I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

I have relied on some of the advice in a previous thread on cats and have decided to take the plunge into the world of pet owner.

The decision for 2 was based more on the notion that two cats would be better for each other, than actually wanting 2 cats. Although, I don't think I'll mind.

I aim to seek out siblings, probably both female, around 10-12 weeks old.

They will be fixed (I think its required anyway), I will never declaw, although they will probably just be inside cats (although I may not fully appreciate the ramifactions of such a decision).

I have used petfinder to find a bunch of kittens available, and will probably pursue this angle.

It seems to be some sort of shelter/foster program where they rescue pets which were about to be killed and give them another chance.

I have no intention of buying from a pet store or a breeder.

I'm not sure if there is anything else I should be considering, but I would appreciate any advice or tips.

As of now, I own nothing cat-related, but plan on visiting the pet store tomorrow.

Thanks in advance,

SC

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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They will be fixed (I think its required anyway)

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nope

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

wtf did you have earlier in that tournament when you raised utg and i flat called 2 positions later. flop came w/ an Ace and it went check check. turn you bet like 9500... size of pot, and i folded?

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Technically, you are not "buying" if you are getting them from a shelter (you are "adopting"). But good job getting two, and good luck with the litter situation.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

There are people here who will tell you that keeping them inside is cruel, I believe you MUST keep them inside. The life expectancy of indoor cats is much much longer than outdoor, and if you get them as kittens they won't know the difference.

You should still put collars and tags on them, though, in case they get outside. My cats also have microchips imbedded under their skin so they can be tracked if they ever get out. I don't think it was that expensive, maybe $75/cat.

I have only heard stories about un-fixed cats, but I'm told that if your cats are not fixed they go nuts when they are in heat and you'll have lots of gentleman callers. You should fix them unless you're going to be a breeder.

If you can stay in the habit of clipping their nails from the very beginning you'll be happier. We didn't do it regularly enough, so the cats hate it, so we don't do it, and they tear lots of stuff up. Do not declaw.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

What a coincidence. I'm getting three cats this week too. I need to be ready for our annual Samhain sacrifice next week. Three back cats, three black rats, and a virgin.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Keeping them indoors is definitely the way to go. Just make sure they have lots of toys to play with (preferably things that are small enough that they can "hunt") and they'll be fine.

Keep their nails clipped short and you won't have as much damage to furniture if they do decide to scratch.

Make sure you have plenty of scratching posts around, preferably one in every room the cats are likely to hang out in. Sprinkle catnip on the posts every so often to encourage them to use them.

When the cats are young is the time to drill it into their heads that they are not allowed to scratch anywhere but the scratching posts. Get a water gun and squirt them whenever they start scratching anything other than the scratching posts. However, try to squirt them without them seeing you do it. Cats are *very* smart and will figure out pretty quick that they'll only get squirted for scratching furniture when you're around -- so when you're not around, they'll be scratching to their hearts' contents. Also, giving them a treat whenever they use their scratching post would help with positive reinforcement.

One more thing, if you're really affectionate and treat your cats well when they're young, they'll grow up to be affectionate and friendly cats when they're older. If you ignore your cats and/or don't treat them well when they're young, you might end up with aloof and ill-tempered pets.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Getting them from a shelter is good.

Sometimes siblings don't do well together. You may want to get two unrelated cats.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Our two cats becane outdoor cats the first time my son left the front door open. After that time it was impossible to get them to stay inside. Good luck with keeping them inside.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Its a post like this that reminds me of that "Men should act like men" commercial...

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Scott I think your plan sounds awesome. My wife and I got 2 sibling cats from a shelter a year ago, and it was the best thing I've ever done.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

I see you live in San Dog. The shelter that they have here is unreal. Its like an animal heaven. They have a great number for you to choose from, babies and grown up ones alike. I forgot exactly what its called, but I think it has 'Humane Society' in it, and its right off the I-8.

