Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
Originally posted by: DopeFiend
I'll have to remember this kinda thing for when my girlfriend and I move and get kittens - it'll be a bit of a learning experience for us, but we've decided to get two, so they have someone to play with when we're at work

Any tips for a cat-owning-n00b?
yes, get a shorthair!!!
-- Some long hairs are actually more hypoallergnenic than short hairs.
don't get one from a pet store!
-- Don't get one period.
don't get a purebred, finding out down the road your cat is geneticly defective will make you a sad panda.
-- Again, don't get one period.
shop around for vaccinations, diffrent places charge diffrent rates.
-- Clinic, it's free.
"advantage" is good for kitty and good for you! don't get the cheep knock-off crap
-- Pet cats don't belong outside. When it gets run over, there's only one person to blame, and it's not the driver.
keep an eye on kittys eyes and ears, they'll go places they shouldn't and get dust and stuff in there.
-- No comment, since this goes for any human too.
animal shelters have the best kitties.
-- Till it pisses on everything it's not supposed to and destroys shoes/clothing because it was neglected/abused in the past (not true of all cats, but true of the 6 that have rotated through my life)
get kitty famaliar with a brush and nail clippers while there young. don't terrorize them, you want them to understand that the nail clippers aern't going to kill them.
-- Good luck.
baths a least once a year and make sure its really warm out. kitties get really cold when wet.
-- And they look like rats too.
keep an eye on kitties teeth, a cleaning once a year at least will piss off kitty in the short term but be good for it in the long run. (my kitty is 12 and has no good teeth to chew with anymore, makes me a sad panda) kitties breath is a good indication of tooth health.
-- Getting the proper cat food will do the same thing too.
declaw the kitty and i'll declaw you!
-- Read the shelter comment, and by the way, I don't enjoy my feet bleeding in the middle of the night when the cat decides it would be fun to play with my feet. And ruining furniture - both cloth and wood - is the #2 easiest way for a cat to be taken to "the farm".
kitty has to have something to scratch, but you have to teech it can scratch and what it can't. (my kitty loves and will only scratch wicker laundry baskets now, don't know why she loves them so much but she does. 5 bucks at a yard sale every few years keeps kitty happy)
-- First, it's TEACH. Second, no matter what you teach it, a cat will ALWAYS find something it's not supposed to scratch.
don't yell at kitty, don't hit kitty etc. if kitty is doing something bad use a squirty bottle like what you water plats with. don't squirt kitty after the fact you will confuse kitty.
-- I personally like chasing cats around with the vaccuum cleaner.
scoop kitty box at least twice a day, kitty won't use it if its dirty.
-- #1 good reason not to get a cat. THEY STINK AND ARE DISGUSTING.
change kiity litter regularly kitty won't like it if it smells and you won't like it either
-- Read above.
little kitties may be to short to get into kitty box on there own, construction of a kitty ramp may be nessisary.
-- Too much effort.
if getting a kitty from a friends litter, don't tear kitty away from its mom to soon, it will need to learn kitty skills from her! (my kitty dosen't know how to hiss or growl)
-- Hissing and growling are important for a housecat?
kittys shed twice a year a light brushing every now and then will drasticly reduce hair-balls
-- Kitties shed year round.
DO NOT use D-Con or other rat poisons, if kitty catches a poisoned mouse/rat bad things will happen to kittty.
-- I'll have to remember that.
careful what you spill on the floor ex. don't use bleech on your kitchen floor, it will get on kittys paws and when kittly washes it off bad things will happen to kitty.
-- ...
when kitty forst comes hope it will find someplace to hide for at least 2 days and not come out. don't bother kitty and keep some food/water nearby in case it wants to come out of hiding in middle of night. kitty is already scared don't make it worse. just give kitty plenty of time to come out on its own and explore new surroundings.
-- forst? They do the same thing when they're about to die as well. Except they don't come out to eat/drink.
let kitties chase eachother and swat eachother there playing.
-- What? You're insane enough to have more than one?
if kitty bites you but immediatly lets go its a love bite. if kitty dosen't let go you pissed kitty off.
-- If cat bite me at all, it gets clocked to the other side of the room.
if kitty loves you it will want to sleep in bed with you, you will need a bigger bed because of this.
-- Or it'll just sleep on top of you.
don't bother buying a kitty condo, kitty will out grow it fast. if kitty seems like it would like a condo build one yourself, kitty will like it better anyway.
-- Waste of money, just get curtains for it to climb.
indoor kittys>out door kittys
-- People who let their cats outside should be shot.
when a kitty decides it likes a brand of food stick with it, sudden changes to kittys diet it make kitty sick, and you won't like cleaning up after a kitty with a upset tummy.
-- Hairballs suck too, and that doesn't matter what food it's on. Hairball control food doesn't help either.
thats all i can think of at the moment.