Basic Kitten Care
Below are some of the basics I share with our new kitten owners. I thought I would create a page with the products we use and/or recommend.
I hope you find this information helpful.
I hope you find this information helpful.
First... food
First of all, we free feed our cats. You don't have to if you don't want to leave food down all the time, but we find it's easier. Plus, it allows the kitties to graze all day long if they are hungry. And, no... they don't overeat. I actually had a vet tell me years ago when I had an overweight dog that when animals know that food is always available and they don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from that they will eat less. He recommended I free feed my puppy. It helped to bring his weight down. Now, if you have other animals (like dogs who would prefer the cat food over their own food), this may not work for you... or, you will have to put kitty's food up where puppy can't get to it.
We don't feed much wet food any more. We were feeding raw chicken that I grind myself. But most of the adults seem to get bored with it so now I only save for special occasions. All the cats have dry available all day and in multiple locations. You will only need one place for the food and water, but don't put it in a major traffic area. If in the kitchen, put it over in a corner away from where you walk all the time. The cat will feel safer when he/she is eating if the food and water is in a quiet location. If you are free feeding dry food, the kitties shouldn't need wet food, but it is a great way to make friends. If you start it, they will expect it.
We don't feed much wet food any more. We were feeding raw chicken that I grind myself. But most of the adults seem to get bored with it so now I only save for special occasions. All the cats have dry available all day and in multiple locations. You will only need one place for the food and water, but don't put it in a major traffic area. If in the kitchen, put it over in a corner away from where you walk all the time. The cat will feel safer when he/she is eating if the food and water is in a quiet location. If you are free feeding dry food, the kitties shouldn't need wet food, but it is a great way to make friends. If you start it, they will expect it.
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We started using Science Diet Healthy Development Kitten about a year ago at a recommendation from another breeder. He said he fed it to all his cats, even the adults so we decided to give it a try. Given a choice between the Royal Canine that we used to use and the Science Diet, all the cats would stand in line for the Science Diet and only eat the other when the Science Diet was all gone. We've been using it exclusively ever since. It looks a lot like the Royal Canine Kitten in size, but the nuggets are slightly darker in color. I haven't noticed any unusual weigh gain in the adults and all our kittens have been doing well on it. We buy from Chewy on auto ship. You can schedule your auto ship for as far apart as you want so until you know how much you will need, schedule it farther apart than you will need. Then, if you see that you need to reorder, just go into your auto ship account on Chewy and click 'ship now'. Once you have an idea of how often you need to reorder, you can change the frequency of your shipping schedule. Make sure you are ordering at least $50 at a time if you have a place to store the extra food until you will need it so you get free shipping. Here's the link to the Science Diet Healthy Development Kitten.
https://img.chewy.com/is/image/catalog/52751_MAIN._AC_SL1500_V1548454297_.jpg Whatever you do...
DON'T BUY CHEAP FOOD! just don't! It's not worth it! |
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Litter ....
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We have been using a new litter called Pretty Litter for a couple of months now. I still like the old crystal, but Eric isn't sure when or IF he will be able to get it again since it comes from China. This is a tad finer, but a good alternative. They have a referral plan where you can get a free bag by referring someone else who purchases a bag. If you decide to try it, I would appreciate the referral, but that's not why I'm adding to our site. I tried all the crystal litters from Chewy and wasn't impressed. They would do in a pinch, but not something I would stick with. The link to refer is below. The picture will link you to the page to purchase. Oh, and they will ship to your home. One positive comment Mike made about this finer crystal is that he doesn't think it sticks to the kitty's feet as they leave the box which makes for less stray crystal outside the box. Another thing, we have a small area rug under one of the boxes in the family room to catch the loose litter. It helps.
If you try this litter, the website also has a 15% off coupon for your first order. We ordered 4 bags for $20/bag. The bags are only 8 lb. instead of Eric's 9 lb. bag. We use 1 bag per box. If you decide to try this litter, I would appreciate your opinion of it. Or, if you find something you like better, I want to know that too. I found this as a referral from one of our Curl owners who tried it and liked it. |
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Let's talk grooming. |
Grooming doesn't have to be a lot of work and with an American Curl, it should be almost nothing. You will need a few tools though.
