hi everybody! i'm getting a new kitty in a few weeks and i'm very excited! but i just realized i haven't had a pet since i was little. does anybody have any tips/advice? i want to take really good care of it of course. i do have some concerns though..i just bought some expensive furniture and i don't want it to scratch it and cause damage. what should i do about that? i can't be there all of the time (i have work and school). how much do cats shed? thats a major worry too, since i'm a very hygenic hairfree kinda person. hair grosses me out when it's laying in the tub or something..lol. also, i know that cats can live outside or inside (i plan on keeping it indoors), but do they need outdoor activity? like walking dogs, i never see ppl walking cats though..lol. i guess i'm just a little weary of getting a pet but i am excited. any thoughts apperciated.
We also adopted a kitty a few months ago! However, both of our parents always had cats growing up so we already knew how to take care of them. There are websites you can read about pet care, and you can also talk to the humane society workers when you adopt the cat!
But if you are grossed out by cat hair (or any pet hair), then i wouldn't recommend a cat, get a lizard or something, lol... because you will find cat hair EVERYWHERE, regardless of whether it's a short or long haired cat! On all your furniture, carpet, all over your clothes even if you don't pick up the cat... I don't know how it happens, it just does! I have to give my pants a good lint-brushing every day right before going to work!
As for scratching, first of all make sure that you have something the cat is allowed to scratch. I would recommend spluring on a nicer scratching post or kitty "gym" the cat can climb on. Many cats prefer to scratch something rougher than just carpt, so consider a scratching post with Sisal rope or Sisal carpet. (However, our cat likes carpet posts just as much as his Sisal rope!) When ever you see him trying to scratch the furniture, take him straight to the scratching post and put his feet on it, so he'll know he can scratch it instead. Our cat has been good about not scratching things, with the exception of the couch -- so we bought some Sticky Paws tape to put on the couch, and now he never touches it! You can also trim the cat's claws, but it may take a while until the cat is comfortable enough to let you do it. Every day when you pet him or while he's sleepy, try to play with his feet until he gets comfortable with you handling his feet and squeezing his toes to make the claws come out. They also make little plastic caps you can put over the cat's claws, but those seem weird to me...
You shouldn't need to take the cat outside, they will run around your house (and climb on all your furniture, shelves, counters, etc.!) and get plenty of exercise. That's why we splurged on a big, tall carpeted kitty gym with lots of levels to climb on! While our cat still climbs on things he shouldn't at times, he does enjoy climbing the kitty gym too, plus he likes to sleep on the top level! And make sure you give kitty lots of toys to play with! Each cat likes different toys, so buy him a few different kinds -- balls to chase, stuffed mice to kick around and bite, etc. When you are home, you can play with him with toys that have a stick you hold, with feathers or a toy on a string attached the end, you can wave it around and most cats will love to chase it! Many cats also love catnip toys, although our cat ignores catnip.... he is a little weird though
And be prepared for anything! Every cat I've had has had a very different personality -- some are very friendly and love to snuggle and sit on your lap, others don't really like people or to be petted, some love to play while others are lazy (and prone to getting fat -- make sure they eat healthy!), etc.! Our cat is very playful and most of the time when we try to pet him, he (playfully) bites or claws us! But sometimes in the middle of the night, he jumps on our bed purring and wanting to snuggle! He's quite a handful and we are always keeping him out of trouble, but he's so cute and funny we love him anyway!
Hope that helps, and good luck if you decide to get a cat!
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i think girl geek gave you excellent advice!
If you're hair-phobic or dirt-phobic etc you're probably better off without a pet. There's always hair, and kicked up litter, and cat toys around no matter how hard and often you clean.
Re:catnip- kittens don't react to it, so don't be surprised if your kitten ignores it until he gets older.
Sticky Paws are great, except one of our cats (the one who doesn't scratch anything) has taken to eating them and spitting them all over the house
Please keep your cat indoors, there's no need for them to be outdoors at all, and they can pick up lethal deseases and parasites.
thanks for all the advice. and the links! i didn't know they had inventions like that! i will have to get some of those sticky paws. i think all should be fine, i'll just have to clean more. where can i get sticky paws at? i might consider getting him declawed though...or at least trimming. your cats are adorable. i cannot wait to get one! i need a companion..lol. i'll be sure to keep him inside too.
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i think girl geek gave you excellent advice!
If you're hair-phobic or dirt-phobic etc you're probably better off without a pet. There's always hair, and kicked up litter, and cat toys around no matter how hard and often you clean.
Re:catnip- kittens don't react to it, so don't be surprised if your kitten ignores it until he gets older.
Sticky Paws are great, except one of our cats (the one who doesn't scratch anything) has taken to eating them and spitting them all over the house
Please keep your cat indoors, there's no need for them to be outdoors at all, and they can pick up lethal deseases and parasites.
Oh gosh, I forgot about the litter everywhere... we have a litter mat in front of the litter box that is supposed to catch the litter, but there's always litter that sticks to the cat's feet and he tracks it around the house! The day after we mop the bathroom floor (where his litter box is), you can walk around barefoot and feel litter sticking to your feet! And we often find litter in the bed where he was sleeping, ew! Our cat also loves playing in the bathtub right after we take a shower (he is weird) so he always gets litter in the tub....
Then there was the day that he somehow spread his dry cat food ALL OVER the bathroom floor while we were at work, I mean, there was kibble on almost every square inch of the floor! I'm not even sure how he did it because it was evenly distributed around the room!