-Jihad

PS. Don't get a cat.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Our two cats becane outdoor cats the first time my son left the front door open. After that time it was impossible to get them to stay inside. Good luck with keeping them inside.

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I've had cats all my life and they've always been indoor cats. Once they reach a certain age they get skittish about going outside and won't try to run out the door if they get a chance. These days, if my cats get outside, they go no farther than the front porch, and then usually turn around and run inside once they hear a strange noise.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

[ QUOTE ]
Its a post like this that reminds me of that "Men should act like men" commercial...

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This was exactly what I was thinking as I clicked on this thread. To the OP (and most of the other people in here): Look out for giant beer cans falling from the sky.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Shouldn't you guys be out walking your dogs?
[img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

http://www.grographics.com/transient/free-cat.jpg

i'm sorry, but it was left wide open.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Wow. Humans are evil!

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Great ideas, man. Two is very nice, because they usually really do like each other's company. Cats are much more sociable than a lot of cat haters think. And they don't have to get used to each other if they're siblings, and seem to like each other right off the bat. Plus, females are mellow and won't stink up the place by spraying. Not declawing is the only way to do it; declawing actually removes the first joint of their paws and or course is very painful for them, plus it leaves them unable to climb properly or defend themselves if they ever have to.

Best set of decisions I've seen talked about on OOT for a good while!

Two suggestions on toys -- that kind that is like a wire or a fishing pole that has a string dangling from it, to which is attached usually a piece of cloth as if it were the "bait" you were fishing with. You can just make little flicks of your finger while holding it and make the bait dance, and I've never seen a cat not go NUTS over chasing it. They really love it! Well worth the small expense. Also, from everything I've heard, they really really love the hollow tube that is formed into a ring and has plastic balls in it, with slots cut out of the side of the ring so the cats can swat at the balls.

Also, be generous with the size of the litter tray. Especially if you have two cats. And change it frequently. That kind of litter that clumps up the pee so you can lift it out as a solid ball is excellent. Sooner or later you might want to change the fresh litter, but it won't build up much smell at all for quite a while.

Another tip: when you empty the tray, clean it VERY thoroughly. Cats' senses of smell is acute. I'd suggest a bleach solution soaking for a bit, to really kill the odors.

The problem with odors and cats is that cats actually get physically ill from the effort they will take to avoid bad odors. And like I said, they're sensitive and stuff will smell bad to them long before it does to you. A cat that doesn't like the cleanliness of his box will start holding his pee and hurting himself internally -- yep, it really happens, and it's not good for them. Kidney trouble, bladder trouble, eating problems result. And they might start to pee in odd places, or anywhere but their box. This is a double whammy because cats readily become habituated to peeing in a certain place, so once they feel more comfy peeing in your relatively smell free living room than their stinky box, they might be peeing in your living room for a long time to come.

This is another reason why you should keep your cat's food and water in another room from his litter box. Cats can easily develop eating and drinking problems if they're hit with urine and feces smells when they try to eat. Again, at a level undetectable by you. Many people have cats with eating problems, and this is one of the biggest reasons. Drinking problems again turns into kidney damage and digestion problems.

So, make litter box cleanliness a big priority, not an afterthought. By the time it smells to you, it will be a turturous stink to your cat.

And get some good cat food, like Iams. This will have less ash in it than ordinary cat foods, and they like the taste a lot more too. Get it in the 25 lb. bags to cut way, way back on the cost. The smaller bags will kill you and make you want to give them awful stuff like Purina just because it's cheap.

Also, humans love variety; cats crave sameness. Merely changing a picture on the wall can make some cats hide under the bed for a week. Establish a cat food flavor with them while they are young, and they will not only have a preference for it, but think that's how food ought to taste. And they'll be quite happy with that food forever after. It's extremely common for humans to try to help their cats get a little joy out of life by switching foods up on them. This isn't so great from the cat perspective. It can not only lead to digestive problems, but to them simply not eating, or eating just enough to not starve. Some cats are exceptions to this, but they are by far the exception. If you want to give you cat some variety and love, give it more playtime and cuddling. Save the changing food around for yourself.

