Well im brand new to this forum and my family and i found a black and tan kitten in our garage 2 days ago. We have called the newspaper and put an add in the paper, but no calls yet. We have a feeling this poor little girl was dumped in our neighborhood for some reason.She is VERY skinny and a lil dirty but she doesnt seemed injured. She is very sweet and loves to jump onto your shoulder and paw your neck. I was wondering what kind of care she would need if we were to keep her. As im only 15 it is my parents decision. Right now we stuck an old dog crate in the garage for her to sleep in and we have borrowed some cat food from our neighbor. We had a cat about a year or so ago but sadly he got paralized due to a genetic mutation that caused him to have a weak vertebrate in his back. I know she will need to be vaccinated and see the vet, but i was wondering if we should turn her into an indoor cat and how hard is it to litter train? Thanks for reading this and cross your fingers that if we dont find her home that i will be able to keep her. Oh and also i was wondering what color she would be. She is black and has tan speckled thoughout her fur.
Found A Kitten In My Garage
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
The kitten sounds very sweet. I would recommend turning her into an indoor cat. Outdoor cats live only a fraction of the time an indoor cat lives. Litter training can be fairly simple if the cat is altered. Since they have a need to dig the litter box is the natural place to go. Make sure you have all your clothes picked up off the floor because clothes are a pee magnet.
Just a guess, but your kitten sounds like a tortoiseshell.
Just a guess, but your kitten sounds like a tortoiseshell.
Well still no calls today. My sisters and i are trying to covince my dad to keep her. My mom is fine with it but if she were to be brought inside we would have to bathe her with that stuff for people who are allergic to cats. My mom is allergic to cats but not badly. So just a bath every week wouldnt be bad for her if she was getting a forever home in return. We have found out she is a tortoise(sp?) color. We have no idea what we will name her if we keep her so any ideas would be appreciated!
This kitten could possibly be from a litter of a stray female and she just wandered your way. Litter box behavior is usually naturally instinctive to cats because, like Annissa said, they like to dig into a sandy substrate and bury their feces. Try filling a box with litter and dig into it with your hands. Cats are good copy cats and she should pick up on what to do. It works the same way with a scratching post.
If you need to bathe her, you'd have to start her at a young age so she gets used to it.
Welcome to the forum, good luck and keep us informed.
If you need to bathe her, you'd have to start her at a young age so she gets used to it.
Welcome to the forum, good luck and keep us informed.
Joined
·
28,615 Posts
Hi, Mandi. Welcome. I agree with the advice you've been given. Just show the kitten the litter box and scratch her little feet in it. Cats are pretty easy to train. I would definitely keep her indoors, and as Richo said, if she is to have baths, get her used to them immediately. I do hope all works out well. Good luck!
I agree with the advice you've been given. Just show the kitten the litter box and scratch her little feet in it. Cats are pretty easy to train. I would definitely keep her indoors, and as Richo said, if she is to have baths, get her used to them immediately. I do hope all works out well. Good luck!
Joined
·
560 Posts
Welcome to the forum - I'm pretty new too. ^_^
I'm excited to hear about your brand new kitty! Your situation sounds a lot like my best friend's they found a kitty not to long ago either.
I would get her spayed as soon as possible - that way you don't have to worry about her peeing everywhere and getting dad angry. You should probably try to train her somewhere that can be cleaned up easily like a bathroom or something like that until she gets the hang of it. Just keep her cut off from the rest of the house unless she is with you until she can use the box properly. This shouldn't take very long at all.
When giving her a bath - try to act as calm as you can and try to be swift about cleaning her. I would sugest a second pair of hands - one to pet and calm the baby - and the second to shampoo and rinse. If she digs in her claws into your arm because she is scared - try not to jerk - and slowly extract her nails (they don't always try to scratch you - but might try to hold onto you for support). Make sure she is dry too - and don't let her run off until she is. I'm glad you're getting to bathe her now at such a young age - that way when she gets older she won't freak out as much.
Again, welcome to the forum! Tell us how your baby does! ^_^
I'm excited to hear about your brand new kitty! Your situation sounds a lot like my best friend's they found a kitty not to long ago either.
I would get her spayed as soon as possible - that way you don't have to worry about her peeing everywhere and getting dad angry. You should probably try to train her somewhere that can be cleaned up easily like a bathroom or something like that until she gets the hang of it. Just keep her cut off from the rest of the house unless she is with you until she can use the box properly. This shouldn't take very long at all.
When giving her a bath - try to act as calm as you can and try to be swift about cleaning her. I would sugest a second pair of hands - one to pet and calm the baby - and the second to shampoo and rinse. If she digs in her claws into your arm because she is scared - try not to jerk - and slowly extract her nails (they don't always try to scratch you - but might try to hold onto you for support). Make sure she is dry too - and don't let her run off until she is. I'm glad you're getting to bathe her now at such a young age - that way when she gets older she won't freak out as much.
Again, welcome to the forum! Tell us how your baby does! ^_^
WOW! Thanks for all the great advice guys. Well My dad said he will think about it. Im sure with 4 women against him there is no way he is gonna win this battle though. We called the vet and he said to bring her in sometime this week and he would check her for worms and all that other good stuff. We let her in the house last night when my dad was at a meeting and she just ran around the couch the whole time from person to person wanting everyone to pet her. I swear if you would let her she would sit on your shoulder all day long. She's so sweet i couldnt bear to give her away to anyone now. I've been wanting a cat ever since our other one had to be put down. It was hard but i knew we were doing the right thing as he would have been paralyzed for the rest of his life and he was only 6 years old. Anyways is it ok for her to be on just cat food or does she need to be on kitten food? Right now cat food is all we have but my sister and i are planning on going to the store when my dad makes his decision which hopefully will be yes.
I believe that cat food is OK if that's all you have. Kitten food has extra fat content for growing kittens so I would think eventually you would want to give her kitten food when you can get some.
Sound like a real sweet kitty. We all hope your dad gives in.
Sound like a real sweet kitty. We all hope your dad gives in.
I will post pics once we get out digital camera fixed. My dad took it to a repair guy the same day we found her and he said it would take a week or so cause he had to order a new part for it. I've brought her inside today even though im not SUPPOSE too. The thing is we have two labrabdor retrievers. Our golden female who was around our other cat was very gentle in checking her out. The kitten which me and my sisters have decided to name Faith was rolling on her back on the couch will Theta sniffed her belly and "parts". But we have a 6 month old chocolate lab who is still very bouncy and hyper who was very jumpy when sniffing her so she growled at him a lil bit but she was still purring. Serisouly i think she purrs 24/7. She will be sitting there on my dad's riding lawn mower chair and you can walk out and she is already purring.
Joined
·
10 Posts
Congrats on your new kitty. I found my cat Henry under a car hood sitting on the battery when he was around 7-8 weeks old (born outdoors to a farm cat). We took him home and kept him in an extra large dog kennel with a little litter box in the back corner (which he knew how to use right away). We were amazed with his adjustment to living indoors. It was like he was born there. We took him to the vet right away to be evaluated and get things set up for his shots, etc. and purchased kitten food for him. He has been a great addition to our animal family and I think you'll enjoy your kitty also. Read all that you can about cats and how to make your life easier living with them. Good luck and looking forward to seeing pictures.
Joined
·
28,615 Posts
She sounds like an absolute lap kitty, not happy unless she is with someone for love! I'm so glad you have her. I think she will charm your father, even if he tries to resist her charms!
I agree that kitten food would be best, but you can give her what you have now, and make the change gradually. Good luck at the vet.
I agree that kitten food would be best, but you can give her what you have now, and make the change gradually. Good luck at the vet.
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!