Ringworm outbreak at shelter infects eighteen adoptable pets

An October ringworm outbreak at the shelter has left eighteen of our twenty-one adoptable pets infected. Infected pets include:

  • Alameda
  • Adriano (adopted after infection)
  • Acosta
  • Aguafria
  • SilverBelle
  • ChiangMai
  • Siobhan
  • Wasabe
  • Lambert
  • Fantasia
  • Doolittle
  • Melinda
  • Six unnamed leMutte puppies

This leaves only Cupid (who is on “longtimers discount”), Surat (currently on “adoption pending”), and Zorro uninfected.

All of these pets (except, of course, Adriano, since he’s already with his new owner) entered treatment on Monday, November 1.

It is important to understand that ringworm is nothing to be afraid of. It is, in fact, even less serious of an infection than athlete’s foot or those mushrooms in your lawn. Stay tuned for a blog about ringworm and why it’s nothing to fear.