Kitty Cat Help.....

[Mr Magnum]

Well some jerk decided to throw away a new born cat in my garbage last night, thankfully I found it before it died(yippy) . My girl cleaned it and gave it milk, and wants to keep it..... I have no prob with it but I don't have the slightest clue on what this cat needs and what I should get for it. Also I heard they can do nightmares with their claws, can I de-claw it(if it's humane of course)? Obviously I know this cat needs shots and vaccines b/c I have had dogs before, so I assume it's a similar process for them when they are newborns (rabies,worms,etc). But what else, what should I feed this cat, toys, protective equip fot the furniture, and also should I get kitty furniture (ie; bed)? Any ideas would help!


EDIT! SOME PICS!

 

[jmv]

well probably start off with taking it to the vet and make sure its got all its health stuff taken care of, shots and all that.

my experience with cats is that they don't need specific toys or anything, a nice string will do just fine... as far as 'kitty beds' i doubt you really need one if you don't wanna buy one, my cats are perfectly happy with the couch, or they like open boxes in particular. We used to have a little 'kitty condo' thing that the cats liked, but they outgrew it pretty quick, and moved on to pick favorite spots on the couches or beds.

The claw thing.... neither of my cats have front claws. They're strictly indoor cats so its not a big disadvantage for them. Its wonderful to not have to worry about them poking you, and lots of our furniture would be long gone with how often they try to 'sharpen their claws' (its instinct i guess). I know its kind of painful for the cat when they have it done though. Honestly i don't know all too much about it since i was little when it was done to my cats.

as far as food.... i would probably start out with just a small bag of dry food, and see if they seem to like it. If they don't, try a different brand, or maybe some wet food. And, if you can't seem to find something that they really like, you can always try feeding them tuna, i don't know any cat that doesn't like that....

glad you found the cat and that its okay!!

 

[SciFiMan]

Since you are new to cats, let me warn you. Start the training process. Cat pee is like acid and if left you can kiss your flooring goodbye. I'll never have cats again. Least not live ones.

 

[cam-shaft]

how old is the cat(a guess will do since it was dropped off for you) cause it may need milk if thats the case you may need to see a vet to get it what it needs. if it will be an indoor cat have it declawed, if it is going to be an outside cat don't because it will need to protect itself. my inlaws had their cat declawed right away.

 

[Mr Magnum]

Well I can tell you it's a newborn kitty, it fits like in the palm of my hands, it's so tiny. My lady is taking it to the vet on monday,and I'll prob going to have it declawed, b/c I think my lady wants it to stay in doors, oh and another question is how can tell whether it's a male or a female??

Thanks for the advice so far guys

 

[Huascar82]

hehe, look under it, its got willy its male, its got slit its female. actually I've got no idea. Sorry to threadjack but since its a cat post I was wondering, why not declaw its hind paws? cause cant that do as much damage as the front ones?

 

[RacerXGirl]

You don't declaw the back paws so it has some manner of defense if it gets outside...

 

[Protege5Gurly]

I say leave the claws and just keep em trimmed. We have 4 cats and only 1 is declawed and they dont do any harm at all. Plus they are all indoor only cats.

As far as the milk goes .. STOP ... we all know cats love milk (or so we are told) but in reality they are pretty much lactose intolerant! Since the cat is soo small go to PetsMart and get the kitten formula. Use that and some wet kitten food until you can have a vet check it out and guide you from there.

 

[susamafone]

we have declawed only one of our cats, and probably wont do it again. in order to declaw a cat, they have to go in and actually cut the tendon attached to the claw. its pretty painful for them.

 

[BeNegative]

Do not give it milk. It will get the runs from it. Get forumula. Go to the vet. DO NOT declaw. It's painful for them and once healed, will remain tender for them. We clip our cats nails every other week just as we would trim our nails (it's a little different in the way you cut it, but you get the idea). If it ever gets out...that will be its only self defense besides fleeing.

Good luck and watch the foods you get. The damn animal food recall is driving everyone up the wall!

 

[genericuser]

I agree.. Go to the Vet ASAP.

Do not declaw. My fiance and I have three cats, all of them have front and rear claws. It is equivalent to cutting off your finger down to the first knuckle.

Here is how you make sure a kitty doesn't scratch your stuff:
1. Make sure it has a scratching post and other scratchers around the house. I've had great sucess with the riged cardboard scratchers (you can get them at target for $3 a piece, they are just grooved cardboard treated with catnip, cats love them!!!)

They look like this:

2. Get a water spray bottle. They respond well to it. That will keep them from getting on the furniture and doing stuff they aren't supposed to. Cats HATE HATE HATE HATE getting wet!!

