Hi, new kitten owner here for the first time ...

TractorGirl327

... we got 2 kittens yesterday. 9 weeks old and soooo cute. A black and white male "Socks" and a female tortie, "Jellybean". I've never had cats before, always had dogs when I was a child so it's all new to me.

Well, Jellybean went straight behind the washing machine and fridge, and I had to pull them out to get her out (and was disgusted by the cobwebs and general yuk under there so she did me a favour really, as I had to clean there)

She then went under the sofa and fell asleep, didn't come out for 4 hours. She then had a bit to eat and drink, then found hole at the bottom of a kitchen cupboard and crawled through. So I had to disassemble an entire cupboard to get to her!

Later on she found another hole under the oven. My 8-year-old daughter moved with lightning speed and grabbed her back legs just as they were disappearing, but later on both of them went missing and they were both under the oven. Luckily hubby was home and he took the oven out, removed the bottom of the cupboard and there they both were, looking so cute we couldn't be cross. Needless to say we have done some hasty repair jobs with corrugated card and duct tape over any hole over a millimetre in diameter, LOL!!!

Today has been much calmer, they have been playing with the kids and their toys, they are part of the family already :T

rachiee

ahhh thats cute.. its scary coming away from the place you know as home for so long when your only little, when we got our last kitten she used to sneak under the dishwasher when we opened the door, as theres a gap there what a carry on we had! good luck with them in the future and have fun :j

vervin

The are fab little dusters, they are a little frightened give them a few day's to settle.

nanokitten

If you've not had cat's before it can be quite a learning curve!
I strongly recommend this article on my vets website for new kitten owners its really helpful, especially this bit about behaviour: http://www.merialvetsite.com/sites/towervets/special.php?content=veterinary_catsmain
I found a good one on kitten proofing the house but I can't remember where, the main points are:
Block all the holes you can up (you have found this one out!) if you have an open fire, you need to block the chimney or have some kind of fire guard it's nice and warm up there and they sometimes like to sit on the soot shelf halfway up!
Toilet lid always down (kittens can easily drown) washing machine and dishwasher door religiously closed. all houshold chemicals and medicines locked away.
Whilst they are being kept in, be careful with uspatairs windows, mine would try to climb out the little ones at the top and my neighbours kitten was killed this way
They obviously want somewhere safe to hide sometimes, try a cardboard box with a s mall hole cut in one side and an old jumper in it. Have a house rule that no one touches the kittens when they go to the box (including you) It's hard but cat's need an isolation zone to feel secure (see vets article).
Enjoy! Oh, and photos please!

nanokitten

Found the kitten proofing article http://www.purina.co.uk/Home/All+About+Cats/Your+New+Pet+Cat/Purina+Kittens/Kitten+Proof+Your+Home.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished

TractorGirl327

nanokitten wrote: »

Found the kitten proofing article http://www.purina.co.uk/Home/All+About+Cats/Your+New+Pet+Cat/Purina+Kittens/Kitten+Proof+Your+Home.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished

Brilliant, thank you, should have read that before we got them, LOL!!! I'll take a proper read later on this evening.

h007

awww hearing about yours is making me all excited about getting my cats in a couple of weeks!!

and i will make sure i block up all holes and see if under the oven is at all accessible!

Spearmint

we got our kitten on saturday and she is not allowed full run of the house yet

we were advised for the first couple of days that she should spend most of the time in 'her room' to get used to the new environment but she is not at all scared and never hides so we had her out quite a bit but only ever under close supervision as she is small for her age

she spends periods of time in her room though so that she gets used to being on her own and not cuddled up on somebody all day

nanokitten

I think starting them in one room is a really good idea, mine started in the bathroom as it was the room with the least places a kitten could get lost, was nice and warm and had a wipe clean floor. She then was allowed a new room at a time and put to bed in her room and night and gradually the run of the house. She still has her tray in there (quite a good place for it I feel) and she still likes her 'toilet hug' (the first cuddle of the morning whilst sitting on the loo, the only time she will sit on anyones lap!). I think she will always associate the bathroom with being her safe room (and gets quite annoyed when anyone goes in there and closes the door withou her).

Spearmint

our 'cat room' is the utility room for now as the rest of downstairs is open plan and that is the only room with a door

Jonesy_McJones

Best hiding place our two found when they were kittens was the cutlery drawer. Somehow they both got in there and managed to shut the drawer behind them. OH opened the drawer without knowing they were in there - gave him such a shock he pretty much screamed!!