So, I'm getting a kitty.

[Regulus Tera]

Female preferably. Don't really care about race or whatever, I just want a kitty.

Problem is, I've never had cats. What do I know about cats? I once had a puppy, when I was six. That motherfucker ran away. So, I don't want the kitty to starve to death! What do I need to get the kitty? Besides food. Also, warnings? Like, when do I start worrying about my furniture and shit?

[Krylo]

Food, Water, Kitty Litter.

Maybe a scratching post.

Cats are the low maintenance pets.

Only thing is you might have to think about is getting two depending on how often you'll be home/how much attention you plan to give it. You know, 'cause loneliness.

[Red King]

Don't give a cat straight milk. If you give them some, dilute it with water. Pure milk is strong and can give them certain, ah, stomach problems.


Don't leave any meat exposed in the trash can if the cat is indoors, it will jump into the trashcan and tilt it over.

Careful about leaving clothes on the floor or in a basket, it will love to climb in them, and if it's not house trained, prepare to wash them again.

If you plan on giving your cat dry food, be careful about giving it too much canned catfood, they get spoiled easily and sometimes it's hard to get them to eat the dry food again.

They love attention to their faces and that little spot above their tail.



My sister loves cats, so I've had a bunch of experience.

[Krylo]

Don't leave any meat exposed in the trash can if the cat is indoors, it will jump into the trashcan and tilt it over.

Depends on the cat. I've had five now.

The only human foods they'd ALL eat was fish, but even then it would have to be untainted by breading or herbs or condiments for 3 of them. Only one would actually eat most human food, the rest turned their noses up at it. I used to try and give them bits of meat and what not, like sausages off a pizza, but only the one would ever eat them.

I also have one cat that started on soft food, went to hard food, and refused to eat soft food unless there was no hard food left.

The clothes thing is important, though, even if they ARE trained, as that if you let a litter box get too bad a cat will be like "Fuck this" and find someplace else to go.

[BitVyper]

Non-clumping litter is generally best if you're getting a kitten (although clumping is usually more a problem with nursing mothers). I wouldn't even bother with milk, but if you really want to give him or her some, then yeah, dilute with water. Really though, why would you?

If you are getting a kitten, watch that whoever you get it from isn't selling you one younger than six weeks. I usually prefer eight, myself.

Get a small, plastic kennel. You'll want it if you ain't got it.

I like to feed mostly dry food - it's better for their teeth. Usually a good idea to supplement that with a spoonful or two of canned food every day just 'cause cats usually won't drink as much water as they ought to. I find it's best to put canned and dry in separate dishes, otherwise cats tend to get used to having their dry with wet, and get finicky about eating it any other way. If you wanna feed mostly canned food though, go nuts - there's no difference in quality.

Some good quality brands of food off the top of my head: Science Diet, Nutrience, Royal Canin, Pro Plan, Bil Jac (if it's still around), Nutro, and I'm tired right now so that's all I can think of. If you prefer a bit cheaper, you can always ask your pet store if they have a house brand. Anything you can pick up at a grocery store is usually a bit junky. Not deadly or anything, just kinda shitty.

I like to get dogs and cats into the habit of eating on a schedule, so I tend to put food down a few times a day for twenty minutes to half an hour and if they don't finish it, tough luck. It's not necessary, but it can make some things easier later on. It's also nice 'cause you can feed smaller portions, and one common problem with cats is that they tend to eat too much food all at once and then puke it all up (if your cat is puking up whole chunks of food, this is probably your problem). It's useful for housebreaking too, 'cause if you feed them at the same times every day, they'll tend to shit on a schedule.

If you're getting a kitten, try to block off any small crevices in your home. It can save you some grief later on.

I usually don't give an animal full run of my home when I'm not there until I've had them for awhile. For one thing, it can be stressful for them, and for another confining them to a smaller space lets you control their behaviour easier until you have a bit more trust for them.

Edit: Also double sided tape can be a great all-purpose area-deterrent as long as you don't overuse it (i.e. don't just put it there and expect it to do all the work for you). It can be especially useful if your cat takes to scratching furniture. A lot of pet stores have keyed into this and now sell clear double-sided tape, which is even nicer.

Edit 2: As far as litter goes; I really like silica crystals. They're less dusty than clay litter, they last longer than almost anything else, and they're fantastic on odour control.

[Menarker]

Got some personal experience having no less than 3 different cats at home at any point in my life.

Now, I see some damn good advice up above for making sure it is healthy and all that, but how to ensure that warms up to you? I'll provide a few tips on that. Note, this might vary from cat to cat, but I had high success with befriending strange cats, so I'm willing to share this.

1: Cats have a strong instinct to rub their head against anything resembling a flat surface, since that's how they mark their territory. (When they rub against their leg, they are marking you as the same) Anyhow, when they are still getting used to you, it is best that you lock yourself in with the cat, not moving around so it doesn't get nervous (if you intend to use food as bait, give a few pieces that isn't right in front of you.) and give it the chance to get used to your scent. How I do this having my hand extended so they can sniff it, preferably by shaping your hands completely stretched out fingers completely entended and tuck your fingers like this, but flatter like a wall itself. (http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~bb/dg/SelfDefence/Strikes/palm1a.jpg) Let it sniff and rub against your head, but don't pet it until it starts getting comfortable getting close to you, then work your way up from there.

2: Even once it's comfortable with you, big rule of thumb is NOT to rub or pet their stomach until you're 100% sure that your friendship is secure. It is a "weak-point" to them and they guard it carefully, with scratch and bites and they won't be happy with you. In large animals like lions, the belly was the weakpoint, and the cats seem to have kept this perspective.

and on a very important side note, if your cat ever can or will go outside, or if your garage is indoors, keep it very clean and free of spills or better yet block it off. Stuff like Anti-freeze is sweet-tasting but utterly toxic.

