New cat - a few questions please!

alenax

joshtbh wrote: »

Hi all,

I've just become the proud owner of a 4 month old Maine Coon kitten.

I have some questions though :

1) She doesnt seem to be drinking, I've seen her take at most two "licks" of her water bowl, i've tried changing the type of bowl. Is this normal? It's her first full day in the house today

2) I havn't witnessed her go to the loo but I did hear her going nuts in her litter tray seemingly trying to dig up the plastic lining I put in the tray. I've now tried just litter in the tray with no lining to see if she prefers it, has anyone else's cat taken objection to a litter tray lining?

3) She keeps prying behind the TV and where all the wires are near the Xbox, how can I stop her going near them when I finally have to leave her alone?

4) She meowed for 15-20 mins last night when we left her on her own to go to sleep, it felt horrible leaving her on her own but thought it's best to get her into our pattern asap. Is this normal too, and do you think the meowing will stop at bedtime?

thank you in advance cat owners! :beer:

Hello,
We just got a 2 month old one so I feel your pain! This is how we dealt with things:
1. If it's her first full day she might just be nervous.
2. Never had a litter tray lining so I wouldn't know, but try it without the lining and see how it goes perhaps? How's the training going?
3. Our kitten does that as well and there's nothing we can do to stop him, he pried out the aerial out of the socket on more than one occasion as well! I don't think there is anything you can do really, unless you cover it with a box or something.
4. I don't personally mind sleeping with the cat on the bed but yeah you do have to show some character if you want her to learn not to sleep on it, she was probably just scared because she was on her own for the first time.

joshtbh

Hi Alenax! Thanks for the response, see my replies in orange!

alenax wrote: »

Hello,
We just got a 2 month old one so I feel your pain! This is how we dealt with things:
1. If it's her first full day she might just be nervous. She is now drinking I'm using a dog bowl £1.29 or so from Pets at Home
2. Never had a litter tray lining so I wouldn't know, but try it without the lining and see how it goes perhaps? How's the training going? Tried without lining and she's now doing the buisness in there :money:
3. Our kitten does that as well and there's nothing we can do to stop him, he pried out the aerial out of the socket on more than one occasion as well! I don't think there is anything you can do really, unless you cover it with a box or something. I'm getting a new TV cabinet on Sat (unrelated to the cat's arrival!) which is wider so i'm hoping it'll make it harder for her to get there. Although I am tempted to sort out all the wires, flatten them down and put some kind of cardboard/plastic cover over them if I can keep it low enough.
4. I don't personally mind sleeping with the cat on the bed but yeah you do have to show some character if you want her to learn not to sleep on it, she was probably just scared because she was on her own for the first time.She was a lot better last night hoping she'll be better from now on

RacyRed

How is Poppy doing today?

joshtbh

RacyRed wrote: »

How is Poppy doing today?

she's doing great thanks I've had Mon Tues and Wed off to look after her and today she was so much more active in the morning today it was mental, she really was growing more into character I think. She was darting here there and everywhere really quickly like I've never seen her before and tired herself out before going to sleep again.

She's done her business ( I think a 1 and definately a 2 today ) which I'm really happy about. Proves her digestive system is working properly and that she's not too nervous to function here. I think i'll take heed of someone's advise on this thread of moving the litter tray to a more private location which should be pretty easy in my kitchen (Poppy's domain).

I've really taken to her

timmmers

Petal wrote: »

Hi again! :j

I have only had 2 deliveries from food4cats and they were both fine. There is a big label on the box that says "please leave if customer not in, sender accepts responsibility for loss" or words to that effect.

Just to let you know that their sample pack is £10 all in and has quite a bit of meat in it. If you then decide to place an order, the £10 will be refunded back to you. I tend to get the chicken mince, chicken wings, beef mince, rabbit mince (they also have wild rabbit but I think some people have found some shot in this), beef mince, diced pork tongue (gross but the cats LOVE it) and you can also get other diced meat. The minced meats contain bone and organs - look at the ingredients on the website.

My only dilemma now is that I like to eat "ethical" meats.....I don't know where their meat comes from but I can't imagine it's organic & free range!

I got my 1st deliver today from these folk. I told them it could be left in the garden hidden round the bay window but the guy put it in a plastic recycling box and dropped a note telling me that because it was raining hard. I ordered it Sunday, got 3 emails from them, 2 of which were telling me where it was in the delivery chain (Micheal Palin got less coverage of his journey).
It was all frozen rock solid, as they hadn't eaten it before I popped a tube in a pan with some water and gave it a little cook and then fed them 50/50 with their normal food. They didn't touch the new food...all 3 of them. An hour later...they had all been back and the dishes were empty. So far so good then.

The littter tray digging thing...I have a cat that does that...he also does it with any newspapers or paper he finds, paws away at the edge for ages and ages for some reason. Liners were an invitation for him to spread stuff all over the place...without them he's fine.

i have 3 cats, one drinks water from a bowl, one prefers a water butt or puddle outside (and hanging under a dripping tap he likes), and the other hardly drinks at all...they get a lot of water from their food so they don't require much unless they eat dry food, just clean water where they can get it is fine.

The telly...all mine visit that dark area from time to time...but a while ago I found that the newest one wasn't just exporing, he was peeing there. It destroyed the VCR and I think he was awfully lucky as he peed all over a multiway socket that was there too. Nothing is behind there now, and I rubbed orange peel on the carpet there to deter his visits which worked so far.

Cats will sleep anywhere, in my experience they like the places that you least wish them to sleep on...nice freshly washed and ironed clothes are a favourite with mine, the washing machine with clothes waiting to be washed nearly was the end of one of my boys (Always close the door and check before starting the washer, it's perfect from a cat bed point of view). Your cat is certain to have you in stitches with the oddest places it find suitable for a quick kip.

The very best thing to give a cat to keep it happy IMO is another cat around the same age. They don't get bored. They eat better knowing that someone else will be along to eat if they don't.

I wonder if anyone else saw the gadget show last night...and the automatic flushing cat loo? This one : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz16iGCt644
They couldn't get the cats off it :rotfl:

t

Kimitatsu

I have two Maine Coones and two Norwegian Forest Cats - I know sucker for punishment :rolleyes:!

All of mine seem to prefer moving water drinking out of the water feature - its a Maine Coon trait to pat and play with the water before they drink it! I have water bowls down for the dogs but usually I just end up topping up the water feature - its all clean and fresh so I dont worry about it.

Cats will find their own place to make their own, but a cardboard box is always a favourite in my house and if it makes her feel comfortable then so much the better.

I feed mine a mixture of dried kibble, I feed Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved and IAMS. The breeders will recommend whatever they are given cheap or free and Royal Canin seems to be a favourite. The cats do however get bored so I tend to buy a bag of each and mix it all together to give them a bit of variety. I also feed day old chicks which they like to "kill" before they eat and then when the weather is good they tend to go out and catch their own supper. Be warned that Maine Coones are prolific hunters and will come home with their prey to show you how clever they are!! :eek: I put collars with bells on mine to protect the birds but they often bring home rats, mice, baby rabbits and shrews for me to play with :rotfl:

This breed is very talkative, they talk when they are happy they talk when they are upset, they talk just to tell you they are home so dont worry too much about the meeowing, she was just telling eveyone about her new home.

You can get kitten kongs that you can fill with treats too, I have a couple and they are great. I would also suggest that you invest in a cat play centre - it will save your curtains! We have a big one the cats play on all the time and its worth it weight in gold as they have very sharp strong claws.

Enjoy your new baby :T

Petal_3

Kimitatsu - any chance there are pics of your cats on this site anywhere? I'd love to see them (for obvious reasons) :rotfl:

My Maine Coon puts his paw in the water bowl to drag it along before he decides it's in the right place to drink out of! The Norwegians are forever running around with things in their mouths - when I get home from work- it seems that nothing is where I left it! :rolleyes:

Petal_3

Oh...and where do you get your day old chicks? I presume they are frozen?

joshtbh

Would you mind if I ask a few more questions please?

1) What is your method of sorting out a used litter tray? I've been throwing all the litter in the tray away, cleaning the tray and putting full fresh litter down, but this can't be right surely? I've got through £5 worth of Catsan litter in 3 days that way! :O Although I am very keen on keeping my house odour free.....

2) Is it normal that in the morning the cat goes nuts, running everywhere with no real reason? When she does it I feel like she may be going stir crazy Although she calms down a lot in the afternoon. She's dozing on my chair currently looking very regal :

golden_eagle

wow! she is sooo cute!But then I guess I would like her coz she looks just like our little boy Gandalf :beer:. In response to your questions:

1. I don't change all the litter every day just scoop up the "solids" and any peed on litter. I then put some fresh litter on to top it up. Then once a week I just throw all the litter out, wash out the litter box and put clean litter in. Saves me a fortune not to mention time.

2. I started using a litter box with a lid early this week and it helps to keep the odours "locked up" plus the litter doesn't get thrown out everywhere. My kittens are very cute but soooo smelly so really pleased with this new litter box.