A kitten!!! oh my....

[Aine of the Fae]

Well apparently "somebody" has decided to send a kitten my way! Here's the story:

Hubby decided to be a butthead and leave me this afternoon. A couple of hours later I'm still in shock and he pulls in the driveway. I got P***ed.... anyway, I went outside to meet him at the van and we got into a fight, really loud, really mean kind of fight. We're screaming back and forth (good thing our neartest neighbor is deaf...) and all of a sudden we hear a tiny little "meow." We stop, look down, and there is this little bitty calico kitten standing between us. She can't be more than 2 months old! Well, of course, fight stopped, we made up and now we've got a cat.

Problem.

I'm a dog person. I have two German Shepherds who HATE cats. They are outside in the kennel for the summer so it's ok for now, but come winter they'll be back in the house.

I have no idea what to do for a cat, what they need beyond food and litter. No clue how to litter train or anything.

She's adorable though, and she just loves people. Follows us around "meow, meow" until we pet her.

Oh, and I can't figure out what to name her.

Help? What do I do with a 2 month old kitten?

[djmixon]

They need lots of love and affection. As for the dogs, keep them in a different room from the kitten cuz they might kill it.

As for litter training, there is a kind of litter that "attracts" cats. So you could try it. I think it is called Cat Attract. . .you can check out catfancy.com and see.

For names, it will come to you. Lots of calicos are named cammo, smudge, shadow, or something like that. Just let it name itself. . .you will know when it is right.

Hope things with hubby get better.

Hugs
Donna

[Arinya]

For litter box training the Cat Attract stuff I've never used but it sounds like a good idea.
I've never really had to litter train, once you have the box all set up put the kitten in it. Cats seem to have a natural desire to bury their mess and litter boxes are the best place in the house for burying purposes! If you want to avoid her making messes elsewhere until she's figured out the litter box make sure there isn't anything in a diggable area around..like newspapers on the floor or clothes on the floor. Also, if she does make a mess put it in the litter box and then put her in the box with it. She should eventually get the idea. Luck to you!

[Aine of the Fae]

And now it seems hubby is allergic to the kitten. He's been playing with her for a couple of hours, looked up at me and his face is all red and puffy....

[Arinya]

Nooooooooooo!
Huh...I'm surprised he's allergic to the kitten but not to the dogs.
Unless...hmm. I guess cats and dogs do have different danders so...
Okay I'll stop while I'm ahead I know nothing about allergic reactions!

[Sylvan]

Can you put up "Found" signs around your neighborhood? If she's that friendly, she hasn't had a chance to go feral yet, and might belong to somebody.

If you do put up signs, it might be best to not put her picture on them. Make the people who call you describe what she looks like so you know you've got the right owner...

[Aine of the Fae]

Nooooooooooo!
Huh...I'm surprised he's allergic to the kitten but not to the dogs.
Unless...hmm. I guess cats and dogs do have different danders so...
Okay I'll stop while I'm ahead I know nothing about allergic reactions!

I thought that too! But, it's definitely allergies... puffy, runny eyes, itchy, sneezy....

[Aine of the Fae]

Can you put up "Found" signs around your neighborhood? If she's that friendly, she hasn't had a chance to go feral yet, and might belong to somebody.

If you do put up signs, it might be best to not put her picture on them. Make the people who call you describe what she looks like so you know you've got the right owner...

She is definitely way too sweet to have been alone very long. We live in the country though, and have a LOT of barn cats. I'm not sure where she could have come from. The cats tend to invade our barn, my grandfather feeds them, but they always run when people come too close. Not this one. She can't get enough attention!

[Isil Darkmoon]

give her a bath with warm water and see if he's still allergic; does he have any enviornmenta allergies, like pollen or cut grass? it's likely that a cat that's been outside can be carrying allergens, as well as causing a reacion themselves.

They do make anti-allergen shampoos for both cats and dogs, although she mgiht be a litlte young yet for that.

[Arinya]

She is definitely way too sweet to have been alone very long. We live in the country though, and have a LOT of barn cats. I'm not sure where she could have come from. The cats tend to invade our barn, my grandfather feeds them, but they always run when people come too close. Not this one. She can't get enough attention!

It sounds like a drop off. When I lived on a farm people would drop off cats and kittens all the time. Somtimes in bags or boxes. People assume if you live in the country you'll take care of their cat and feed it. This is unfortunent, when my parents moved the new owners of the farm used all of the barn cats for target practice. :( At least they managed to save a few though...