This also means you'll have to pass up the "cat food of the week" sale at stores. Deal with it. Your cat's health and happiness is much more important than pinching pennies on food, one of the few demands, they make on you, and not a big one. A single 25 lb. bag of Iams for two cats will last you a long, long time.

P.S. -- on food, dry is not only fine, but preferable. Wet food goes bad much more quickly. Dry food retains its palatability all day. Throw any leftovers out the next day.

P.P.S. -- Don't forget what I said about cleanliness applies very much to food and water bowls! Cats can easily develop problems if their food and water dishes are not kept scrupulously clean. After all, you woulnd't want to eat out of dishes that smell like ass either, right? And your cat can smell ass 20 times better than you. So -- clean those dishes good, like a mom, not a frat boy. Water and food dishes should be separate, and the water dish especially should be cleaned every day.

Sorry if I made any of this sound like trouble, but cats are extremely low maintenance, and deserve at least the small courtesies I mentioned. You could have an unhappy cat, and even some vet bills, if you give your cats less than the minimum courtesies any living creature would want, and deserves.

Oh, another note -- get them some of that chocolate or caramel or whatever flavored stuff, comes in a tube, that helps dissolve hairballs. They absolutely love the stuff. It's like five or six bucks a tube, or was when i had cats, but you don't use it up all that quickly. They'll lick it right off your finger and love it.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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There are people here who will tell you that keeping them inside is cruel, I believe you MUST keep them inside. The life expectancy of indoor cats is much much longer than outdoor, and if you get them as kittens they won't know the difference.

You should still put collars and tags on them, though, in case they get outside. My cats also have microchips imbedded under their skin so they can be tracked if they ever get out. I don't think it was that expensive, maybe $75/cat.

I have only heard stories about un-fixed cats, but I'm told that if your cats are not fixed they go nuts when they are in heat and you'll have lots of gentleman callers. You should fix them unless you're going to be a breeder.

If you can stay in the habit of clipping their nails from the very beginning you'll be happier. We didn't do it regularly enough, so the cats hate it, so we don't do it, and they tear lots of stuff up. Do not declaw.

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I agree with this. THe lifespan of an outdoor cat is like a year and a half. Exposing your babies to that means they are subjected the violence a big nasty world can afflict on what are essentially prey animals. They're really not impressive compared to a dog, a hawk, a car, a coyote, or jerky kids. And just as bad, cat diseases are astoundingly quick and virulent. They can literally die in a couple of days after catching them.

Also agreed on the nail clipping. You should get them used to it very young. Even going so far as to touch and separate their claws when they don't need clipping. What you want is to have them habituated to your doing the deed and handling their body in intrusive ways in general.

This is very necessary for when they get injured or really need it.

Take your time and don't rush the clipping, because clipping the meat in their nails will freak them out for a long time to come. If they start squirm too much, discipline them by laying your finger down, with a little pressure, along the top of their nose up to the forehead. This works very well with cats to show them who is boss, yet is completely non-violent and low stress for both of you. Only clip when you can see that none of the nail bud is in the grip of the scissors. Use the special nail scissor device, not regular scissors. It's like a little guillotine.

This also goes for showers. Bathing a cat can be a violent and bloody nightmare if you don't get them used to it while young. But if you do, they'll trust you and let you do almost anything to them. I got mine so mellow that even the vet marveled at how docile and trusting they were. I built up that trust with frequent intrusive handling started when they were very young. When I bathed my cats, I would take them in the shower naked and sit cross legged, with one of those extended shower top hoses to do the rinsing and keep us warm. They were stepping around my nuts, but even when quite unhappy about the soaking and scrubbing, were docile enough to never scratch me even once, and completely trustworthy. This happens when you give your cats plenty of handling and reason to trust you. Putting off things like clipping nails and bathing them only makes doing it harder and harder and more of a battle between you. Start young, and they'll act toward you as if you were their loving mommy. They might not like what you're doing, but they'd never dream of giving you real trouble or trying to hurt you.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Get a laser pointer. Your cats will LOVE this.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

You guys have renewed my faith in OOT. Excellent advice re: cats.

