How to have a litter happy cat…

You may be thinking, what do I mean by ‘litter happy’?

Well, it’s simple really. You’ve brought your new kitten home. And he or she is most likely already litter tray trained. But like cat food, cats will be used to one type of litter and probably won’t use another – resulting in having to clean up accidents.

But some types of litter is expensive – so how do you get your cat to switch problem free?

It’s best to start a kitten on one type of litter, and change it regularly while he or she is still young.

Changing litter is simple. When you buy a new type, ensure you have some of your usual litter left over. Pour the new litter into the tray, and layer it with the old. Your kitten will experiement at first – but will use the tray with minimum fuss.

Try to use the most dust free type of litter – and keep it as natural as possible. Clumping litter can be useful – but some types can be very dangerous if ingested, and if inhaled.

Changing litter regularly will ensure your cat will use new types of litter for most of its life. And if you want to encourage cats to do their business outdoors, it is useful to place the tray outside during daylight hours where your cat can use it. As time goes by, remove the tray and leave some of the litter on the ground. After a while, this can be removed. Ensure you keep a tray indoors at all times if your cat cannot come and go as he or she pleases.

Our cat, Leia, uses ANY type of litter, and this is useful for us, in our search for the safest most affordable litter we can find!

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A Kitten for Christmas?

There are plenty of stories centred around the term ‘a dog is for life, not just for christmas’

Well, the same can be said about kittens! They are the most amazing animals to have around. A kitten is easier to look after, is a lot cleaner and self sufficient, and is playful and much more gentle.

Having said that, a kitten does need A LOT of taking care of. It may sound easy; just buy a litter tray, some food and you’re done. But the reality is you would need vaccinations, flu jabs (which will cost you more in the first year of your kitten’s life) you would need worming and flea treatment every 4-8 weeks, you would need scratching posts, products to discourage your cat from scratching and biting furniture and the list goes on. You would spend a lot more than you imagined on food and litter, too.

Once all of this is done, you will need bags of patience and time to be there for your kitten. Constant fresh food, water and trays are imperative! And of course, lots of playtime.

You can train or retrain your cat, but you will need patience. You must ensure that the kitten is not over handled. And NEVER buy a kitten to keep him or her outside. Although cats were born to roam free, they should always be raised in a secure, warm, loving home. I have an indoor/outdoor cat, who actually prefers to be indoors 75% percent of her time!

One of the most major considerations will be spaying or neutering your cat, as well as getting  a microchip for identity purposes should your kitten become lost. Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures, but given that there are thousands of unwanted stray cats and kittens living, and dying in the UK today, the choice should be an easy one to make!

Microchips are not terribly expensive and are a great way to ensure identity of your cat should he or she become lost or injured. Be prepared to worry about your kitten or cat. The outdoors brings with it many dangers, and it is reccomended you keep your kitten inside until it is neutered or spayed.

You can also purchase a personalised safety cat collar which can be printed with your details. There are a number of websites/vendors that sell these. Daintypaws.co.uk sell handcrafted affordable collars, and you can also purchase ID barrell collars, which will contain your details if you do not wish to have them on immediate display!

All things considered, taking on a kitten or cat at christmas or indeed at any time of year is a great responsibility. And if you decide to go ahead and give these beautiful creatures a home, it will be one of the best things you ever do in your life.

 

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Bringing home kitten…

In a previous post I blogged about how my cat Leia struggled with eating when I first got her home. I was told she was 9 weeks but she seemed much younger than that; and was told that she was very little by the vets when we first took her to get her vaccinations. I think she’s quite a small cat anyway!

I bought Leia from a private seller because I found dealing with rescue centres extremely frustrating as, although I do understand, they didn’t have time to talk to me and it seemed they weren’t really interested in rehoming their kittens because of the logistics and vetting involved! Though we live in a quiet street and have a large garden so that at least would have counted for something.

Being a first time cat owner was very hard. She did keep me up all night and I did worry about her constantly. For the first few days I had to keep my bedroom door closed so that she could adjust to me and my family without having a large house to distract her! Having trouble feeding her and then having trouble sleeping myself there was a point where I actually gave up!

Leia insisted on sleeping on my bed rather than her own bed and I already knew cats tend to do this to keep warm primarily; and have a bit of company too. I didn’t realise how tiny she was too; because we’d never kept kittens before and my mother kept a cat when she was a little girl so no one really had any idea what they were doing!

There were of course tiny accidents. Leia came litter trained which was fantastic, but a few days after I got her she ventured downstairs, leaving her tray upstairs. Because she was so tiny she didn’t know where it was and gave me the tiniest miaow, after which she peed on the carpet. And sadly she continued to do this for a few days during her retraining!

Retraining to use the littler box was difficult but successful. I obtained special litter for kittens which encourages them to use it rather than the carpet and I bought odour and stain remover liquid so that she wouldn’t pee in the same place twice (luckily she never pooped on the carpet but in a plant pot!) When she would make to pee, I gently carried her and put her in the tray where she would finish peeing. A few tries at this and she was fine. I bought two litter trays for upstairs and downstairs and she used them for peeing and pooping.

The next major problem was feeding. She hardly ate and we tried absolutley everything! Eventually we settled on Hills Science Plan, Applaws natural cat food pouch and tins, and kitten milk. There’s more about her feeding in a previous blog!

After that we took her to the vets for vaccinations and various checkups; and she was fine to transport in her carrier when she was a kitten. But at 6 months when the time came for her neutering, she was suddenly a nightmare to transport! That was stressful; as well as knowing she’d be ill for a few days; and seeing her scar and the furless patch on her right side after the operation was upsetting too! But we got through it without any problems which I was grateful for.

Now she’s happy; eating well, playing and being a happy cat; complete with those strange whines she makes when playing with her favourite toy mouse!

So, things to remember if you’re a new owner…

+It will take time to get used to the change in routine; your kitten will keep you up, insist sleeping in your bed and make you worry about her!

+You’ll have to worm and protect from fleas…this can be done at the vets for a small fee to begin with and then I would recommend buying Frontline for fleas and using Milbemax worming pills.

+If your kitten is a long hair be prepared for cat hairs everywhere and invest in grooming brushes

+Invest in a scratching post and encourage your kitten to use this. Leia scratches the carpet, stairs and sometimes the sofas but only for a short while so it isn’t so bad and barely visible

+Once she’s older, your kitten will sleep in all sorts of places so don’t worry if she wants to snuggle into your bed with you at first. I encouraged Leia to sleep on my pillow and not inside my duvet so that I wouldn’t squash her during the night!

+You’ll have to always keep an eye out for her, especially when she starts going out. Let her out at 6 months, any sooner than this and she’s too young to defend herself against other cats (which is a mistake I made!) And she’ll also be neutered with no chance of becoming pregnant.

+Be prepared to spend money. Having a kitten is cheaper than having a puppy and less time consuming but they still need taking care of… and vets, food bills and litter combined can make them expensive!

+Finally, reap the reward of joy that your new kitten brings into your home. They are definately worth the effort.

Mariam x

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