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Two little girls came to my duplex tonight, saying that they found a kitten wandering around and their mom wouldn't let them keep it. I took pity on the cute little thing (and I miss being around animals), so I said I'd take it in for the night, and drop it off at the Humane Society in the morning.
Well, my three suitmates and their significant others (it's four person duplex, but there's about 6.5 people living here) really like the kitten, as do I. He's a sweety - very playful and friendly to humans. We're considering keeping it, even though it's against university policy (we're in campus housing) to have furry pets. I'm friends with both of the apartment managers, though, so I doubt it'll be a problem - and they aren't allowed to enter personal rooms anyways, just common areas.
I won't be able to keep the cat long-term; however, one of my suitemates probably will. We won't keep it unless we're sure someone will be able to take care of it after graduation (since I imagine it's easier to get a kitten adopted than a grown cat).
Anyways, my question is: how much effort and money will we need to put into this kitten to keep it? We're all pretty poor college students, and none of us have a lot of time. The kitten seems to be about eight to ten weeks old - he's walking around (and climbing!) fine, has a lot of energy, and his eyes are green and wide open. He didn't seem very interested in the small pieces of chicken I gave him, but he's lapping up whole milk without a problem.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Milk will likely give him diarrhea. Kitten chow is better, and just water to drink. Make sure he knows how to use the litter box.
You should probably take him to a vet to check for health problems and he'll need shots. The shots are just once a year, I think.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Milk, not good (I honestly don't have all of the justifications, I just know it's not reccomended).
I've never been financially responsible for a pet so I can't say much about that.
But I will give you a link. http://www.petsalivespayneuter.org/ And I'm pretty sure they do have a transport available so if you drop the kitten (who must be at least 8 weeks and 2 pounds) at somewhere (either a shelter or sometimes just a wal-mart parking lot) it will be neutered or spayed and returned within two days (the schedule from county to county changes from week to week). If you do call, tell them I reccomended you (you should have my name on facebook, or IM or ask Shani). It's a really great program and less expensive than most vets. They spay and neuter, and also do vaccs at the time of surgery. I know my vet is $16 for a rabies vacc and pets alive is just $8.
Ooh and the new vet graduated from DePauw in 2000. I don't know her well though, when I volunteered there it was just Nancy.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I know that you aren't suppose to give a kitten cow milk, but I didn't have much else to give him tonight. I don't think cats like grapenuts or microwave Indian food, and that's about all I have on hand. If we decide to keep him I'll make a Walmart run tomorrow to pick up some kitten chow, kitten flea shampoo, some toys, and a litterbox. Anything else we would need? I'm not actually sure if he's litterbox trained (he's def. been around people before), so right now I have a little fort of boxes (three feet hig) built to keep in an area with some newspaper.
Thanks for the link, breyerchic - it does sound like a good program! If we keep him, we'll certainly use it.
edit: He ate the chicken, which is a good sign, I guess.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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You want a water dish and a food dish. Also litter and a litter scooper.
Cats are remarkably easy to care for, especially compared to dogs. They don't need to be walked daily -- in fact, they are more healthy if they never go outside. The main time commitments are
1. play (especially when a kitten, as he will be developing socially and neurologically, but this is easy and fun, so long as someone will be home with the kitten for at least an hour or two each day & not studying, etc -- can watch TV or otherwise spend cuddle/playtime with kitty)
2. keeping the litterbox clean -- this is a must, as your cat will learn to go outside the box if it is nasty. I found it easy to scoop every night and every morning, so long as the box was conveniently placed (a bathroom closet or corner is great for this!), even with a busy life [And note, keeping it clean is sooooooo - ooooooo - ooooo much easier if you are only having to scoop a little bit at a time, as opposed to a lot of big chunks that have overlapped and gotten glued together. Trust me. ]
3. vacations -- remember that someone will have to look after kitty (or do boarding, or have someone else look in on kitty) if eveyrone goes out of town. Some cats travel well, some do not. And some can be left alone for days at a time as they grow older, but others stress out more.
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If you have eggs, you could try scrambled eggs. Also cheese or yogurt are (I think) easier to digest than straight milk, if you are in a pinch.
He (or she) will probably want to cuddle tonight. Lucky you. Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Cats are lactose intolerant, and allegedly males more than females. That's why cow's milk and foods made from milk are not good to give to cats and kittens.
My kittens prefer the clumping litters, which makes cleaning a box even easier. With two cats, I'm scooping out and topping off with a scoop or two of fresh litter daily, plus peeking in on it 2-3 times a day to see if it needs an extra cleaning. I dump out all the litter and put in completely fresh stuff once a week.
Kitten Chow is just fine for growing kits, and you can get a 3.5 pound bag at WalMart for about $3. You don't need special dishes, just something smallish and shallow so kitty can get its head in and reach the bottom. Fresh water is important, and I know some cats will refuse to drink if their bowl has been sitting for too long.
Toys!!! They need (and I do mean NEED) toys to play with. Little felt mice, things with feathers, stuff that hangs from a chain on a rod that a hooman can swing around for the kitten to chase and try to catch.
As for medical needs, if this is going to be an indoor kitten, s/he'll only need annual visits and probably a limited number of immunizations compared to an indoor/outdoor cat. I know my vet is withholding a few shots because the cats will never go outside. Rabies is required in most communities, even on indoor pets, and that's an annual requirement. I also strongly recommend that you have kitty spay/neutered.
