have acquired a little abandoned kitten....come tell me what to do with cats!

[loupoppins]

Hi all,
I'm new here and in need of lots of advice!!
I seem to have acquired a new kitten! I found him abandoned by a bin when out on a visit with a colleague from work. He was crying pitifully and was very dirty and disheveled. We checked around the local area but couldn't find anyone who had lost him.
Anyway...long story short I ended up bringing him home!
He has been to the vets who has confirmed he is reasonably healthy and he has had flea drops, worming tablet and had first injections. Vet thinks he is about 12 weeks old.
Anyway he is gorgeous and we have all fallen in love with him.
However I know NOTHING about cats and I do have 2 dogs. We are working on gradually introducing the dogs to him. Our 4 yr old dog is actually not bothered by him. Our 10 month old border collie is not so sure and is doing some barking at him. I am hopeful if we take it slowly though they will be able to get along.
I do feel quite clueless though as before we got the dogs I had done loads of research and knew what I was going to feed, how to socialise them and train them etc etc..

So...first I need to know what he should be eating at 12 weeks old. Currently he is having Morrisons own brand pouches of kitten food , 2 a day in 3 meals. I realise that this is probably not great quality and will change him onto a better brand...but...I need to know should it be wet or dry or a combination of both? How many meals a day? Dry food down all the time? he doesnt seem to be drinking any of the water I put down - is this normal? He is weeing and pooing OK.

and what about letting him outside? can he go in the garden before his second injections or not? will he run off or just potter around the garden?

at the minute he is spending some time upstairs away from the dogs and then some time either in a crate downstairs or my lap with dogs on lead to enable them to safely get used to each other - should I be doing anything else ? At the minute he is doing a fair bit of hissing when the dogs get too close - is this a bad sign??

oh and toys...where's good for toys, what sort are best?

oh dear...as you can see this is all new to me...please help !

[Velvet]

PLEASE PLEASE whatever you do -do NOT let your kitten outside until he is SIX MONTHS old, has been neutered and microchipped, only then can you "think" about letting him go outside. He is far far too young. Think about it this way, female kittens as young as 4 months can come into season and get pregnant and at six months have their own kittens, which is horrendous. A six month old kitten equates to a 10 year old human child

No the hissing is normal,he is just frightened and unsure of the dogs. I would be quite firm with your dog that is barking at the kitten, always supervise until things settle down, never leave alone together. Our dogs are always enchanted with kittens, which is very useful. It takes time but they do get used to each other and soon become best buds. YOu will probably find that the kitten becomes "boss" in time

Any sort of interactive toys, tiny cat balls for him to chase, ours love sticks with string at one end with paper bows attached or feathers - you can buy such toys relative cheaply in pet shops, great fun for them to play with with you. Some of our cats like to play with the dogs tennis balls. YOu can get wee tiny mouse like furry toys which they live to carry around. Screwed up bits of paper, you can get carried away in the pet shops

We always feed a mix of wet and dry. Bowls of dry food always available whereas wet food has set times. YOu can buy kitten milk in the pet shops which some of them like. Never be tempted to give cows milk - it isnt good for them at all. Water is best. however he will probably be getting his moisture from the jelly in his wet food at present or drinking water when you dont notice.

You do know that cats are addictive.....

Looking forward to photos of your little chap and what did you call him?

Welcome to Catsey

[loupoppins]

thanks Velvet.
I wont be letting him out and about definitely until he's much older and neutered....I was just wondering if he could go in the garden accompanied...or is that not really necessary? I suppose it is the "dog" in me that makes me think he would be bored stuck in the house all the time!
thanks for advice on food and toys. I'm going to get carried away I'm sure!
I have been firm with our collie - he gets a firm "no" (which he fully understands!) when he starts barking. He is beginning to calm down a bit round him...so fingers crossed.
we still need a name....will keep you posted!

[Velvet]

Cats are not like dogs, they dont get bored and want out the way the dog does. Lots of toys and interaction with the owner keeps them amused. There are many housecats who never get out or housecats that have a cat run, ie they dont roam about. Some folk take their kittens out and about the garden on a harness once all vaccinations are out of the way. Too many airborne viruses to take chances with these days

[angieh]

Well done taking in this needy little poppet. We really do need a photo though and what have you called him? Velvet's advice is spot-on but if you have any more questions please ask!

[pamela81]

welcome to catsey. You will find great advice and information here as members are always willing to share their knowledge with you and answer any questions you have.

Looking forward to seeing photos of the wee kitten, what is his name? What colours is he?

[loupoppins]

Thanks for the replies.
We have called him Mowgli (as in Jungle book!) He is such a lovely little thing we have all fallen in love with him.
Bella (older dog) is very laid back with him and mostly ignoring him. Flynn (10 mnths) is still a bit bouncy/loud/licky with him so we are working on this. At the moment I am making sure he has some closely supervised time with the dogs but lots of time away from them so they all get there own space.
Here is a pic... I will put some more on the pics thread.

[Velvet]

Oh i think he & your pup will bond quite nicely, in time x
Gorgeous baby & well done for rescuing x

[Shelley123]

if you are considering a harness i would start as soon as possible to get him used to it, once it's safe injection wise. Expect him to hate it at first and just put it on for short periods of time in the house before you even try a lead on it.