Just got kittens :) Need some advice!

[Mao Senpai]

I just got two feral kittens around... 14 weeks old and they are so cute ! One is pretty awesome and tame and outgoing. The other one.. is scared and just hangs in the litter box and will not budge. Well I tried to litter train them (Clevertop litterbox) and well that didn't work as the outgoing kitten just dropped a turd on my computer cables. YUCK. Anyhow tomorrow I am gonna pick up a shallow litter box so they can actually see where and what it is. The kitten even gave me signs... but I just didn't get it till it was too late. Cute things. So... any advice on litter training them? and when my order of frontline comes in.. gonna use that to get rid of their fleas. Then in a month or two I am gonna get them spayed and neutered at the vet along with other test to make sure they are ok. Sorry I am ranting just so nervous and excited and worried about this whole litter buisiness. I am ocd clean so.. seeing that turd dropped freaked me out.

 

[Laura]

they need to locked in a small room , like a bathroom , with the litter box. if they start using it regulary, you can let them out. If not try different types of litter. sometimes they are turned off by smell or textures.
let the shy one adjust, then start petting.. once they know you are the food bearer and petting and scritches feel good. they usually come around.
ALSO. . new product.. 1/2 the price of frontline.. SAME thing.. available at Walmart. I cant recall the name...

 

[Mao Senpai]

they need to locked in a small room , like a bathroom , with the litter box. if they start using it regulary, you can let them out. If not try different types of litter. sometimes they are turned off by smell or textures.
let the shy one adjust, then start petting.. once they know you are the food bearer and petting and scritches feel good. they usually come around.
ALSO. . new product.. 1/2 the price of frontline.. SAME thing.. available at Walmart. I cant recall the name...

Hm thats really good to know thanks!

 

[Jacqui]

ALSO. . new product.. 1/2 the price of frontline.. SAME thing.. available at Walmart. I cant recall the name...

PetArmor?

 

[Laura]

maybe.... the patent expired for Frontline, so now there will be generics.

 

[Mao Senpai]

UGH. So one of the kittens went through emoness and does not want to socialize at all... would not budge from his spot for a day so... we returned him back to his mother. I ended up adopting another kiten from petsmart which ended up being great anyhow... the other feral kitten has roundworms YUCK. Nothing like waking up in the morning and cleaning off the doo doo on the carpet and then the throwup to find wiggling worms in it. Freaked the heck out of me! So I gave her some over the counter roundworm medication... and she's been throwing up... three times today and hasn't eaten I am so taking her to the vet Monday. Sorry just wanted to share...

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

to litter train:
lock them in a small area like a bathroom with the litter box when you are not at home or cant give them your full attention. if you have shower curtains, get them out of their reach or take them down. anything on the counters that you dont want knocked over or played with you should move. use a litter that does not have any odor control to start with and make sure its deep enough for them to dig in. when they are out of the bathroom and one shows you "signs" it needs to go, take it to the litter box. place them in the litter box often when you are home. when I foster kittens I place them in the litter box every 30 min to start and then once they start getting the hang of it I start to extend the time. also to encourage them to "go" keep a dropping in the box,they will sniff it then will normally start to dig in the box. if they are on wet food take them off of it at least until the worms are gone. I personally don't offer wet food at all because its so bad for their teeth, is high in ash, and can make it easier for them to get worms.

For sick kitty: only offer him or her water for a while. Cats have sensitive stomachs. You should still take it to the vet though.

---

I have hand raised 13 litters of kittens. if you like, feel free to PM me any time

 

[Mao Senpai]

Hey thanks! I will... so worried about this one. :\

 

[kopechan]

The cat is easy to train,they need to locked in a small room.

 

[geekinpink]

I never thought you had to train them, when we get cats, they just go to the litterbox themselves, but maybe it's because there's an adult cat around and they copy her?

 

[wrmitchell22]

UGH. So one of the kittens went through emoness and does not want to socialize at all... would not budge from his spot for a day so... we returned him back to his mother. I ended up adopting another kiten from petsmart which ended up being great anyhow... the other feral kitten has roundworms YUCK. Nothing like waking up in the morning and cleaning off the doo doo on the carpet and then the throwup to find wiggling worms in it. Freaked the heck out of me! So I gave her some over the counter roundworm medication... and she's been throwing up... three times today and hasn't eaten I am so taking her to the vet Monday. Sorry just wanted to share...

If you can get the sick one to eat pumpkin it helps keep them hydrated and is a natural anti parsite. They give it to dogs and puppies a lot in the pound. Good luck!

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I never thought you had to train them, when we get cats, they just go to the litterbox themselves, but maybe it's because there's an adult cat around and they copy her?

Most kittens are litter box trained by their mother, but sometime if the mom is too young or they live only outside, then the mom doesn't train them.

 

[missmoofi]

If they are true ferels, training will be hard as they are used to pooping etc outside, they will probably not like the feel of cat litter on their paws. But in time with love and patience they will get the hang of it

A vets visit is the best to address all the issues of worms & fleas, also they will give them a good look over to check for things you might have missed. I guess you can also book their appointment for nuetering

good luck and keep us posted

ps any pics

 

[ChiKat]

Pictures?? What's cuter than a kitten?

 

[SILVERSTAR]

ARE YOU SURE THERE 14 WEEKS ?

 

[xcourtney3]

If they defecate somewhere else, take the feces and put it in the litter box. Then put them in the litter box. They need the smell association. This worked well for my two kittens. Also, try the Kitten Attract litter from PetSmart, at least until they get trained.

 

[xxflowersxx]

So the cheap version of Frontline is called BioSpot. Its $20 for a 3 month supply, not a bad deal compared to $60 for Frontline. It works just as well as Frontline if not better. It was also recommended by my vet.

As far as the litter box, I concur with everyone else with the bathroom idea. Put the box in the bathroom and keep the kittens in the bathroom, especially at night, unless you want pee and poop on your bed.

Make sure you check their ears. If there's black stuff in their ears, its ear mites. You'll need to go to the pet store and get ear mite medicine and will have to treat their ears every other day for a couple months. It takes forever to get completely rid of them.

Talk to your vet about spay/neuter clinics. Usually every couple of months there will be a clinic with significantly lowered rates for spay/neuter.

 

[Mao Senpai]

Sorry to have been slow to get back, been busy!
Took them to the vet and it was no big deal, Lina the black tabby had some worms and a sinus infection but both were easily remedied. Jayne the gray tabby was just fine. Lina learned to use her litter box and they both now use the fancy box I got them. They are both ... healthy and trouble makers now! Lina was a feral cat born in the wild and all that so it took a bit for her to learn to use the box and I think it mostly was due to the fact she couldn't smell... she was so congested she couldn't even groom herself. But she is just dandy now! They are bug free as well... but Lina will soon have to get her neutering done. Oh they are worm free now! Hm they are reaching the 18th week now me thinks!


The vet introduced something to me called revolution... it treats flea, and all that good stuff, AND earmites and worms... pretty spiffy for 3 drops on the back of the neck. I ended up locking her in the laundry room which is tiny but it worked out well. They... don't go near my bed since I am a clean freak and wouldn't want them well you get the idea especially when they had the yuckies.

 

[dmarcus]

Awww they are both very cute kitties...

 

[Mao Senpai]

Thanks! I love them to pieces.

 

[RV's mom]

What beautiful babies! My middle girl is a feral (we got her at 4oz. and eyes barely open). She retains some wild and has seemingly multiple personalities...