A few kitten questions...
 

We have had a stray kitten living in our shed at work for the last month
or so. She appears to be about 2 months or less. A couple pounds maybe.
I started feeding it kitten food and giving her water in a bowl a couple
weeks ago. She didn't seem to be starving because of the fact that she
was not skinny. It's not a slender body type, she actually seems to have
a fat mid section. She is a jet black long hair with pretty green eyes.
It took several sessions of me spending my lunch hour out there with her
in order to get her to cautiously come up to me. Now, 2 weeks later,
with a belly full of food and her trusting me, she comes to me every
time I go to her little corner. I pick her up and she purrs and kneads
on my leg.

Gee, guess what happened next... Yes, I plan on bringing her home this
Saturday. I am probably the first one to ever handle her in her short
life. As an owner of several cats in the past, I am sure that this is a
good idea. I do have a vet appointment the week following the home
coming. I was wondering if anyone knows if, being a stray, will this cat
take to the household without being to wild by nature. She is so young,
I don't see this as a problem. Since I will bring her home 5 days before
the vet appointment, is there anything I should do or be cautious of? I
did not see any fleas even though the hair is a little thin behind her
ears. It looks like she has been scratching but I haven't seen her do
it. I looked carefully at the thin spots and no fleas were observed. No
wax build up in the ears either. She appears to be healthy to me.
Another question I have is, are kittens with no house experience easy to
litter train? I will have a fresh box of litter that I will place her in
every so often so she gets the feel of it. I realize she will be a
little nervous and simply jump out of the box when I put her into it.
I'm sure she has never been in a litter box, but will probably get the
message after the litter gets between her toes. The reason that I am
waiting to bring her home 2 days from now is because I am going to apply
a dose of 'Advantage' to her shoulder blades tomorrow morning. That way,
I don't bring home any unwanted passengers along with the cat.

Any advice that can be offered in this situation would be appreciated.
It does feel good giving this little creature a good home. Knowing cats,
I'm sure she will love me for it for years to come.

Jim

And it's not too soon to start planning when to have her spayed.

Vets can spay a female kitten after two months if they weight at least two
pounds and are healthy. It's not necessary to operate at this age, but it's
best not to wait too long because female cats can become pregnant as early
as five months.

I would delay the operation until the kitten is fully adjusted to her new
home and stops hiding. Having the spay operation can make kittens revert to
their feral behavior if they are not fully adjusted to being with humans.

Enjoy your cat!

Bill

"Joe Pitt" wrote in message
m...
Good for you!!
I work with a rescue group and we bring in kittens like this ALL the time.
Put he in the litter box and she'll know what to do.Make sure the vet does
a
fecal, the fat belly could be worms. Also get a FIV/FELV test if the vet
thinks she is old enough. Don't be surprised if she hides at first. I
would
confine her to one room to start, preferably one without any really good
hiding places. That way you can pick her up with having to chase her down
or
drag her out from somewhere. Good Luck!

Joe
http://www.jwpitt.com/cats.htm

"Jim Wild" wrote in message
...
We have had a stray kitten living in our shed at work for the last month
or so. She appears to be about 2 months or less. A couple pounds maybe.
I started feeding it kitten food and giving her water in a bowl a couple
weeks ago. She didn't seem to be starving because of the fact that she
was not skinny. It's not a slender body type, she actually seems to have
a fat mid section. She is a jet black long hair with pretty green eyes.
It took several sessions of me spending my lunch hour out there with her
in order to get her to cautiously come up to me. Now, 2 weeks later,
with a belly full of food and her trusting me, she comes to me every
time I go to her little corner. I pick her up and she purrs and kneads
on my leg.

Gee, guess what happened next... Yes, I plan on bringing her home this
Saturday. I am probably the first one to ever handle her in her short
life. As an owner of several cats in the past, I am sure that this is a
good idea. I do have a vet appointment the week following the home
coming. I was wondering if anyone knows if, being a stray, will this cat
take to the household without being to wild by nature. She is so young,
I don't see this as a problem. Since I will bring her home 5 days before
the vet appointment, is there anything I should do or be cautious of? I
did not see any fleas even though the hair is a little thin behind her
ears. It looks like she has been scratching but I haven't seen her do
it. I looked carefully at the thin spots and no fleas were observed. No
wax build up in the ears either. She appears to be healthy to me.
Another question I have is, are kittens with no house experience easy to
litter train? I will have a fresh box of litter that I will place her in
every so often so she gets the feel of it. I realize she will be a
little nervous and simply jump out of the box when I put her into it.
I'm sure she has never been in a litter box, but will probably get the
message after the litter gets between her toes. The reason that I am
waiting to bring her home 2 days from now is because I am going to apply
a dose of 'Advantage' to her shoulder blades tomorrow morning. That way,
I don't bring home any unwanted passengers along with the cat.

Any advice that can be offered in this situation would be appreciated.
It does feel good giving this little creature a good home. Knowing cats,
I'm sure she will love me for it for years to come.

Jim