To OP - this will be a decision that you will cherish for years to come. Having a cat (or cats) is a fantastic feeling comparable only to that of having children (only without the hassle).

I second almost every piece of (serious) advice given so far and I applaud you for adopting cats from a shelter instead of going to a pet shop.

Excellent!

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Get a laser pointer. Your cats will LOVE this.

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The only thing better is two laser pointers, going in opposite directions. That and the feline hogh jump contest when you shine it on the wall.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Great to hear you are adopting from a shelter!

Some advice when you go.

Don't rule out older cats. There are plenty of affectionate, playful cats that are in need of good homes. Some come from homes where the owner died or could no longer care for them. You know what you are getting with a cat vs. kitten.

I have 2 cats and I'm glad I have them in pairs. They keep each other busy when I am away at work for long hours, they sleep, play and groom with each other.

Indoors is a MUST.

Great advice from other posters about care and maintenance.

If I could add anything it would be to make sure both cats have plenty of fresh water. I usually change their water bowls 2x a day.

Best of luck.

Here are my 2 boys.

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/314/cats15en.jpg

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Not to mention when you do it at the top of the stairs -- just kidding!

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/314/cats15en.jpg

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Those are some freaky looking cats, dude... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Get a laser pointer. Your cats will LOVE this.

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Mine used to go absolutely bonkers for it. Then they realized that they'd never be able to catch the light, no matter how hard they tried. I think they chase the light now more to humour *me* than anything.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

If you live anywhere close to a rural community you should get cats from there. This way you can get healthy kittens for free. Obviously you're doing a good deed by adopting homeless cats, but most of the time you don't get kittens and may end up with monsters that were abused or otherwise mistreated by previous owners. Seriously, farm cats are the bomb-diggity.

Swede

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

As always, great advice from Blarg. There are only two points I'd like to make:

1) I've read a bit about clumping litter, and some vets are totally against the idea. The reason is that after the cat uses the litter box, he'll proceed to clean the dust off himself. The clumping litter that the cat injests can clump up in the cat's bowels and cause a blockage. That being said, I've used clumping litter for years and neither of my cats have had any issues.

2) I've never bathed my cats. If you keep your cat from getting obese, and it's a short-haired breed, and you keep him indoors, there's no reason that the cat can't bathe himself. Cats obsessively groom themselves all day.

3) I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but wet food is the way to go. Dry food can cause crystals in the cat's urine, especially in females. My female cat had crystals in her urine, but once I switched to wet food (as recommended by my vet), she was fine. The only problem with wet food is that it doesn't clean your cat's teeth. You can get crunchy treats that clean your cat's teeth, though. You can also brush your cat's teeth if he's really docile (I've never seriously thought about doing this, though).

4) Don't get the cheap cat foods. Spend a few bucks more to get the good stuff. Your cat will live longer, have less health problems, and won't get fat (unless you overfeed it).

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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As always, great advice from Blarg.

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I agree.

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1) I've read a bit about clumping litter, and some vets are totally against the idea.

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I've heard this also and also use the clumping litter (Arm & Hammer). Our vet wants us to use the organic corn-based litter you can flush down the toilet, and we don't do it.

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2) I've never bathed my cats.

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My large formerly-stray beast nearly killed me once when I bathed her, so I don't bathe mine either. I use these wipes that they sell at pet stores if they get stinky (which they do, I think they have anal glands or something that can make them smelly). So I recommend the wipes as a bathing alternative. If they stay indoors they won't get too dirty anyway (although keep the chimney flue closed, my cat once jumped up there and got all sooty).


