Kittens For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019943277
ISBN 978-1-119-60911-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-60912-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-60913-1 (ebk)
Iremember my first encounter with kittens. Someone moved away from an apartment complex, abandoning a poor pregnant cat during a rare Dallas snowstorm. I felt like Prissy in Gone With The Wind. I wanted to yell, “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ no baby cats!” I didn’t have a clue what to do for them when they got here. Mom and all but two of the kittens found homes. Surprisingly, the two I kept survived their first year and are both still with me almost 18 years later.
That first year, the only thing I knew about kittens was how to spell the word. In those early days, I made a lot of mistakes because I didn’t know any better; I let the kittens outside and I fed them the cheapest food I could find. But the more I discovered about these amazing creatures, the more I loved them. When I first started fostering kittens, I found out what a difference premium food made in both their health and in the way the litter boxes smelled. I began keeping them inside the house for their safety. I stopped declawing them. Cats became my passion. Before I knew it, people were coming to me with their kitten questions. Who’d have thought? I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I made. I want you to have the information I wished I’d had as I raised my first little kittens … so I wrote this fun, easy-to-use book.
Bookstores’ shelves are full of books about kittens. Most of them provide accurate information about kitten care. But in order to understand some of them, you almost need a degree in veterinary medicine. You won’t need to keep a medical dictionary sitting next to you in order to read Kittens For Dummies. I’ve explained everything to you in plain, everyday English. And because kittens are so much fun to have around I tried to make this book fun to read as well.
I’d love you to read this book cover to cover, and if you do, you and your kitten will benefit. But if you want to pick and choose information to get you through a particular situation, you’ll be able to find it quickly. You don’t have to wade through pages and pages of text to find out that a saucer of milk could give your kitten the runs so badly he could try out for the Olympic track team. Just a glance at the able of contents will lead you to that section.
I don’t bore you with details about those rare diseases that affect only 1 in 10 million kittens here, but you can find out about colds and other diseases that any kitten can catch. I also tell you how to prevent them.
I go over some of the stupid mistakes I’ve made with my kittens over the years. I’m confessing my mistakes (and the hard-learned mistakes of others), so you don’t have to do the same thing. I even include an entire section on how to rescue a kitten in trouble. I talk you through catching, bottle-feeding, and weaning that kitten, then help you find him a new home. You won’t find that anywhere else, at least not alongside a comprehensive care guide.
You’ll love this book because you can choose which section is most important to you at any particular moment. Look at the table of contents or the index for what interests you, and dive right in. And I try not to repeat myself. So when I talk about how to buy a kitten carrier, for instance, I also list the other places in the book where you can find out about flying with your kitten or how to best protect your kitten when you’re driving around town together.
To help you navigate through this book, I’ve set up a few conventions:
Monofont is used for Web addresses.Kitty elimination is a major part of your kitten's life, so we’re not going to get hung up on formality here. When I’ve spoken to the nationally known behaviorists, they talk about pee and poop instead of urine and feces. I’m going to follow the lead of these experts and talk about pee and poop, too, just like the big boys.
And speaking of boys, I’m equal opportunity here. Behaviorally, boy and girl kittens exhibit similar personality traits after they’ve been spayed or neutered — especially if they’ve been altered early in life. Throughout most of the book everything applies equally to both boys and girls. I alternately refer to your kitten as “he” or “she” and “him” or “her.” I even do the same thing when it comes to spaying and neutering, except in the one section where I talk about the specific operation.
I’ve written Kittens For Dummies so you don’t have to read every single word. I spent a lot of time writing this book, and I’d love for you to peruse every syllable, but if you’re in a real hurry, you can skip past:
I assume because you’re reading this book that you:
To make it easy for you to get the poop on owning a baby kitty, Kittens For Dummies is divided into six parts. Each part addresses a different aspect of life with a kitten.
You want to get a kitten, and you have so many decisions to make before you take the plunge! This part helps you sort out what you want and should expect from your future companion. You can figure out whether you want an energetic kitten or an older more laid-back cat. I also help you decide if you’d like a kitten-of-all-breeds or a specific breed. This part tells you where to look for the kitten of your dreams and gives you tips on how to pick out a kitten who’s happy and healthy.
This part tells you how to prepare your home, family, and other pets for a kitten. I tell you how to introduce her to everyone and what to fill both her food bowl and her litter box with.
Your kitten is home. Now what? From primping to prevention, this part shows you what’s involved in the day-to-day care of your kitten. I go over what to do when her tail is dragging and how to kitty-proof your home.
You and your kitten speak different languages. You need to figure out ways to understand the kitty language: Felinese. Your kitten uses her voice, body language, and sometimes peeing outside of the box to get her point across. Part 4 helps your kitten understand what you’re saying to her and gives you tips on how to translate her actions. You can use your new understanding of her way of thinking to keep her entertained and out of trouble.
Thousands of kittens need help. Some are so little they can’t do anything for themselves. Others just need a helping paw to get them out of danger before you set them on the path to a new life. In this part, I go over what to do when you end up with an unexpected visitor.
In this part, I go over the kitten owner’s happiest moments along with the scariest. You find out how to deal with the most common emergencies a kitten owner will face. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I give you some tips for entertaining and bonding with your kitten.
The icons in this book help you find particular kinds of information that may be of use to you:
You see this icon any time I offer you a suggestion to help you take better care of your kitten or make life easier or safer.
This icon appears whenever I provide really important information you won’t want to forget.
Don’t ignore this icon. It tells you when something has the potential to harm your kitten or cause you problems.
