New Addition: Part Two

Greetings Animal Lovers, and welcome back to an extended post dedicated to bringing the new kitten in your home.  As I mentioned I've recently helped rescue an abandoned kitty, and I wanted to share some of the techniques I used to make her feel comfortable and well taken care of.  After developing the proper feeding pattern, I mentioned it's important to remove fleas and bathe your kitten with Dawn dish soap.

After that: Potty training your kitten is probably the second most essential task to complete, right after developing a feeding pattern.  It has never proved too difficult, but does take some patience and undivided attention.  In order to avoid smelly accidents on your brand new carpet you should place your kitten inside the litter box at least once an hour, in addition to a few minutes after it wakes up and after it eats.  I found it beneficial to scratch in the litter myself to show her how it's done.  Cats have a direct instinct to dig so once they realize what to do with the litter its pretty much smooth sailing.  For the first couple weeks, after your kitten uses the litter box, you may want to take him/her out and cover up the droppings yourself.  Although your kitten will scratch to cover it themselves they tend to either completely miss or end up scratching in their own poop; this just gets the mess on their paws making more work for you later. Make sure the litter box is not in secluded or hard to find places while your kitten is young.  Its important that they know exactly where it is without having to walk far to get there.

Finally: We can focus on recreation time for your little one.  Its good to release their energy during playtime to avoid bad behavior when your away.  I find it very unnecessary to purchase bunches of kitten toys, because they always end up finding interest in simple things you probably have laying around your house.  I tied a fishing buoy to a shoe string and my kitten loves it.  Cutting a Mardi Gras necklace so that it's just a string of beads will also keep kitty entertained, especially on tile floors.  Other things I've noticed kittens like are socks, small stuffed animals, graduation tassels or any type of small ball.  Greater than all these things however are on our bodies.  I've found my kitten loves to chase my legs while I'm walking, fingers while I'm typing, and my hair while I'm laying down.

My new addition enjoying her homemade toy

Last: After your kitten has reached 10 weeks you want to take them to the vet for the usual vaccines and shots.  Places like the ASPCA and Humane Society offer kitten packages that include the necessary boosters.  Also spaying or neutering your kitten should be done to prevent multiplying.  A healthy kitten is a happy one, although this will likely be the most expensive task, it proves most beneficial for a long living cat.

New Addition

Greetings Animal Lovers,
On Thanksgiving Day I was approached by a neighbor who clearly knew how passionate I am about animals.  She had rescued two kittens from the street and asked would I take one, and in true animal lover fashion I couldn't pass up the chance to save an innocent life.  For the purpose of this post I wanted to highlight some tips and techniques someone could and should use when taking in a kitten, especially if he/she is under the age of 8 weeks (as mine is).

First things first: You need to find out the level of eating your kitten has accomplished.  Many times kittens are taken away from their mothers too soon, not knowing how to eat whole cat food whether it be wet or dry.  If this is the case, sticking your finger inside kitty's mouth will result in them trying to suckle your finger.  If this occurs you should purchase cat milk replacer, which can be bottle or bowl fed depending on how young the kitten.  If your kitten doesn't have the urge to suckle you can go right to feeding it wet cat food, which can also be accomplished for younger kittens by mixing in the milk replacer.  This is what I found beneficial for my nearly weaned kitten.  Once the kitten gets used to wet food, you can start mixing in dry food (which is way cheaper), or try soaking dry food in a little water to soften it up.  Sooner or later you'll be able to feed kitty majority dry food, with the wet serving as a treat or once a day occurrence.

Provides the nutrients kitty would normally receive from mother's milk

Next: When rescuing animals from outdoors or unclean environments, you will almost always encounter the flea problem.  A lot of times the kitten is too young for flea treatment, or even the flea collar so the only option is to give kitty a Dawn dish liquid bath. I learned from calling the ASPCA that Dawn original kills fleas after 2.5 minutes of the application.  BINGO! We all know cats don't like water, so this task could prove difficult, however kittens are so small their a lot easier to get clean.  Make sure all areas of the body get a fair amount of Dawn, especially the face which you will find the fleas flea to during the bath.  Scrub the skin of the kitten in order to lather up the soap, don't forget the butt which often is smelly in young cats.  On top of killing fleas the bath is cleaning your kitten, so don't forget their ears and underside. Try your best to remove all fleas with your fingers during and after the bath, they should be dead but its probable that some survived the wrath.  

Try not to take too long during the bathing process, and use warm water so kitty doesn't fall into hypothermia.  After thoroughly rinsing him/her I found the blow dryer (on a low setting) was very beneficial to the drying process.  Keeping your kitten wrapped up in a dry towel after the bath will soothe and help keep it warm.  

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the New Addition post, which will help guide you in completing the necessary steps to making your kitten comfortable in it's new home!

Man's Best Friend

Greetings Animal Lovers,
Everyone knows that dogs are a man's best friend.  Ever wonder if the reverse was true as well? I know I love my pets, each and every one of them provide me with a sense of understanding and connection but I've always questioned whether I'm just as valuable to them.  Browsing for a video illustrating a pet's emotion towards humans, I came across this pretty convincing clip. By the looks of it I'd say dogs, at least, feel the same sense of belonging with their human. In my case the loyalty is often overlooked with accidents indoors or messes caused by rough housing.  All in all this video takes me (and I'd assume any dog owner) to a warm place of appreciation and gratitude.  I couldn't help but chose it to make a statement about a dog's emotions toward their owner.  Enjoy :)

Dotty Has Dots

Greetings Animal Lovers, 

Meet Dotty.  She has recently been labeled the Cat of The Week by petango.com, and is currently  living in a foster home affiliated with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.  Unfortunately this 4 year old domestic shorthair was brought to the shelter when her owner became extremely ill and passed, leaving Dotty behind with no owner or care.  Although the circumstances were not deliberate or intentional this kitty has been left abandoned without the loving and caring parent she's used to. Dotty is looking for a nice quiet home without too much commotion.   She's been described as extremely sweet, and loves to lounge around and take in her surroundings.  Currently, Dotty is available to adopt for only $19, because she's been in the Humane Society's care for more than thirty days.  She's spayed, house trained and waiting for a loving parent to come give her a happy home again.  Help spread the word and get Dotty a new home. Remember she has a $19 adoption fee and she's fixed, she also has a microchip which will identify her owner's information in the case she gets lost.