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3) I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but wet food is the way to go.

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My cats won't eat wet food, which is odd I think.

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4) Don't get the cheap cat foods.

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I use Wellness food, which our vet recommended.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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http://www.grographics.com/transient/free-cat.jpg

i'm sorry, but it was left wide open.

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This is possibly the most horrible thing I have ever seen. Yet, I am still laughing.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Three back cats, three black rats, and a virgin.

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on OOT, the last part should be easy to find.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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My cats won't eat wet food, which is odd I think.


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Mine won't either. Also, of the 5 vets I've gone to, none of them have recommended wet catfood. From what I understand, vets will often get incentives to pimp certain brands of food.

Mine get Iams Adult Hairball formula. (One of them is part Himalayan, and sheds like a beotch.)

Kudos to the OP for getting two. One kitty by itself will be lonely when you are gone.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Get a laser pointer. Your cats will LOVE this.

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Mine used to go absolutely bonkers for it. Then they realized that they'd never be able to catch the light, no matter how hard they tried. I think they chase the light now more to humour *me* than anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, well that's why you've got to let them catch it once in a while! Everyone likes a reward for a good effort!

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Lot's of good advice in this thread already. A few more things.

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I've read a bit about clumping litter, and some vets are totally against the idea. The reason is that after the cat uses the litter box, he'll proceed to clean the dust off himself. The clumping litter that the cat injests can clump up in the cat's bowels and cause a blockage. That being said, I've used clumping litter for years and neither of my cats have had any issues.


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Cheap clumping litter made from clay (e.g., Fresh Scoop) is bad fro several reasons. However, there are certain clumping litters made from safe products that are fine. World's Best Cat Litter is simply the best. Made from corn it is safe to ingest and produces virtually no dust. I recommend the Multi-cat Formula.

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I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but wet food is the way to go. Dry food can cause crystals in the cat's urine, especially in females. My female cat had crystals in her urine, but once I switched to wet food (as recommended by my vet), she was fine. The only problem with wet food is that it doesn't clean your cat's teeth. You can get crunchy treats that clean your cat's teeth, though. You can also brush your cat's teeth if he's really docile (I've never seriously thought about doing this, though).


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There is a big wet food/dry food debate. The dry food people are wrong (and I used to be one of them). Feed your kittens wet food 4 times per day (when they are fullgrowm it can be twice) and clean their teeth regulalry and have professional dental cleaning done when necessary (your vet will tell you if it'd necessary.

Also, buy a premium cat food. Try to finda specialty pet shop rather than a Petco if possible. You can always go mailorder. Some of the best premium brands are Abady, Innova, Merrick's, Wellness and Halo (Spot's Stew). You can always get Nutro Max at Petco and that is pretty good too (I used to feed my cats tha brand until they needed a more specialzed diet).

Avoid anything with fish in it. Cat's don't need fish and it is not good for them notwithstanding the huge number of foods that have them in it. Cats don't eat a whle lot of fish in the wild. Stick with chicken, beef, turkey and other meats.

Change the water twice per day and clean the litter box twice per day.

Halo makes a very health freeze dried chicken treat that my cats love.
Get a good book on cat care so that you will be prepared.

Enjoy the added company. You will be very happy you did this. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

[ QUOTE ]
As always, great advice from Blarg. There are only two points I'd like to make:

1) I've read a bit about clumping litter, and some vets are totally against the idea. The reason is that after the cat uses the litter box, he'll proceed to clean the dust off himself. The clumping litter that the cat injests can clump up in the cat's bowels and cause a blockage. That being said, I've used clumping litter for years and neither of my cats have had any issues.

2) I've never bathed my cats. If you keep your cat from getting obese, and it's a short-haired breed, and you keep him indoors, there's no reason that the cat can't bathe himself. Cats obsessively groom themselves all day.