This icon flags text that gives you a more complete picture of what I’m talking about, but you can skip over this information unless you’re detail minded or need some bathroom reading.
Where you open the book and start reading depends on a number of things:
Anything I haven’t mentioned can be found in either the index or the table of contents.
So now you’re ready to embark on an adventure called kitten ownership. You’ll find a lot of giggles, a few tears, and always a new discovery. Don’t worry if you sometimes feel a little lost like I did. For you, I’ve created this helpful guide.
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet. To get this Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and search for “Kittens For Dummies” by using the Search box.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
You’re thinking about getting a kitten, and you have so many decisions to make! This part helps you decide whether a kitten will even fit into your lifestyle. If you decide you do want a kitten, Part I helps you figure out whether you want a specific breed of kitten or an everybreed. Then I tell you where to get him and even help you decide whether you want to adopt a kitten with a handicap.
Chapter 1
IN THIS CHAPTER
Evaluating your lifestyle
Raising a healthy kitten
Raising a happy kitten
Deciding to take in an orphan
You’re about to enter that wonderful and sometimes chaotic world of kitten ownership. This chapter helps you make those first important decisions about what kind of kitten to get, how to prepare your home for the new arrival, and how to keep him happy and healthy.
Before you do anything else, I recommend that you take the following quiz to help you evaluate your lifestyle and determine whether you’re ready to adopt a kitten and whether a kitten would be happy in your home. You may decide to skip the whole kitten caboodle and adopt a mature, well-adjusted cat. Kittens can be high energy and high maintenance, so weigh your options before taking the plunge.
Not everyone’s cut out to live with a kitten. If you’re not prepared, that little ball of fur can turn into, well, a pain in the cat. Before you head to the shelter or accept a kitten from a friend, stand back and look at your lifestyle objectively. Ask yourself the following questions:
If you feel strongly that a kitten would be a welcome addition to your home, be sure to read Chapters 2, 3, and 4, where I help you weigh your kitten options: indoor versus outdoor, registered versus random bred, longhaired versus short, adopting from a shelter versus responding to an ad and so on.
A healthy kitten doesn’t just happen. As the owner, you need to be proactive, because your kitty can’t tell you when she feels sick. You should start as soon as you bring her home — maybe even before. Take the kitten to get checked out within the first week at home; or before you bring her home if you have other cats. If you don’t have a vet already, check out Chapter 6.
You need to play voyeur when your kitten poops and pees, feel for lumps and bumps during her monthly exam (see Chapter 10), and watch for signs she’s just under the weather. Take her to the vet annually and keep her current on her vaccinations. You can find out about the most common and deadly viruses and their vaccinations in Chapters 9 and 10.
You must make some important decisions about your kitten’s health and well-being. One of the most important decisions you can make about your kitten’s future is whether to have him (or her) fixed. Just a simple snip as early as 8 weeks old can mean the difference between your boy cat peeing on the wall or properly in the litter box. If you decide not to spay your girl, you may get less sleep because every few weeks she’s going to keep you awake all night yowling because she’s in heat. And early altering prevents several forms of cancer and other illnesses.
As with kids, kittens occasionally get sick or hurt. They’re still young and vulnerable, with immature immune systems. You can find more detailed information on common kitten illnesses in Chapter 9 and about responding in case of emergencies in Chapter 20.
Keeping kitty healthy takes more than vaccinating and worming — you need to exercise him mentally and physically to keep him entertained and out of trouble. I tell you how to wear him out when you’re home and while you’re away in Chapter 15, so he wants to snooze at the same time you do.
Kittens keep you on your toes and challenge your imagination. You’re going to need to put some effort into keeping your new friend safe and entertained. You need to search your home for objects, chemicals, and plants that have the potential to hurt your kitten. You also need to find out the difference between food that nourishes your kitten and something that can harm him. You need to give him things to do and introduce him to the house rules.
Like a newborn baby coming from the hospital, your kitten needs some accessories to make life easier for him and you. Start your shopping spree by buying a cat carrier so you can bring him home in safety. You can find out about all the cool stuff kittens need in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6 I tell you how to set up a safe room — a small quiet room where he can feel secure as he gets acquainted with your family.
Before you bring your kitten home or as soon as possible afterward, get down on your hands and knees and think like a kitten. Remove everything you can find that the new king of the house can chew, swallow, push over, or get tangled in. Pick up any loose string, loose screws, rubber bands, toxic plants, and so on. Chapter 8 has a long list of dangerous things to watch out for when kitten-proofing your home.
Feed your kitten a quality diet. Spending a few extra cents per meal on better food is like collecting dividends on an investment. After all, it keeps your kitten healthier, and that pays off big when she gets older. Find out all about the best foods to feed your kitten in Chapter 7.
Kittens aren’t as high maintenance as puppies are, but they still need plenty of love, attention, and patience. Taking the time for the right kind of play helps you bond with your kitten. It also makes her less likely to seek out trouble around the house.
Few things tug at your heart the way a lost or orphaned kitten does. So I give you the lowdown on what to do when you come across a needy little kitten. In Chapters 16 I tell you what to do and where to turn for help when trying to rescue a weaned kitten, and in Chapter 17 I go over how to raise a bottle baby. I also give you some tips on health and behavioral issues that orphans have in Chapter 18. Finally, in Chapter 19, I tell you what to do with your little friend when he gets big enough to live without your constant attention and help you decide whether you want to keep him or find a new home. Raising an orphan is a lot of work, but the process isn’t as complicated as most people think.