Your First Kitten

Deciding to become a cat owner is a big decision. This cat will rely on you for everything. It will need you to feed it, give it water, give it a place to live, a litter box, toys, and lots of love plus much more. Are you ready for that? If so, then you are ready to start looking for your very first kitten. Now, there are other options besides kittens. There are plenty of nice, adult cats for adoption at local pounds and shelters, but I am going to cover what to do when you get your first kitten.

When preparing to bring your kitten home, you will need to make sure you have all you will need to take care of it. This includes food, water, a bed, a litter box, plenty of toys, and a lot of time. You can choose from basic crunchy kitten food to moist food to canned food. There are a lot of options. Also, you will want to be sure there is a warm place for your kitten to sleep. Even though it may not seem like it at first, your kitten will eventually want to settle down and rest peacefully. Try not to put the bed in a drafty area. Next, having plenty of toys available for your kitten, as well as a scratching post, will ensure your furniture and valuables will be left alone. When a cat is bored, it will make a toy out of pretty much anything.

When you find that purring ball of fur and want to never let go of it, you will be very surprised at what you will find. Young kittens often can't quite retract their claws yet. Therefore, you end up being a human pin cushion for a while. Be sure not to punish your kitten for basic scratches if it can't help it. Also, another surprise you will find is just how small a space your kitten really can fit into. A general rule to go by is if your kitten can get its head through a space, it can most likely fit the rest of its body as well. One other surprising thing about kittens is, unlike dogs, they are very simple to house train. Basically, you just show them the litter box, set them in it, and they take it from there.

Though cats cannot usually be trained like a dog, there are things you can do to get the best behavior out of your kitten. "Spanking" your cat will usually do no good. A good spray bottle with water in it will be just the trick you need to keep your kitten out of trouble. Kittens generally hate water, so when your kitten ventures to somewhere it is not supposed to be, give it a good mist from the spray bottle and it probably won't happen again.

Kittens can be a lot of work, but be sure you are prepared by following these steps above. You will be rewarded with a sweet companion that will love you unconditionally.