Lastly, you will probably have to bottlefeed the kitty for a while, most likely twice a day. This will have to be done until the little guy can graduate to soft kitten food. It is going to require a lot of care. I would suggest finding an old non-digital watch, a heat pad, and some soft material (an old t-shirt etc) so it has a safe warm place that it can sleep in. The safer kitty feels, the more friendly it will be later on in life.

If you have any more cat questions, shoot me a PM or email, I'll be glad to answer them. Jessica and I love our three babies.

Gatsby:

Stewie:

Katie:

 

[BradC]

awww...I remember Katie! How is she doing Sean?

Also, plus a million for getting formula. Our car was a rescue and too young for solid food as well. Milk did not do her well and when I researched it, they are lactose intolerant as mentioned above.

 

[wmbeaver]

sounds similar to what happened to us about a year ago:

i woke up one morning to a loud meow-ing, looked out my window, a little kitten was in front of my door, i walked out, it ran off, but i saw where it ran to. i brought food out for it, then later that night, we were able to get him to come in our garage, this cat seemed like he had never seen humans before. a couple of days later, we were able to get him into the bathroom, where he stayed until he got a little bit more used to us. we took him to the vet as soon as we could, be sure to TAKE HIM TO THE VET, and he was just covered in fleas and had to take a bunch of different types of medicines to get all of the fleas off, and so he get up and be healthy. once he was all well, we put up signs saying we found a lost cat, and no one called for weeks, so we figured we just had to keep him. he is still extremely shy, when he arrived, he was only a couple weeks old, and its amazing how fast they can become used to humans. he is startled so easily though, but he has the softest fur i've ever felt on a cat.


and congratulations, good luck, none of our cats are de-clawed, and they are mostly outdoor cats, though they come in in the evenings and spend the night with us. we really only worry about one of our cats because she has packed on some pounds and is getting old, and can't run, but she spends most of her time indoors. and cat pee is a killer, i've had many clothes ruined because cats pee on them, and no matter how many times you try to get the smell out, it's still there, cat pee is way worse than human or dog pee

i find cats to be a bit more personal than dogs, and i have 2 dogs and 3 cats, but cats can also be more annoying in that they will never stop meow-ing until they get what they want

again, good luck

 

[genericuser]

awww...I remember Katie! How is she doing Sean?

She's currently curled up on our couch watching stewie and gatsby smack each other around.

She's a little thinner now because she has more space now because we have a house

 

[meinp5]

I am mainly a dog person, but I would suggest going to Banefield. It's the vetrinary office attached to PetsMart. I don't know if they have those where you live but if you do I would suggest taking it there. We found a puppy last summer and did their wellness plan($300/yr) and so far it's saved us an assload of money. It covered all the puppy shots, spaying, all office visits are covered. Pretty much it's pet insurace but everyone I know that has gone there has been very happy with the results. If you don't want to pay upfront you can go month to month. I thnk it was between $10-$20/mth. Good Luck.

 

[sanblaster]

Well I don't have the slightest clue about cats but that was very kind of you for what you did for it. Props.

 

[girth]

I've had a handful of cats over the years and always fed them milk - especially when kittens since they can't really chew yet. No problems at all. As for declawing, personally if I was going to have an indoor cat I'd get the fronts declawed - the declawed cats I've been around seem none the worse for wear other than they can't get any grip when they're jumping around...kind of feel sorry for them just for that. Main thing you should do is GET A GOOD VACUUM cuz you're going to be swimming in cat hair for the next 12 years or so.

 

[gone_fishin]

The person who put that cat in the garbage should be arrested and fined. Simply unbelievable how cruel and selfish people can be. Couldn't be bothered with the 15 min trip to the local SPCA annex or the animal shelter. Or perhaps putting an ad out in the paper and taking care of it until it found a home.

 

[blkspdfreak]

good litter and put the box in an area of the house you dont travel in/ around often. you'll start by staying on top of the kitty litter but it gets old. i have mine in a spair bed room and no complaints. toys, my cat loves the stuff i dont buy him ( caps from drinks like water bottles, pen caps, and anything he gets his hand on) dont buy toys, its money u can spend on you car i got the front claws done and not the rear so he has some defence against my dog. very loveable animals and great with kids, i also " took mine in" and he's great. oh and if you want a great laugh get one of those laser pionters and move it on the ground, they run all over trying to get it, it'll keep u goin for hours.

 

[Mr Magnum]

Hey guys thanks for the great responses, tomorrow morning our new cat is going to the vet, I went to petsmart and got cat formula and a few things to keep her warm at night. I found out she's a girl, she's so tiny, could barely walk when I first got her but know walks better but still has trouble keeping her back legs under her when she walks, but I tihink that's because she's so tiny. I was so worried b/c she never went to the bathroom, but fixed that after jumping online and learned I had to "help" her pee lol. but thanks a lot guys for your help.