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Start with nail clippers. Don't get the little scissor clippers. They are too weak to clip the nails of an adult cat. I have a photo of what to buy below. Gently hold the paw in one hand and put just the slightest pressure on the toe with the nail you want to clip. The claw will extend. The cat won't even feel it. If kitty pulls back on the paw, you are probably holding it so you are twisting his leg or he/she is in an uncomfortable position. Let go and try again. You will see the pink portion and the white portion on the tip. Don't get over enthusiastic about clipping too much. Be sure you stay on the white portion on the tip
. Next question is how often to you trim the nails.? Well, I trim when I hear the nails staging on the furniture or the bedspread, or when kitty hurts me when he/she is "making cookies" on my arm. Some cats don't need their nails trimmed more than every couple of months. and typically only the front. The only time I trim the back feet is for cat shows. We have to have all nails trimmed for the shows for the judges. You will probably never have to trim the back feet. Clippers from Amazon I just bought these clippers from Amazon. I like these. I bought 3 pairs so I can keep a pair by the bed, on the desk and next to my TV chair. But that's just me. I like to have a pair right at my fingertips whenever I notice a cat with long nails. They cost $6 on prime. The picture is a link to Amazon so you can order directly if you want.
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For those people who are unsure about how to trim the nails or clean the ears, I've included these 2 short videos. This little boy has REALLY dirty ears. That's more common with the white cats than with the darker cats.
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Clipping Nails and
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I made this little video to show how we clean the ears. When I'm show grooming, I use a damp wash rag on the inside of the ear to get everything except the wax that's a little deeper than the rag can get. I didn't do that with this guy. His ears are dirtier than most. I find that the brown cats or the silvers have a tendency to have less black wax. The lighter colored cats seem to have more. But it's easy enough to clean them. Don't let them get too dirty or you could be asking for an ear infection.... oh, an if your vet says you have ear mites, tell him to put the wax under a scope to confirm. He probably just hasn't read up on the natural black ear wax in American Curls.
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Now, brushes and combs |
You WILL have to brush your kitty from time to time. Especially in the Spring when Kitty is loosing all that winter coat.
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My favorites are the wire slicker brushes bottom right and the big comb bottom center. I also use a "furminator" to get out the undercoat. Again, mostly in the spring for the house cats. Regularly, after every wash for the show cats. The show cats get a special "show groom" every week. which consists of a degreaser, 1-2 color shampoos, an enzyme shampoo, and an conditioner... clean ears, clip nails, and blow dry, except for Storm who gets is 'air dried'. Total time for most cats about an hour. Time for Storm: 1/2 for wash and 1-2 hours for the dry. The dryer dries out his coat so he goes out on the front porch in the sun and I comb him until he's dry. It's a ton of work, but that's where the ribbons come from for his coat at the shows. That, and his personality. He loves the shows. Judges like cats who like to be handled by the judges. So, for Storm, while he's showing, he gets lots of special handling.
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This is great for cleaning cat hair off furniture or cat beds. It's available at Jeffers Pet Supply for $7.99.
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Here's the comb I like the best. I like the 7-1/2" with the 2 sizes of teeth. We purchase from Jeffers Pet Supplies and Revival Animal on line. They are cheaper than purchasing at the pet show vendors or pet stores.
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These come from Cherrybrook Premium Pet Supplies. I have 3 of these. I haven't noticed a huge difference between the soft, medium, and hard, but the longer pins are better for LH cats than the smaller ones you will find in the pet stores.
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Here's the link to Jeffers Pet for this brush.
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/carpet-the-pet-hair-remover |
Here's the link to Jeffers Pet Supplies
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/jeffers-combs |
Here's the url for these brushes. or you can use the button below to go to this website. They come in soft, medium and hard. I bought one of each. I couldn't tell the difference.
https://www.cherrybrook.com/transgroom-tuffer-than-tangles-slicker-brushes/ |
And of course, toy, toys, toys... |
These are some of our cats' all time favorites. I like to stick a couple of these in with my Chewy food order just to fill up any deficit I need to make the $50 minimum for free shipping.
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I've made each toy a link to Chewy's site. There are other great toys on Chewy. These are the ones I know your cats will enjoy. The banana and a cigar are filled with catnip. My adult cats go nuts over them. We rarely give these to the kittens. These pictures are a little soft, but only because I pulled the thumbnail off Chewy's site and enlarged so you could see them. All except the larger ring toys are really inexpensive. Because we haven't had shows to go to this last year, I'm starting to include a couple of these in each food order just to give the kitties new toys to play with. Every now and then, we take a broom handle and clean out all the toys that have ended up under the furniture. The cats think they got all new toys again. But just like all young kids, they get tired of their old toys and a new toy... even if it's the same thing as their old toy, seems to revitalize their interest.