3) I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but wet food is the way to go. Dry food can cause crystals in the cat's urine, especially in females. My female cat had crystals in her urine, but once I switched to wet food (as recommended by my vet), she was fine. The only problem with wet food is that it doesn't clean your cat's teeth. You can get crunchy treats that clean your cat's teeth, though. You can also brush your cat's teeth if he's really docile (I've never seriously thought about doing this, though).

4) Don't get the cheap cat foods. Spend a few bucks more to get the good stuff. Your cat will live longer, have less health problems, and won't get fat (unless you overfeed it).

[/ QUOTE ]

1. My vet never had a problem with it. But some of it is more dustless than others. Some is quite dusty indeed. I wouldn't want my cat -- or me -- inhaling the dusty stuff. You can get brands where the grains of the litter are quite large, and that's the kind I liked.

2. I had Persians. They needed a huge amount of grooming and bathing. That's one reason I wouldn't recommend Persians for anyone but someone prepared to spend as much time grooming their cat as the cat himself does.

3. Wet food is not the way to go and is usually not recommended by vets. Crystals in a cat's urine are idiopathic, that is, they depend on the cat and on the food. It's not that it's dry, it's what's in the food and how your cat reacts to it. The two main concerns with cat food are ash and texture. Wet or dry cat food can contain ash, which cats are incredibly sensitive to, and which can give them all sorts of internal problems. Most retail cat food is very high in ash; that's why a good Vet brand like Iams is the way to go. The texture problem is just my way of saying that it is much healthier for cats to give their teeth and gum adequate stimulation by making them crunch through a dry food than slurp up a wet one.

Again, I'm sure your vet was right for your cat, but endorsing wet food is not the norm with vets - quite the opposite is true.

4. Damn right.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Crystals in a cat's urine are idiopathic

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blarg knows everything. its offical.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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Wet food is not the way to go and is usually not recommended by vets.

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I hate to break the news but most vets (even really good ones) actually don't get much training on nutrition. For example, I go to the Cat Practice in New York which is considered one of the premier vets for cats and the doctors there really don't seem to know much about the ingredients in the food they recommend/prescribe. For example, my vet (who is otherwise excellent) suggested food for my cat with deteriorating kidneys (thankfully not yet in CRF) that was IMO of a very low quality (notwithstanding the fact that it was low in phosphorous as it should be for him) and said that the specialty dry food was as good as the wet. Even I knew that having a cat with kidney problems continue to eat dry food was crazy.

Here is a really good article on the problems with dry food for cats:

Feeding Your Cat

I do agree that you need to monitor teeth and gums on a wet food diet. Then again I have never seen any convincing evidence (notwithstanding many claims) that dry food cleans at all a cat's teeth.

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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They will be fixed (I think its required anyway), I will never declaw, although they will probably just be inside cats (although I may not fully appreciate the ramifactions of such a decision).

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fixed = good
declawed = good

I'm not a cat psychologist, so I don't know how it makes them feel, but I'll tell this:
we had 2 cats
they clawed [censored] (drapes, sofa, chair, other drapes, other chair, other sofa)
I told my wife either the claws go or the cats go
the claws went
the cats came home and peed on a cushion as a protest
we threw out the cushion
nothing else was ever ruined

if you're going to keep them inside they have exactly ZERO need for claws. safe your furniture!

FishNChips

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

Just to throw a few extra cents in:

I would recommend getting one male and one female cat, rather than two females. Just like people, two women in the same house make for less happiness. Even if they are fixed. If you are getting siblings from the same litter, it might not matter as much, but female cats tend to be very dominant, and unless you get a VERY passive female, there will be issues. Male cats tend to be VERY laid back, so two male cats is a better choice than two female cats.

At least that has been my experience over time....

Re: I\'m buying 2 kittens this week
 

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I would recommend getting one male and one female cat, rather than two females.

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This had been recommended to me as well. So I got a male to keep my female company. Well, they hate eachother. Go figure. I love them both though. If you get littermates compatability should be less of an issue regardless.