New Kitten Any Advice Welcome Please

rising_from_the_ashes

Yup, I've loads of "proper" toys and mine end up playing in/with the ones that cost nothing - cardboard boxes, scrunched up bits of paper, knocking pens off my desk etc......

A scratching post would be a VERY good investment! (I have 4 in the house - lounge, hall - which the both run to & scratch as soon as they come in - upstairs hall & spare room where their food etc is). Usually only have 3 but saw one at a garden centre the other day reduced to £5 so.... you can never have too many!!!! (and they all get used).

rita-rabbit

http://www.freebiesiteuk.co.uk/animal.htm

check this out for free stuff for kittens. In addition you can feed moglets catfood when they are a bit older - no need to feed kitten food until 1 year old.

Can't remember if you said vet had given you anything/if kitten had been to vet. See what freebies vet will give you too.

Missus_Aka

hey everyone just to let you know snowball is doing fine, thanks for the link for all the free stuff rita-rabbit. She doesnt seem to like eating the chunks in the packet food she licks up all the jelly but leaves the majority of the food, ive mashed it up but she still doesnt like it. any suggestions? i have ordered some dry food to see if she will like that

spike7451

Missus_Aka wrote: »

hey everyone just to let you know snowball is doing fine, thanks for the link for all the free stuff rita-rabbit. She doesnt seem to like eating the chunks in the packet food she licks up all the jelly but leaves the majority of the food, ive mashed it up but she still doesnt like it. any suggestions? i have ordered some dry food to see if she will like that

Dunno if this is any use to you,coupon for a tenner off Royal Canin cat food;

http://offer.royalcanin.co.uk/RC/newsletterdiscount/en

rising_from_the_ashes

Missus_Aka wrote: »

hey everyone just to let you know snowball is doing fine, thanks for the link for all the free stuff rita-rabbit. She doesnt seem to like eating the chunks in the packet food she licks up all the jelly but leaves the majority of the food, ive mashed it up but she still doesnt like it. any suggestions? i have ordered some dry food to see if she will like that

My big cat does that!

Mine used to get the Whiskas kitten loaf when they were really small

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whiskas-Kitten-Supermeat-Chunks-190Gm/dp/B003ZGCZPY

It's more like a supermeat rather than chunks and I think a bit easier to cope with when they're teeny (and just getting used to "proper" food).

Marg

Missus_Aka wrote: »

hey everyone just to let you know snowball is doing fine, thanks for the link for all the free stuff rita-rabbit. She doesnt seem to like eating the chunks in the packet food she licks up all the jelly but leaves the majority of the food, ive mashed it up but she still doesnt like it. any suggestions? i have ordered some dry food to see if she will like that

Royal Canin is very good - we had an old cat who used to lick jelly off whiskas and felix but coped well with the Royal Canin.Breeders tend to use it too. I think she may be too tiny for 'ordinary' cat food and she'd be better with white fish or chicken.

Please be very careful giving a kitten dried food as it can dehydrate even adult cats, my vet said it can cause kidney problems unless you can be sure they are drinking loads of water. Sorry to be so negative.:o

Missus_Aka

no thats ok any advice any give me is greatly appreciated (the last time i had a kitten was when i was 4) so anyone who can give me more insight into what to do im happy to take it, dry food would only be given occasionally not as a meal replacement, am going to give her some boiled chicken now she likes that anyhow...will look into royal canin as well as the whiskas loaf

rising_from_the_ashes

I had a quick look and came across this
http://www.cat-behavior-explained.com/feeding-kittens.html

I particularly like the bit "Also, getting Kitty used to a variety of foods when she's little reduces the risk of her becoming a fussy eater whose food bill is higher than yours..."

Very true!!!!

I have one who won't touch wet cat food but will eat just about anything designed for humans - tuna, liver, chicken, ham, beef, scrambled egg (I could go on ..... and on).

It's also a pain in the "behind" if they get to like one food and the manufacturer decides to change it and they don't like the new one (this happened to me a while ago and I spent a fortune buying pouches that he wouldn't touch).

Griizelda

Marg wrote: »

Royal Canin is very good - we had an old cat who used to lick jelly off whiskas and felix but coped well with the Royal Canin.Breeders tend to use it too. I think she may be too tiny for 'ordinary' cat food and she'd be better with white fish or chicken.

Please be very careful giving a kitten dried food as it can dehydrate even adult cats, my vet said it can cause kidney problems unless you can be sure they are drinking loads of water. Sorry to be so negative.:o

Not necessarily. I had my kitten at seven weeks old - she was already eating the "adult" food when I got her. I switched her to kitten food and kept changing brands/flavours etc (Felix As Good as It Looks and Whiskas Simply were definite favourites). At 10 months old she's not fussy at all.

Be careful about feeding her just white fish or chicken - cats need taurine (which is added to commercial cat food). A little bit of dried food is fine - just not all the time. (And dried food doesn't clean their teeth - see the thread about feeding cats cheaply for all the info on that!)

And finally, I agree with some of the other posters in that two cats are better than one (if finances/space etc allow it).

OP, it sounds as if you're doing a great job and Snowball has most definitely landed on her feet:)