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Water bowl.
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Here's my favorite water bowl..
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Available on Amazon at:
PetSafe Drinkwell Multi-Tier Dog and Cat Water Fountain, Automatic Drinking Fountain for Pets, 100 oz. Water Capacity https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056ASTES/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This Drinkwell has a flat bottom so it won't spill, holds a ton of water and the water gently flows from the top bowl to the lower bowl. My cats don't like the ones with the water falling from the top into a basin below. They are suspicious of the water falling... yes... cat's brains are funny.
I think Drinkwell is discontinuing this item because I'm seeing the price get cheaper and cheaper. (I originally paid $75. I think PetSmart is still charging close to that off their shelves.) Right now (11/2018) price on Amazon is $18.42 prime. (I just ordered 2 more to have around. I already have several. It helps keep them out of the toilet for fresh water.) |
Let's talk cat furniture... |
Your kitties need their own furniture. Not because they won't use yours, but they just think they should have it. I have several of the faux fur cheaper condo that I bought on Amazon but only because they are so cheap.
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My better condos are all carpeted. I buy them at cat shows. The cat shows have some really great vendors for cat stuff. We have a guy that we've bought almost all of our cat furniture from that goes to the cat shows all the time. He builds great stuff. If you are going to buy at a cat show, ask a couple of the breeders who they like. They will tell you who to buy from. It's probably the guy they get all there furniture from.
This is one I found on the PetSmart website to use as an example for you. What I look for is #1 (and you will find this to be really important after you've had it a couple years) CARPET. #2: number of levels and whether they have a ledge around the outside edge for the cat to lean on. Cats really like to snuggle up against something solid. I don't get excited about the tubes or cat houses on the condo. The important thing is how many platforms for them to jump, play and sleep on and the type of bed. Another big deal is what they can scratch on like this rope. I prefer rope to the carpet for scratching but the cats will use either. This one is only 4-1/2 ft. It's $114. You're are better off with at least 6ft, but look for carpet and beds with the outside edge for them to lay up against. You will also find that the carpet is great for pulling out loose hair. You're just going to have to clean the hair off from time to time. With carpet, use your wire grooming brush above. For faux fur, you getter stick with the orange rubber one. |
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Now, carriers. |
I have more carriers than you can possibly imagine. But I have my favorites. I have a couple carriers I use for the airlines and another we use for quick vet visits, and others we use for cat shows. Then, there are all the ones stuck in the garage in case of an emergency evacuation.
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When Southern California had those huge fires the last 2 years, the flames got REALLY close to our home. I did a quick evacuation plan and realized that if I had to get the cats out of the house, I didn't have carriers for them. You should always make sure you have something you can stick you kitty into in case of an emergency. You can stick a dog on the back seat... but not a cat. The cat needs a secure carrier. We bought a bunch of cheap carriers at Big Lots that year that are still folded up in the garage. But for you, here's my favorite. It's on Amazon. I recommend it for people I am delivering a kitten to at the airport.
Mr. Peanut's Gold Series Mini Expandable Airline Approved Soft Sided Pet Carrier, Premium Brand Self Locking Zippers, Plush Faux Fleece Bedding with a Sturdy Plywood Base$58.00
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The ones I use for travel are from Sturdi Products. If you are traveling internationally, you might want to look at the one below. It's called the Incognito. Cost is $74 from Sturdi Products. I like the Sturdi carrier for air travel because you can cover all the mesh windows so the cat can't see out. Trust me... they may be really interested in everything going on, but it can be too much excitement for them and they will have runny stools for a couple days after you get where you are going.
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This is another carrier that is a little smaller and looks like it might fit under the seat better. If you are picking your kitten up in person and flying home with him/her, you can order the carrier and have it sent to me. I'll meet you before you head home with the kitten in your new carrier so you don't have to bring it with you. This is from Amazon too. You should be able to link directly from photo below. If not, just put in this title to pull up on Amazon.
Prodigen Pet Carrier Airline Approved Pet Carrier Dog Carriers for Small Dogs, Cat Carriers for Medium Cats Small Cats, Small Pet Carrier Small Dog Carrier Airline Approved Cat Pet Travel Carrier-Gray
Brand: Prodigen
4.6 out of 5 stars 15,698 ratings
$23.99
Brand: Prodigen
4.6 out of 5 stars 15,698 ratings
$23.99