So yeah, cats are wonderful and I love them, but I don't think you can ever have an immaculately clean house with one!
I love cats however I always hated the scattered litter and hair all over the house. It's impossible to totally elliminate. The litter gets trapped between their paws and they can carry it a long way before it drops off like in the bed. They will shred things too if you don't get them declawed. I'm not trying to persuade you against a cat but if you are germophobic like me and worried about all the hair and litter then I would suggest a short-haired chihuahua. They are small, don't shed, great for allergies, and there's no need for a poop box.
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I just got a little black kitty with blue eyes and he is absolutely adorable. This is day 3 of him being with me. When we first took him out of the store he was VERY nervous/scared.. which is pretty natural of a 4 week old kitten being seperated from his brothers and sisters but, now he is alert and playful. Since day 1 that we got him home he's been poo'ing and pee'ing in his litter box which, I'm so thankful of because that was my only concern.. poo and pee around the house. He likes to chew on wires though, which is not too good and I'm not sure how to get him to stop.. This is my first pet and i'm 19!
Congrats on your kitty, you will fall in love with him!!
Question for people with cats: I keep hearing about males '' spraying '' even when they're fixed.. does this happen [often]?? Also, is it right to have a cat declawed?? Not just clipping the nails but, declawed to where they won't grow claws at all anymore. I want to have this done to my kitten but, in a way it seems wrong? Any insight? Thanks
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I just got a little black kitty with blue eyes and he is absolutely adorable. This is day 3 of him being with me. When we first took him out of the store he was VERY nervous/scared.. which is pretty natural of a 4 week old kitten being seperated from his brothers and sisters but, now he is alert and playful. Since day 1 that we got him home he's been poo'ing and pee'ing in his litter box which, I'm so thankful of because that was my only concern.. poo and pee around the house. He likes to chew on wires though, which is not too good and I'm not sure how to get him to stop.. This is my first pet and i'm 19!
Congrats on your kitty, you will fall in love with him!!
Question for people with cats: I keep hearing about males '' spraying '' even when they're fixed.. does this happen [often]?? Also, is it right to have a cat declawed?? Not just clipping the nails but, declawed to where they won't grow claws at all anymore. I want to have this done to my kitten but, in a way it seems wrong? Any insight? Thanks
Congrats on your new kitty! I wanna see pics!
I think it's fine to declaw them if you intend to keep them indoors otherwise I think it's cruel because they can't defend themselves or climb a tree, etc.
I had a male cat that continued to spray a little bit even after being neutered but it was a very puny spray and he stopped being able to after awhile. Poor thing never quit trying, though.
I just got a little black kitty with blue eyes and he is absolutely adorable. This is day 3 of him being with me. When we first took him out of the store he was VERY nervous/scared.. which is pretty natural of a 4 week old kitten being seperated from his brothers and sisters but, now he is alert and playful. Since day 1 that we got him home he's been poo'ing and pee'ing in his litter box which, I'm so thankful of because that was my only concern.. poo and pee around the house. He likes to chew on wires though, which is not too good and I'm not sure how to get him to stop.. This is my first pet and i'm 19!
Congrats on your kitty, you will fall in love with him!!
Question for people with cats: I keep hearing about males '' spraying '' even when they're fixed.. does this happen [often]?? Also, is it right to have a cat declawed?? Not just clipping the nails but, declawed to where they won't grow claws at all anymore. I want to have this done to my kitten but, in a way it seems wrong? Any insight? Thanks
Occasionally male cats will spray when they're fixed, but not all do. My parent's male cat only recently started spraying and I'm not sure why -- he's 13 years old and was fixed when he was a kitten! The cat we had before that was an indoor/outdoor cat and sprayed things outside, but never inside, even though he was also fixed. (Of course he fought with other cats and basically just thought he was still a tomcat ) So far our cat hasn't sprayed, he's about a year old and we've had him for about 3 months now.
As for declawing, definitely don't declaw cats that will be outside as Lisa said. While my parents always declawed their cats, we choose not too -- when a cat is declawed, the vet doesn't remove just the claws but also part of the bone that makes up their toes! We thought that bordered on inhumane so we decided to let our kitty keep his claws. Also, I've read stories of cats' personalities changing after they are declawed, where they get really unfriendly and mean (and our cat's already mean enough, lol) -- cats scratch not only to sharpen their claws, but also to mark their territory and just for fun! So when they can no longer do those things, they will be very upset, especially if they think you're responsible for it.... There's a lot of websites about it if you do a Google search for declawing.
And our cat's been surprisingly well-behaved in regards to his claws -- the only thing he ever clawed that he wasn't supposed to is the couch, and the Sticky Paws fixed that problem! But he does have a scratching post and a big carpeted kitty gym to scratch and climb on! He loves climbing up the kitty tree with his claws, rather than just jumping to the top, he would be so mad at us if he couldn't climb up his tree, lol! Even when he plays with us, he does bite and claw us but you can see he tries to keep his claws in his feet -- when he plays with his toys, you can see he extends his claws a lot more than when he plays with us!
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Have fun with your new Kitty!!
They will shred things too if you don't get them declawed. I'm not trying to persuade you against a cat but if you are germophobic like me and worried about all the hair and litter then I would suggest a short-haired chihuahua. 
They are small, don't shed, great for allergies, and there's no need for a poop box.