New kitten :) 23 May 2017 at 3:06PM in Pets & Pet Care 13 replies 3.3K views

Scatty

Sooo after years of keeping rats, I've got a kitten (I found out I wasn't as allergic to cats as I thought I was!)


Oscar is 10 weeks old and absolutely gorgeous - a fluffy ginger boy. He's an indoor cat and I'm out at work during the day but home virtually all weekend.


Any tips/hints/recommendations would be welcome on looking after him and how to make sure he's not too bored during the day. He's a cuddly boy and loves playing with a wavy thing on a stick although remote control mice scare him .

tealady

Catnip mouse?
Cardboard box is always fun for a cat. Or how about a puzzle feeder?
BTW are you aware that if you say you have new management (aka cats) or any other new pet it is an unwritten rule on this forum that you have to post photos.

WibblyGirly

Mines not a kitten but he loves plastic and paper bags. A primark bag never escapes his attentions.
We also have a cat tower thing he can jump on and sleep on. There are tonnes of them on eBay.
As he's a kitten, have you thought about getting him a friend? Two kittens aren't that much more effort than one but it would mean he wouldn't get lonely and they can play together and wear each other out.

Scatty

tealady wrote: »

Catnip mouse?
Cardboard box is always fun for a cat. Or how about a puzzle feeder?
BTW are you aware that if you say you have new management (aka cats) or any other new pet it is an unwritten rule on this forum that you have to post photos.

I would LOVE to so once I've worked out how then I will. You will swoon at his cuteness!

Scatty

WibblyGirly wrote: »

Mines not a kitten but he loves plastic and paper bags. A primark bag never escapes his attentions.
We also have a cat tower thing he can jump on and sleep on. There are tonnes of them on eBay.
As he's a kitten, have you thought about getting him a friend? Two kittens aren't that much more effort than one but it would mean he wouldn't get lonely and they can play together and wear each other out.

I did think about that, in fact if there had been two boys in his litter I probably would have had them both but the others were girls. Still thinking...... He seems to be a happy kitty and nicely attached to his human :-)

splishsplash

WibblyGirly wrote: »

Mines not a kitten but he loves plastic and paper bags. A primark bag never escapes his attentions.
We also have a cat tower thing he can jump on and sleep on. There are tonnes of them on eBay.
As he's a kitten, have you thought about getting him a friend? Two kittens aren't that much more effort than one but it would mean he wouldn't get lonely and they can play together and wear each other out.

Our cats love bags too, but we've learned the hard way to snip through the handles - otherwise they get their heads stuck in them then panic and run around while we try to catch them to free them.

Our cats are not the sharpest, mind you.

I LOVE ginger kittens - please post pics!

StaffieTerrier

We adopted a 5 year old tortie earlier this month and we've had to keep her inside until she's settled. One way we've found to entertain her is to use a ball that dispenses dry food when she bats it around. We have this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PetSafe-SlimCat-Feed-Ball-Blue/dp/B0018CG40O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495612479&sr=8-2&keywords=cat+food+ball

You can put treats in there but we use her normal food.

Scatty

splishsplash wrote: »

Our cats love bags too, but we've learned the hard way to snip through the handles - otherwise they get their heads stuck in them then panic and run around while we try to catch them to free them.

Our cats are not the sharpest, mind you.

I LOVE ginger kittens - please post pics!

I've snipped handles - he's a bit scared of the big bad bag still.


I'm trying to get pictures up - it's not easy. He's soooooo beautiful though!

farfromhome

I am also in support of having 2 kittens together, especially if they are left alone for most of the day and perhaps have to be indoor cats when adult. We once got brother and sister from Cats Protection and they loved playing together although brother made it quite clear he was top cat. I don't know if it's true but I heard that 2 brothers may become quite territorial once they get older. Another time we had 2 female rescue kittens from the same litter and they just spent all their time together, playing and sleeping with their paws around each other and still looked after each other when they were quite old. 2 kittens will never get bored and they are so entertaining to watch.

Scatty

farfromhome wrote: »

I am also in support of having 2 kittens together, especially if they are left alone for most of the day and perhaps have to be indoor cats when adult. We once got brother and sister from Cats Protection and they loved playing together although brother made it quite clear he was top cat. I don't know if it's true but I heard that 2 brothers may become quite territorial once they get older. Another time we had 2 female rescue kittens from the same litter and they just spent all their time together, playing and sleeping with their paws around each other and still looked after each other when they were quite old. 2 kittens will never get bored and they are so entertaining to watch.

There's only girls left in his litter. I think he may get territorial now he's been with me on his own. I heard that two boys from the same litter would be advisable rather than separate litters.


I've also been advised that cats are solitary and are more than happy if you spare lots of time during the day to play with them. He is with me 100% of the time when I'm at home, even when napping. I guess time will tell but I'm keeping a very close eye on his behaviour etc.

farfromhome

Scatty wrote: »

There's only girls left in his litter. I think he may get territorial now he's been with me on his own. I heard that two boys from the same litter would be advisable rather than separate litters.


I've also been advised that cats are solitary and are more than happy if you spare lots of time during the day to play with them. He is with me 100% of the time when I'm at home, even when napping. I guess time will tell but I'm keeping a very close eye on his behaviour etc.

Sorry, Scatty, I didn't mean my post to be critical, only my experience of having 2 kittens at a time, as we work full-time and we worried that one on his/her own would get lonely. You obviously have a very close bond with your kitten already - he is a lucky little fellow!