[bluestarultor]

Yeah, my friend had a cat who died from drinking antifreeze.

Just a few more tips, but always the change the water every day, scoop the litter pan every time you go into the room to keep it fresher, and find some way to protect your electrical cords, because some cats like to chew them.

[Menarker]

Oh, and consider getting a laser pen. It's lots of fun having them chase a red dot along the floor and walls. ^^ *Don't shine in the eye though*

[bluestarultor]

Oh, and consider getting a laser pen. It's lots of fun having them chase a red dot along the floor and walls. ^^ *Don't shine in the eye though*

Be careful with this, though. I ended up giving my cat a complex because I had the bright idea of making it "disappear" into a plant instead of just letting it click off, since it seemed to confuse her so much. She ended up obsessing about the plant looking for the dot. This was at the same time of her realizing that the point came from the pointer, and she also keeps hiding the pointer on me to capture it at the source or something.

Thankfully, she seems to be over it now, but it's been months since I've seen the pointer, too.

So yeah, just let the cat be confused when the light goes off. Otherwise, you could get an obsessed cat.

[katiuska]

I like to feed mostly dry food - it's better for their teeth. Usually a good idea to supplement that with a spoonful or two of canned food every day just 'cause cats usually won't drink as much water as they ought to.

We do this with Rusty. Tommy drank plenty of water, so he was fine with just dry food, but Rusty rarely drinks out of his bowl. Dehydration can lead to UTIs, which are really, really bad in cats.

It's also nice 'cause you can feed smaller portions, and one common problem with cats is that they tend to eat too much food all at once and then puke it all up (if your cat is puking up whole chunks of food, this is probably your problem).

I've found that blocking off the kitchen during mealtime seems to help with that; I guess there's less of a rush when there's nowhere else to be. It's also a bit cat-dependent: a lot of cats like to eat over the course of several hours, while others are pigs who will inhale their food like they've never eaten in their lives. There are some obvious issues when cats of both types live in the same house.

Depends on the cat. I've had five now.

The only human foods they'd ALL eat was fish, but even then it would have to be untainted by breading or herbs or condiments for 3 of them. Only one would actually eat most human food, the rest turned their noses up at it. I used to try and give them bits of meat and what not, like sausages off a pizza, but only the one would ever eat them.

Rusty's never liked fish, though oddly enough he's still interested in tuna. There was a period when he was willing to try different things, including cheese and pasta, but he varies a lot on what he's willing to eat. The only thing he'll always eat is poultry and red meat.

Oh, and melon. He loves melon.

Rusty's a weirdo.

Tommy was much more consistent. Salt, dairy, meat (for human or for feline consumption) = all good.

It's probably a good idea to keep her claws trimmed, unless she's good about using them. My brother's kitten is allowed to keep hers long, but the older ones have never learned how not to get them caught on things.

[Hanuman]

Wrestle a shark to death with your bare/bear hands, whichever the case may be.
Food problem solved.

Giving cats human food in my experience makes them more cuddly, wet food counts too.

The environment a cat is subjected to highly influences it's life. Playing with it and making it chase and attack will hone it's mind to that purpose, loving the cat and sitting with it on your lap for hours will make it more serene, ect.

[Meister]

Playing with it and making it chase and attack will hone it's mind to that purpose
When my parents' cat was a kitten I'd put on a leather glove and have him hunt and pounce on my hand. Cat wrestling was always great fun, but nowadays when I visit them I have to be very careful where I rest my hands and can't let my guard down. Who'd have thought imprinting would go such a long way.

[Julford Hajime]

I have three kitties. They can each be summarized with a two-word phrase: adorable idiot, lovable blob, and FUCKING NINJA.

Guess which one was the stray we took in >.>

ANYWAY, I'll attest to UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) being VERY dangerous in cats. I've lost two over my lifetime to them, and a third one very nearly died from it around this time last year (He's on a stricter diet now, and is fine). Keep an eye on water consumption, and see if wet food will be necessary or not; you'll probably need to ask someone who's trained to know how much water the kitty should be drinking, because I honestly couldn't tell you >.>

I've learned that so long as you keep the feeding habits the same, cats won't gorge themselves on food if you just leave it out for them. For example, I have one large bowl of dry food out that I keep filled at all times, and once a night I give them each part of a can of wet food. One of my three current cats is slightly overweight, and is the only one to be so in the fifteen or so cats I've had in my life. I tend to avoid tablescraps for them, though, which may be part of it.

I'll attest to two cats being something to consider based on the time you'll be spending with them; besides, that just means more kitties! YAY!

[Tev]

As for keeping them hydrated, I heard from a friend that keeps cats that the furballs prefer running water. As such she got them one of those neat water bowls that has a little fountain pump to keep things moving around.

http://www.supercoolpets.com/pictures/cat%20waterer.jpg

She has found great success with this. Which is good because she's got like five cats now and keeping them all happy is almost a fulltime job.

[katiuska]

That never did anything for Rusty. We gave it to my brother, because one of their cats loves moving water, but he loves it best when he's doing the moving (knocking glasses over, batting the bowl a few times before taking a drink). In general, though, I hear those work pretty well.

[BitVyper]

Yeah, some cats like their water flowing. Some don't though - it's really a crap shoot.

I've found that blocking off the kitchen during mealtime seems to help with that

If it's a problem for you, you can also try mixing a little bit of dental care food in with your regular stuff. Dental care foods use bigger harder chunks that help force the cat to chew. Science Diet's chunks are usually the biggest as far as the oral care foods go.

....but we've got the best balls of them all.