[WolfMoon]

Litter box training is easy, just show her the litter box and put her in it.

There's wipes out there to 'dry bathe' cats and they remove all the dander and allergen stuff from their fur. Good pet supply stores carry them.

[Aine of the Fae]

I gave her a bath and hubby's allergies seem to have settled down.

She can't me more than 2 months old and she is just little doll. We named her Molly.

Last night she drove me nuts, crawling all over us, wanting to snuggle and she's got the loudest purr I've ever heard! Woke up the morning, hubby was laying on his side, and the kitten had curled up on top of his head, snuggled into his neck!

My son adores her, so we're definitely keeping her. Got a vet appointment later this week to have her checked for worms and maybe we can find out about how old she is. She seems healthy and she's just way too friendly to be a barn cat, although she does look just like one of the barn cats we have running around.

*shrugs* Hubby says there is more too her than just cat, and looking in her eyes, I'd almost say I agree.

[Old Witch]

Buy him some Claratin......:lol: And make sure she gets a feline leukemia shot...

[OriginalWacky]

I gave her a bath and hubby's allergies seem to have settled down.

She can't me more than 2 months old and she is just little doll. We named her Molly.

Last night she drove me nuts, crawling all over us, wanting to snuggle and she's got the loudest purr I've ever heard! Woke up the morning, hubby was laying on his side, and the kitten had curled up on top of his head, snuggled into his neck!

My son adores her, so we're definitely keeping her. Got a vet appointment later this week to have her checked for worms and maybe we can find out about how old she is. She seems healthy and she's just way too friendly to be a barn cat, although she does look just like one of the barn cats we have running around.

*shrugs* Hubby says there is more too her than just cat, and looking in her eyes, I'd almost say I agree.
Molly sounds adorable, and I'm way jealous (I've wanted a calico for a long long time, but others have shown up, and I love them anyway). A couple of our cats like to sleep on The Mate's head as well. Not at the same time though. ::giggle::

Allergies: http://cats.about.com/library/guest/ucfeature27a.htm (http://cats.about.com/library/guest/ucfeature27a.htm) has a good article about living with cats and allergies. http://www.allerpet.com/ (http://www.allerpet.com/) is also got some good stuff about allergies and strategies. It's a pretty good product.

Baths: Make sure you get her good and dry when you bathe her. Little babies need to stay dry and warm. They do make a dander reducing shampoo that you can use to reduce allergies for your hubby. I wouldn't bathe the baby too often, it can be harsh for her. If you can get away with only once or twice a month, that's ideal.

Food: I highly recommend Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul, I believe the natural ingredients might help just a little bit with the allergies. If nothing else, it's better than most foods on the market for Molly. I'm also fond of the Innova lines of food.

Litter: Most kittens instinctively use a litter box, once you show them where it is. Make sure it's easy to get in and out of for her, and I'd recommend an extra one or two if you can swing it. If it's easy to get to, it's easy to use... making her more likely to stay on track. I personally use Arm & Hammer Scoopable litter, after trying numerous brands and types, it's always been the best of all.

On vaccinations, I'd recommend getting the minimum that you can, and the leukemia test. Please, do NOT get the FIP vaccine if your vet offers it. I have it on good authority from several vets that it is as likely to CAUSE FIP and to prevent it, and any vet recommending it is truly just in it for the money. Other than that, it sounds like you have a really good plan, and you should be able to enjoy years and years of happiness with your darling new baby. (I want to see pics!)

[djmixon]

Probably the kitten should have a bath. . .the dander is worse when they have been outside. Also, the dust and stuff that gets caught in their hair is different...

There are great allergy meds for cat dander, so keeping the fuzzy is not out of the pic yet. . .

Hope it works out for you.

Donna

[zakzekezedd]

Well, when a cat claims you, there really isn't a lot of point in fighting it....the bath will help keep the dander (which is what triggers most allergies) to a minimum. Actually what is referred to as cat dander is in fact dried saliva. Apparently there is a protein in cat saliva that is the cause of all the red eyes and runny nose. One thing I've found though is that a lot of times after the cat is around for a while, the allergy victim seems to acclimate and the allergies go away. And, I was going to say that most cats name themselves...but since you've arrived at Molly, it would seem she's done her job well. Good luck with the wee bit....sounds like she's found herself a good place.