My Husband Is SO Mean!

[YadaYadaYada]

My cats loved paper bags as kittens, would play with them forever, throw a q-tip in there and you might not see her the rest of the day lol!

She is sooooo cute

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:



cheers--Sharon

 

[metall]

Congrats on little Leia Housecat!

She is darling!!! Honestly, I think that she's probably still getting used to you and her home for now. I wouldn't overwhelm her with too many new things just yet. Just keep the food the pound was feeding her, let her have her little blanket, and let her get used to being with you. My princess came home with me wrapped in a hand towel that I STILL have because she doesn't let me throw it out...that was 11 years ago.

Once she gets used to being in your home, you can slowly introduce her to new and fabulous things, but now is the time to let her get used to being in your home and let her get her bearings.

 

[Matata]

@House Cat...keep her on the food she ate at the shelter for at least two weeks and then slowly introduce the food you want her to eat. Add small amounts, 1/8 tsp of new food to old for a week or two, increase new food to 1/4 tsp and reduce old food by a 1/4 tsp and keep adding new and reducing old until she completely transitions. If she doesn't completely transition but accepts some quality food along with the old food call it a win.

Now about that down comforter -- You may need to stop using it. Cats have a strong preference for peeing on down and the habit can be impossible to stop. You'll need to thoroughly soak the spot with Anti Icky Poo (available on-line) before the comforter is cleaned. This product is one of 2 that is actually effective in getting rid of urine odor. Store bought products are not effective. Even if you can't smell urine after cleaning with a store bought product, the cat can. You can also cover the comforter with a rubber sheet which she still may pee on but at least it's easier clean up.

 

[House Cat]

@House Cat...keep her on the food she ate at the shelter for at least two weeks and then slowly introduce the food you want her to eat. Add small amounts, 1/8 tsp of new food to old for a week or two, increase new food to 1/4 tsp and reduce old food by a 1/4 tsp and keep adding new and reducing old until she completely transitions. If she doesn't completely transition but accepts some quality food along with the old food call it a win.

Now about that down comforter -- You may need to stop using it. Cats have a strong preference for peeing on down and the habit can be impossible to stop. You'll need to thoroughly soak the spot with Anti Icky Poo (available on-line) before the comforter is cleaned. This product is one of 2 that is actually effective in getting rid of urine odor. Store bought products are not effective. Even if you can't smell urine after cleaning with a store bought product, the cat can. You can also cover the comforter with a rubber sheet which she still may pee on but at least it's easier clean up.

Thank you. This information helps a lot. Even the idea of considering mixed cat food a win helps. Perfection isn’t always the goal.

I’m going to buy that product for urine right away. I already laundered the comforter...sigh. I used nature’s miracle. With this new information, I’m cringing. I hope I can keep my down comforter.

She will not touch wet food. She lets it rot everyday. I’ve bought different brands. Nothing makes a difference. The only thing she wants to eat is kitten chow. I read that Gerber baby food turkey is something cats love. I’ve given it to a kitten before at a vet’s recommendation. I think I will try that today. She feels thin and bony to me. I can feel her spine and the bones in her legs. Her vet appointment is on Monday.

I have never been this way about bringing home a kitten. I just want everything to go well. In a week, I am supposed to introduce her to my dogs and let her loose in my house. I keep thinking the house is so huge (not really, 1500 sq) and she is so small. She will be lost!

She’s already very spirited and wants to escape the lego yellow room. We’ve hardly seen my youngest son. He’s in love and hardly wants to leave her. They sleep together all snuggled up. He wins first place in the heart of all of our pets, as it should be.

 

[Matata]

In a week, I am supposed to introduce her to my dogs and let her loose in my house.

For the next 2 weeks at least, supervised freedom and she should be in her room when you are not home and even when you are if she can't be supervised. She needs to be able to hold her own against the dogs should they decide to play rough. If you don't have litter boxes throughout the house, she may forget where her's is or not be able to make it back to it in time. In any event, I don't think it's a good idea to let her have complete run of the house until she is using her box 100% of the time.

I hope she gets a clean bill of health from the vet. Ask the vet to run a full PCR panel to make sure she doesn't have parasites that don't easily show up on in-office tests. Giardia is one of those. If she has a brewing urinary tract infection or if the vet finds evidence of parasites or some disease process, she'll need to stay in quarantine until whatever is found is gone.

Try grinding up some of the kitten chow in a blender or coffee bean grinder and sprinkle the fine powder over the wet food. Kibble is addicting to cats and the habit is difficult to break. You have lots of time. If she continues to totally refuse wet food, stop and try again in a few months. It can take a long time for a cat to adapt to a different food.

 

[House Cat]

My son finally settled on “Maggie” for her name.

A few days after owning her, I took her to the vet because she was feeling too bony to me. She checked out ok but it was recommended that we supplement with formula. Everything is fine now. She’s grown a lot. I was also given a dewormer to give to her every two weeks.

We used the anti-icky poo on every darned comforter in the house..yuck! Then we started feeding her on the beds. That stopped her from peeing on our beds.

She is fearless. I love it. The only thing she is afraid of is the roomba,

The first meeting with each dog was hysterical. They were terrified of the 2.6 pound kitten...terrified. Maggie wanted to play. After a couple of days, my chihuahua realized that she has a friend for life. The cutest thing is when the kitten cleans my chihuahua. My big, older dog wants nothing to do with Maggie.

Now, to figure out actual training. There are a few things she does that aren’t acceptable. They said cats do better with positive reinforcement but I haven’t figured out what that looks like yet...