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Hello all,
Welcome to my first-time cat owner guide!
This will be a new chapter of your life. A furry ball will join your family. Many things will be new to you. You will wake up next to a fluffy thing. You will come home to an exciting fur baby. You will be used as a cat tree sometimes, the baby will try to climb up and stay on your lap. Sometimes they will bring the cat stick or their favorite toys and sit next to you. Of course, they are not robots, sometimes they will catch a flu, and sometimes they will be sick. This guide will help the transition happen as smoothly as possible.
1) Give them time and space:
the baby is scared of the new environment. They will come to you when they are ready. Don't chase them, don't hug them when they are not ready. It will be very obvious when they are ready. They will come to you. Cats' ears are big, so they are very sensitive with sounds. Speak softly with a neutral tone. We are gaining their trust. My baby is very sweet. They enjoy human interaction. Treats can buy their soul. They usually take 1-3 days to adjust to a new home.
2) Start small then expand:
Start with a small enclosed space. Put their litter box, food bowl, and water bowl here. A comfy bed is greatly appreciated. They will meow loudly, maybe a lot. Don't worry, just them being confused. They are trying to find their mom and siblings. You can sit in this room quietly with treats and toys. They will associate you with positive things.
Once they used her litter box and knew where it is. You can expand their access. Leave the litter box where it is, and move it slowly each day toward your desired destination.
3) Punishment:
Just like kids, Kittens learn very fast but they might test your boundaries from time to time. Make loud, unpleasant noise when they do something you disapprove of. DO NOT be physical. They will be traumatized and associate humans with threats. This will severely affect their behavior. ex)jump on the kitchen counter, play trash can, etc
4) Food and water :
Kittens will have meals 2-3 times a day. They like moving water. Their bowls should never be plastic, they will have feline acne. There is 2 meal method that I like:
a) Dry food is always available. Meals are wet quality canned food with additives
b) Breakfast and Dinner are wet canned food with additives, and lunch is dry food
Note:
-fish is a good source of omega 3 but there is a lot of heavy metal in fish. Don't use fish as the main protein.
-Always read the ingredients of your wet cat food. Meat should be listed in the first 3 ingredients.
-Add lots of water to their wet food meal to prevent urinary tract infections.
-Change water every 1-2 days. Use filtered/ drinking water.
-Additive: probiotics, vitamins, fiber, fish oil, seaweed powder, etc
-They don't need milk. An occasional treat is nice. Milk they can drink: lactose-free milk, goat
milk only
5) Hygiene:
Shower: 3-6 months
Brush: Daily-shorthair: nothing comes out while they are in the kitten stage but it's a good habit for them to get used to.
Eye: just like humans, they might have eye boogers occasionally. It's just the eyes doing its job to push foreign objects (hair, fur, dust etc) out of the eyes. A soft tissue to clean the corner of the eyes is sufficient.
Teeth: brush their teeth 1-2 times a month (a toothbrush is in bag)- use lickable treats as toothpaste.
Nail: Weekly trimming is highly recommended. Just trim the pointed tips. Don't do too deep otherwise, they will scared of this activity in the future.
6) Play:
They enjoy running after the cat sticks. They also like to play with ball-like objects and run outcross the floor. Be very careful, don't let them play with too small things. They might swallow it.
The thing they like most is the laser pointer.
Petting and hugging are greatly appreciated too.
Don't let them roam outdoors. They are glorified house pets and won't survive on the street.
Lastly, enjoy your fur baby!
Hope this help :)
I will have an elaborated video posted on our youtube channel soon. Interested cat parents can check it our here :
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