Kitten Stuff
This post is packed full of information relevant to the lucky households that will be getting a pair of our kittens this fall. The older kittens were born July 22nd to Cookie and the younger kittens on August 6th to Cupcake.
They are comfortable around dogs and other cats and the Roomba vacuum and they enjoy supervised playtime in the yard. Because they see dogs as their friends, take special care that they not be exposed to unfriendly dogs as they may walk right into their jaws.
I’m including Amazon links and pics as it is an easy way to show you what I am talking about and, if you don’t want to go hunting, you can just order them from Amazon. We buy most everything at CHS/Cenex or Costco.
Kitten Food
They are accustomed to eating Royal Canin Kitten (CHS/Cenex) dry food and they drink loads of water. Whatever size water bowl you have for them, get a bigger one. If you let your kitties go outside during the day and want to lure them in at night, and if you plan to feed them wet food, serve it only after they are locked in for the night. It serves as a great enticement to come home instead of partying all night.
Litter Box
The kittens are litter box trained with Dr. Elsey’s Kitten Attract Litter (CHS/Cenex) mixed with Scoop Away from Costco. We find the Omega Paw Rollaway Litter Box (far cheaper at Costco than Amazon) to be the easiest to keep clean. I roll the box onto its top and then roll back again — the yuck is gathered into a little yuck bin which is easily emptied. I do this in the morning and evening and our 12-cat home is not stinky. We do find the little doormats to be helpful in keeping the litter from tracking throughout the house.
As gross as this sounds, I will send you home with a ziplock of litter from their current box. Sprinkle it on top of the litter in the box you have for them at home and they will recognize by smell that THIS is the place. Restrict access to alternate places until they have used the box a few times and then very gradually make the rest of the home available to them, one room at a time. Check hidden corners often for mishaps and if you find a mess, reduce the size of their range immediately. When they do regain access to that room, make sure there is a physical obstacle between them and the naughty spot.
Beds
They love to sleep on wool. We save old wool sweaters etc. for our kitties, but it is easy to pick up wooly things at Value Village. If that’s not your thing, Amazon has really cool wool dens for them. If you have wooly scraps on hand now and can drop them off, I can have the whole pack sleep on them and then send the scraps home with you so that kitties first night away at least smells right.
Towers and Window Seats
Yes, we spoil the kitties and aren’t the least bit embarrassed about it. We have a short little kitty tower that sits to the left of my chair in the living room and it almost always has a cat or kitten or both in it. That is where they sit if they want to be close, but not too close. Lots of pets and conversation happen between my spot and theirs and then, eventually, they crawl into my lap for a snuggle. Window seats are another favorite hang-out and we have several tall towers upon which we feed the kitties out-of- reach of the dogs.
Toys
They spend a good deal of time romping through their tunnel and playing with their play mat and ping-pong thingy. Catnip mice are always a hit as is the Flippity-Floppity Fish. Wads of tape, milk jug caps, and the curtains provide hours of entertainment as well. This evening none of those things are in play, as all eight kittens are zooming around in circles chasing one another’s tails. The pitter-patter on the wood floor is the best music ever.
Vet
They haven’t yet seen a vet, so you will need to go get their first shots and schedule their spays and neuters. They have been hunting with their moms so it’s a good idea to have them wormed as well.
We really like Dr. Auperlee at Whatcom Veterinary Hospital in Ferndale — this is who we take our kitties to and if you chose him, be sure to tell him from whom you got the kitties. I can’t speak for any of his new partners though, we only see him. We also can recommend Dr. Mark Kummer at Fairhaven Vet, and Dr. Robin Eggenberger at Kulshan Veterinary in Lynden and Ferndale.
Last Thoughts
We never ever let them play with our hands or feet with their mouths. When they try, we hiss at them. They stop. Same with claws-out play. What is cute in a kitten is painful when they are adults. It’s kinder to teach them the rules from the start and not confuse them midway through.
These kittens were born into my hands and have been loved on and cherished and played with ever since. They should grow up to be confident, healthy, good-looking cats and we will welcome pictures and updates. If you use Instagram, I invite you to follow their uncles’ channel at the.kitten.show. Roly, Captain, and Ranger provide a good preview of what these kitties will look like as adults.
