Thinking about a kitten or two...

Chickensrock10110

Songster
10 Years
Feb 10, 2009
113
0
119
Hawaii
I've been thinking of a cat for a long time now but I can`t understand how to keep him or her.

For my dog, we follow a daily routine right from the morning going into bedtime.

Well, I have no idea about keeping a cat.Hoping you could answer my questions below.

---Do they need to be kennel trained?
---Are they more of a 'loner' animal?--Do they need a companion?
---Do you let your cat/kitten loose around the house?---Can I just confine him to one room?
---Do you have a daily routine that you follow daily?--please share them!
---Thinking about a longhair kitten, maybe a mixbred from the pound.Will the shed?
---What are some good thing and bad things about owning a male kitten? A female kitten?
---Will there be a "cat smell" in the house?---I dont want visitors knowing that we have a cat in the house by just the smell of the house.
---One last thing....I heared that males will spray!
Will this be a problem that I will be stuck with -with a male cat?
Will neutering him lessen the chance of him spraying?

Sorry for a lot of questions.Please answer them if you can...even if it is just one question you have time for!
 
Last edited:
hi, i have two cats. both are straight eared scottish folds, male and female.
mine aren't kennel trained they are allowed to roam the house lol.
mine love each other.. probably since they have been together since they were kittens... but i have had cats that did not like other cats.
i don't have a daily routine, they eat when their hungry, etc.. lol they are both very spoiled cats lol.

however i do clean the litterbox out every other day or so .

i have never had a long hair cat, but i would guess they shed like every other cat.

well for me my male cat is the nicest thing lol. he is so sweet, my female cat is skittish, shes a calico so i guess it has to do with her color lol. but it depends on the cat as well what their personality will be like.

there won't be a smell if you clean out the litterbox! lol
my male doesn't spray, he was neutered, but i guess it depends on the cat as well. i would have to guess that neutering the cat will lesson the chance of spraying.

Good luck with your new cat/kitten(s) lol. check with your local animal shelter, they may have a cat that has the right personality for you.
 
Last edited:
Quote:
No they don't need to be kennel trained, they use a litter box inside the house, usually. You can train them to go outside, and it's not very difficult.
They are pretty "loner" type animals, but could do well with a companion if you wanted to have two or more.
My cat has run of the property, but you ~could~ confine him to just one room (but what's the fun in that??)
I let him in the house in the morning, feed him around dinnertime and then let him outside.... Ok, no, that's what I try to do... Cat's don't have masters, tey have slaves... I do what he wants me to, LOL!
Yes they shed, even shorthairs shed. The fur is lightweight, too, so if you cry into your cat like I do sometimes, the fur gets perpetually stuck under your nose and it takes HOURS to remove.
lol.png

I have had both... Tend to prefer males. They're cheaper to nueter and even if you chose not to do so, they don't go into heat. Both sexes will spray if left unaltered, some cats are worse than others about this particular issue. My male cat does not spray. He was nuetered as soon as he was old enough.
The only smell should be you house... There's always a little bit of smell from the litter box (whether it be the litter itself or the poo), but you can just put that in a room where the odor is not offensive. (like the bathroom)
Hope this helps!!
Krystal
 
I've never had a problem with a male spraying as long as I got him young and had him neutered young.

No need to kennel train. They use a litterbox pretty instinctively; I've never really had to train or housebreak one, just show them the litter box once or twice, and that's it.

I really feel they do better if there are two, but you need to raise them together; older cats take a while to accept a new one, though mine always have, in time.

No odor. Kitty litter is pretty effective stuff these days, just scoop it every day or two and change it out once in a while.

They are not going to be happy confined to one room unless you are in there all the time. They want to be around people, and explore. They will sleep different places.

Kittens take some attention, need to play, but once they are grown, cats require almost no care. I feed mine dry food free choice, though some cats will overeat if you do this, and need to be fed a ration twice a day.
 
Thanks everyone for the information!

I have a couple more questions before I am headed to the pound for my new best buddies.

---Indoors or outdoors? I would want to keep him clean so I was thinking strictly indoors.I would probably feel grossed out if he started to catch the mice outside near the chickens.What do you think ?Is this going to keep him from being a cat?
--I keep him indoors , should I still worry about treating him with a
flea/tick treatment?
 
great answers everyone!! I'm new to cats in my adult life. i had them growing up, but haven't for about 10 years. technically, i'm allergic, but i'm allergic to everything "technically" so i'm trying to fight it. i figure that if i start with a kitten, i'll grow some antihistamine...or whatever.

As to indoor/outdoor. For me, it depends on your location. If you don't worry about cars or predators (foxes, fischer cats...i have no idea what you've got on HI), i would say let the cat out. Having fresh grass to eat, real things to scratch on, and wind to blow off the fur can't be wrong. I had indoor cats growing up mainly b/c i lived in apartments and the cats were illegal
hide.gif
, but they wanted to go outside many times. We also didn't fix the cats back then, so they fought to get out during times of heat, and course came home pregos.

I'm looking forward to other responses...specifically, at what age can you expect a kitten to stay outside? Mine is about 9 weeks right now. She's super tiny. She goes out when i walk the dogs (b/c she doesn't want to be alone) and comes back when we come back. I get nervous though 'cause she's so tiny and doesn't really have a role model to learn from.
 
You would want to treat the fleas and ticks if you have had issues with them on your dogs. Cats are cool I have three and had two kittens now that were orphaned that I have been bottle feeding for the last three weeks they are about 4 or 5 weeks old now and starting to wean. I let my cats roam and they keep the wild life away for the most part. They do like to bring in their nightly catch to share which does get annoying. If you are getting kittens I would get two because they have such fun together and are so entertaining to watch. Get them fixed young before the hormone take affect and you will be much happier than waiting. Males are cheaper to fix and more loving but I have a female that is also pretty loving just not a lap cat like one of my males. Other male just likes to be petted not held.
 
I think it's personal preference. I'm too worried about my cat to let her outside even though she wants to go out......she is an indoor cat. I had a cat once that I let go outside a lot and she ended up getting fleas and they were ALL over the house. She also liked to go into groundhog holes...luckily she never ran into one. I pulled her out of the ground when I caught her doing that.

The cat I have now, who stays inside, I have not treated for fleas or ticks....no need to since there are no fleas or ticks inside the house
smile.png
She is content to stay inside as long as I leave a window up for her to look outside.
 
Well, now I have to take back what I said. My cat just got fleas...she did escape outside a couple times but I chased her down and brought her back in. I guess it doesn't take much to pick up fleas.
somad.gif


I just bombed the house, scrubbed and sprayed the cat. I think they are about gone now.
 
I've had both indoor and outdoor cats, and while mine stay outside in the summer, they get to come in for a bit almost every day. If you want them to control the rodent population leave them out, but if not, keep them in...cats are usually happy both ways, although I believe that they all enjoy some playtime outside. You could always just let them out for a few hours every day or something. As for males vs. females, it really depends on the cat. Both of my female cats are much friendlier and more loving than my male, but sometimes it is nice to have a cat that isn't constantly begging for attention. None of my cats spray, males are worse than females about this, but if you get them neutered early it's usually not a problem. The litter box shouldn't smell if you clean it regularly, but definitely keep it in the bathroom, laundry room, or basement if you have one...I know someone that has theirs in their kitchen and that just grosses me out! When you go to the shelter just pet them and see how much they shed. My older cat sheds a TON, but my younger two hardly shed at all. As for fleas/ticks...I would probably treat them in the summer if your dog could pick them up, just in case, but if you don't have a problem with your dog it shouldn't be too big of an issue...keep us updated on your kitty venture!!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom