Kitten practicailities

Siliconslave · 4 Mar 2008 at 17:51

I'm looking at getting a kitten, but don't know too much about looking after them.. can anyone answer some questions:

how old do they have to be (or should they be) before they can visit a cattery?
how long should you keep them inside before you let them out?
how long do they need people to be around for 24/7?
when & how often do they need feeding?

is there a good getting started guide somewhere?

Cheers
Sam

danza · 4 Mar 2008 at 18:17

how old do they have to be (or should they be) before they can visit a cattery?

Probably at least 6 months.

how long should you keep them inside before you let them out?

About 6 months, and not before they've been vaccinated.

how long do they need people to be around for 24/7?

Depends really. If a kitten is left alone 8 hours + each day, it will get bored/destructive and probably be less of a companion than one that has more attention. As my wife and I work 9 hours a day, we bought 2 kittens to keep each other company. They're great fun, and it's a good idea to get a male and female from the same litter.

when & how often do they need feeding?

Mine are fed twice daily, 8am and 6pm. Always have been.

Vanilla · 4 Mar 2008 at 18:22

Get two, they will keep eachother company during periods alone.

Droolinggimp · 4 Mar 2008 at 18:45

Sounds like you DONT want a cat/kitten!!!

Asking about catteries and how often to feed them etc. Do you think you will have the time to look after it yourself? If not. DO NOT get one. they dont need as much attention as dogs but still better to be a round them until at least 1 or maybe 2 years old.

Feed them twice daily. Wet food such as Wiskers or Felix will be good for them and they wont drink too much water. For ONE adult cat one tin of food will be sufficiant for 4 meals.

Dried food. not sure on quantity but make sure you ahve a bowl of water at all times for the kitten/cat. This applies to all cats whatever food they eat.

As for letting it out side. I would leave it for a good 24 weeks if its a kitten you are wanting. Adult cat, 4 weeks. Gives them time to sniff the area and get used to the surroundings.

Lopéz · 4 Mar 2008 at 18:48

Droolinggimp said:
Sounds like you DONT want a cat/kitten!!!

Asking about catteries and how often to feed them etc. Do you think you will have the time to look after it yourself? If not. DO NOT get one. they dont need as much attention as dogs but still better to be a round them until at least 1 or maybe 2 years old.

Isn't it better that he is doing his research prior to getting a pet?

Think of many people just go out and buy an animal with absolutely no idea of its needs or demands and get bored of it/sell it/give it away/drown it within a few months.

Looks like Siliconslave is going about things the right way to me.

Vanilla · 4 Mar 2008 at 18:51

Droolinggimp said:
Sounds like you DONT want a cat/kitten!!!

Asking about catteries and how often to feed them etc. Do you think you will have the time to look after it yourself? If not. DO NOT get one. they dont need as much attention as dogs but still better to be a round them until at least 1 or maybe 2 years old.

I think (hope) he is just doing the sensible thing and finding out what his 'limits' are with regards to leaving them alone and feeding. Many people don't even bother to find out!

It's shocking how many cats are without homes so it's kind of a case that beggars cn't be choosers!

Droolinggimp · 4 Mar 2008 at 18:54

Yeah sorry if it sounded like it really did.. I meant it to come across as thought asking 'do you really want one'

Maybe its the beer... Preperation for the Man Utd game later...

Edit: Im here to offer advice to you if you need it.

Siliconslave · 5 Mar 2008 at 08:56

Droolinggimp said:
Yeah sorry if it sounded like it really did.. I meant it to come across as thought asking 'do you really want one'

Edit: Im here to offer advice to you if you need it.

don't worry i am just doing the research ahead of time

The reason I'm asking all the time related questions is that I'm trying to work out how feasible it is to get one and when in the year would work with our planned holiday in Sept... i'm thinking we may well be too late and will have to wait till next year. Also we both work long days and only my g/f would be able to get home lunch times to do a midday feed (although i can work from home a day a week or so...)

We were planning on taking off a week to settle the cat in and then one of us being around every day of the week after.

I guess having someone in to house sit if we were to go away after 4-5months would be the best option (although i guess not going would be the best overall)

feeding wise its been suggested that while they are kittens you need to feed 4 times a day, would that have to be like 8, 12, 4 & 10 or similar? is an automatic feeder thing a no-no to space the feedings out over the day if we can only get back at lunch during the week?

33L · 5 Mar 2008 at 09:14

danza said:
how old do they have to be (or should they be) before they can visit a cattery?

Probably at least 6 months.

how long should you keep them inside before you let them out?

About 6 months, and not before they've been vaccinated.

how long do they need people to be around for 24/7?

Depends really. If a kitten is left alone 8 hours + each day, it will get bored/destructive and probably be less of a companion than one that has more attention. As my wife and I work 9 hours a day, we bought 2 kittens to keep each other company. They're great fun, and it's a good idea to get a male and female from the same litter.

when & how often do they need feeding?

Mine are fed twice daily, 8am and 6pm. Always have been.

We have 2 cats about a year old and they live pretty much to this idea.

wordy · 5 Mar 2008 at 09:41

Ourt cat is fed twice a day 7amish and 5:30 pmish

She's eight months old and is pretty much free to go out whenever she wants...however sh'e only gone outside a couple of times and each time has gone back in the house after a couple of minutes exploring.

One of us goes home during our dinner hour to see the dog and cat. We keep them seperated when we're not there, even though they get on great he's getting a big lad now and while the both like playing together, we always keep an eye on them to make sure he doesn't get too boisterous.

You can leave thme alone for a few hours and I'm sure they'd think nothing of it. They will find loads of things to do to amuse themselves and of course if you get one I'm sure it'll have more toys than you did as a child

The other day I came in form work to find the bath plug sat in the centre of our bedroom.