Flea treatments for a kitten under 16 weeks of age is not only extremely expensive but also not something you're going to find at Walmart - at least not if your Wally's are anything like mine. I had to go to the Petco and a 4-pack of single-dose capsules cost me over $60. And after that first treatment (because mommy was an indoor/outdoor and infested her kits), I never needed to repeat, so two doses would have been wasted if I didn't have a frend who later adopted two ferals.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Because he's a stray, you need to take him to a vet asap. He'll need to be checked for Feline Leukemia (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). He'll also need to be vaccinated against both, and he'll need a rabies shot. He should also be vaccinated against Panleukopenia (Feline Distemper), Calicivirus and (depending on the breed) Rhinotracheitis. A vet can better advise you. Many of these shots come in a 5 way booster that is administered once a year.
If he's been living outside a long time, you may need to have him de-wormed, a fet can check for worms as well. The kitten may still be to small to be fixed, most vets won't do it under a certain body weight so check with a vet about when it is safe, but definitely have him fixed, some owner who was not responsible in having their cat fixed is probably the reason this kitten was out on the street in the first place.
I prefer the crystals cat litter over clumping or clay litters, it traps pretty much all the odor and you only have to scoop out the droppings. It's a little more expensive but a container usually lasts 3 weeks to a month.
On food, definitely kitten food only, although I do recommend some wet food along with the dry, wet food has different neutrients than dry food so you're making sure little bit gets all his vitamins.
Please talk to your vet about flea treatments, I especially do NOT recommend getting that Hartz or other over the counter spot treatment. My vet tells me he sees dozens of cases of cat/dog poisoning every year caused by those things. There are spot treatments that are safe if that's what you choose to use (and I have found shampoos to be pretty ineffective) but you'll either have to purchase them from your vet or from somewhere like 1-800-pet-meds.
Finally, please buy glass or metal food dishes for the kitty as many cats are alergic to plastic.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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A good friend of mine had a kitten wander into his house this summer. His investments: dry food, some wet food, litter box w shovel and litter, water and food dishes, scratching post (the cat's not interested), two toys, bed, and cushion. Cheap stuff, actually.
I didn't know it, but he should have taken him to the vet. When he did, that took care of the ear mites, the fleas, and worms. This helped not just him, but the carpet as well.
If I had it to do over again with my last dog, I'd also be sure he had the heartworm preventative when he was young. Apparently this also applies to cats.
You can leave him alone during the day. Cats like people, but unlike dogs, they don't go crazy if they're left alone all day.
[ October 09, 2006, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: Will B ]
Posts: 1877 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Heartworm preventitive, Will, not treatment. Heartworm treatment is the medication given when the dog is diagnosed with heartworm, in both cases I've been around (strays that came into a shelter, then were sent to foster homes) an IV was given in the dogs back and left for four hours, with medication pumping. This causes pain throughout the body, and is a very sad sight. They are not supposed to run, play, or do anything fun for 6 weeks (crating and leash walks just for urination/defication are reccomended).
Heartworm preventative is good for cats but there is no test to find out if they have heartworm or not. The first symptom is sudden death. Obviously because of this, we don't know how common it is in cats because most cats that die suddenly aren't taken to the vet for an autopsy.
I've attended a lecture on heartworms, and talked to a few vets about them, that's my citation.
We don't give our cat preventative because he is never outside, or exposed to mosquitos, and has a health condition (unidentified) that after most medications or vacinations he has a seizure.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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We just got a cat from an adoptive service here locally about 4 weeks ago. All their cats come spayed/neutered, it's a good thing to do. The vets here won't do the job though until the kitten is at least 10 weeks old.
One thing they stressed was feeding Herbie a high quality kitten food. They eat less food because they get more good quality nutrients from quality food, so it's really not more expensive. They pushed the stuff from pet stores, but if you want to buy from Walmart, they recommended Purina One.
Our cat LOVES feather toys. We got him a little scratch post with a couple little dangling feathers which he goes crazy for. Just play with him a lot, pet him a lot, etc. They naturally like to go in the litter box, so just keep it clean.
Did you name it yet?
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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Ditto on the no milk. My cat loved his cat food that we bought, the only other food he would eat without reservation (he was very picky about the food humans ate) was tomato soup. I'd make a small amount for him, and he'd lap it up.
It goes without saying that cats like meat. If I was eating a chicken burger I might spoil my cat with a small piece from the breast. Not sure if cats are a big fan of beef though.
Also if you are trying to train your cat to use a scratching post try using catnip.
quote:Originally posted by BaoQingTian: We just got a cat from an adoptive service here locally about 4 weeks ago. All their cats come spayed/neutered, it's a good thing to do. The vets here won't do the job though until the kitten is at least 10 weeks old.
One thing they stressed was feeding Herbie a high quality kitten food. They eat less food because they get more good quality nutrients from quality food, so it's really not more expensive. They pushed the stuff from pet stores, but if you want to buy from Walmart, they recommended Purina One.
Our cat LOVES feather toys. We got him a little scratch post with a couple little dangling feathers which he goes crazy for. Just play with him a lot, pet him a lot, etc. They naturally like to go in the litter box, so just keep it clean.
Did you name it yet?
How much did that all cost Bao? They do that at Petsmart (but they also declaw the kitty too) all and all its about $80 for a kitten to get the works. But maybe I am misquoting.
I'm seriously considering suprising the wife with a kitty any day now as I know she would really like one. Money is just a bit tight right now.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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PetSmart usually has cats available from local shelters and humane societies (Like the PetSmart in my town has cats from the shelter in an ajoining county, ours doesn't do that). And I've recently found out shelter prices vary a lot from state to state, or even county for county.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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"It goes without saying that cats like meat. If I was eating a chicken burger I might spoil my cat with a small piece from the breast. Not sure if cats are a big fan of beef though."
My two LOVE LOVE LOVE when I give them a little bit of raw meat while preparing dinner. I'll cube off a bit of the end before I start cooking, beef and chicken especially. Mungo likes pork too, Teazer's iffy about it.
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