Spay/Neuter is the number one advice from me (unless the kitten is already fixed)

What kind of tips are you looking for? Entertaining, feeding, teaching to behave, etc?
How old is the kitten?

Olya, the cat lady :)

Well yes I am planning on getting her spayed, she is only 8 weeks old right now. When we visited her she has been taught it is ok to play rough so I am hoping to break that habit, by putting her in the carrier when she plays rough with people then let her out after like 5 min and let her play rough with a toy.

So I guess any tips on that, and tips on how to teach her to tolerate a bath. Also what I need to do for her so that I can leave the apartment for work.

I go and get her today I am very excited. This isn't my first cat, but my first kitten, well I had a kitten when I was a baby but that doesn't count.

Thanks!

I wouldn't bathe her unless she's covered in fleas, even then I'd let a vet de-flea her, bathe her, get her perfect.. I've never given my cat a bath in 7 years; she bathes for hrs at a time everyday in the sunshine and smells really good. (I doubt she'd ever forgive me for putting water on her:)

Judy is right, no reason to give cats baths...They hate it (with some exceptions), and do a great job cleaning on their own

Leaving a kitty by herself when you are going to work...I would just secure her in a room with some toys, a kitty toilet, food, and a box/kitty bed...Little ones get in into weirdest things - I had to set up a separate room for my little foster babies...or else, they were hopping and scratching all over the house :) Lots of energy at that age

Post pictures of your baby :) We want to see!
Olya

ohhhh kittens...I doubt I'll do that again. Be aware that kittens teethe when they lose their kitten teeth (aka milk teeth), and often chew on everything. Young cats will also go thru a bitey stage and have to be taught that hands are for love, not biting, I don't care if they think we're hot stuff and want to mate with us..

Also, teenaged cats tend to go through a really awkward stage and break things...I think they are in another stage of growth and haven't quite figured out that they aren't the same size they once were.

I wouldn't feed a cat milk...unless it is the boxed milk made especially for cats--it tends to give them diarhea. Not fun in a kitty.

I can also tell you that cats which are kept inside only live longer. Make sure that your kitty gets its shots and are kept up to date. I've seen too many kitties die of distemper and it isn't pretty. Include feline leukemia, and a few other diseases which you can innoculate for but getting the disease is pretty nasty. Prevention is worth a ton of cure in my book.

Have fun.

Thanks for all the tips.

Just as I suspected after she was out of the house with so many cats/dogs/birds/kids she is much calmer and loves attention. She just needs some play time also. I have started her on Iams kitten food and she is sectioned off to one part of my apartment, the non orchid part. I will get some pic of her up, she is so darn cute!!

Oh and her name is Clover.

I guess it would depend on the no bathing rule. I have to give my girl a bath every few months when I notice an increase in her hairballs. Brushing doesn't help, but a rinse and comb out afterwards put her in the clear for another couple of months.

Can't wait to see pictures of your new baby. :)

I have only bathed cats for fleas. Henry, my old man grey tuxedo cat, who passed away about 7 years ago at age 18) once nailed me... I was bathing him (an outdoor cat got in by bopping a screen in from the second floor...I found them sleeping together on a chair downstairs and shortly thereafter was inundated with fleas), and the telephone rang. I loosened my grip for a second and he whipped around and sank his claw into the inside of my elbow...it was awful as I had to calm him down and reverse the direction or risk him ripping his nail out sideways. Not fun. That was a tetnus shot and domboros solution for a while...and having to listen to the doctor try to convince me to put him down as he was obviously vicious and possible rabid. Yeah right. He hated water. You couldn't even touch him with a damp hand.

Aceituna who is one of my current cats is a glossy, black beauty (she actually has a white string bikini). She is so great looking that the vets always ask me what I bathe her in. I don't. She only had one flea dip when she was 3 months old, 6 years ago when I first got her. She keeps herself clean and tidy and she eats high quality food so her coat is good. The neighbor's fat cat who is a little older (like 3 years older) won't groom herself and she has an icky coat.

It's easier to take care of a smooth (short hair) than a long haired cat.

Oh...I'll also say, feed a high quality food. You'll have less trouble with hairballs. I feed my two nutro, although they used to be science diet kitties. I only feed dry food as it helps with their teeth and geriatric kitties often loose teeth from tartar build up etc. Folks now can brush their kitties teeth....I've never gotten the hang of it, I think because I didn't start when they were young enough.

Start trimming toenails when they are kittens and you'll have less trouble, and scars, when they are bigger and you have to do it. You can also just play with their toes to get them used to it.

Start trimming toenails when they are kittens and you'll have less trouble, and scars, when they are bigger and you have to do it. You can also just play with their toes to get them used to it

This is an excellent advice! Some of my kitties have been taught since babies - cutting their nails is a breeze...while others...boy, it is a battle that I never win

Olya

My husband brought home our first kitten (never had a cat either) a year ago when he picked up a stray hoping one of his sisters would adopt it. Ha, they know how to say no.

Smudge hasn't given me any trouble, but if she had, she would be long gone. The few times she tried to get mean, probably right about the time she was a year old, I just flicked her in the nose with my fingers and she got over it. When she tried getting on the kitchen counters and table, I just smacked my hand down on the counter top, not even near her, she jumped off. She's figured out she doesn't belong up there but other than fruit there is never anything left out for her to eat, so no reason to get up there.

Fortunately, I have a dog who is good with the cat. She gives him grief, like you wouldn't believe and at his 50 pounds to her 2 pounds could kill her if he even got just a little rude with her. This helps give her something to "think about" and keeps her out of trouble with me. I also live in a rural area but have neighbors, so all the local cats have been fixed and have their shots, so she can be outside as much as she wants. My biggest fear is an alligator will get her. I think/hope she is too big for a hawk or other large bird.

Not being an expert by any means, I think having a rather impartial attitude toward Smudge, has helped her to stay sane. I really doubt she will ever become the neurotic mess a lot of cats become. Or maybe it's because she isn't stuck inside. She's not babied at all, too many other pets for that and having had horses most of my life, I wouldn't think to baby a pet. This is not to say they don't get love and attention, they just aren't coddled.

I do find she eats less on Science Diet then she does on cheaper food. I'm really aware of how much she eats since, because of the dog, I can't leave cat food sitting out. She has to come ask for food, and since she's skinny and outside all day, she eats whenever she wants.

Angel is about 7 pounds and a very muscular cat. She amazes me because she opens the slidding glass door as long as it isn't locked. She likes going out with me when I'm in the garden. One time though, in CT she was outside and I came in to get some water. I heard a frantic pounding on the door by little kitty paws and as I went to see what the trouble was, I heard the crows putting up a racket and sort of thought, Oh, must be a hawk in the area.

When I went to the door to let Angel in, she was cowering and fairly frantic. I looked up in the tree at the back of our property to see a huge, female red-tailed hawk. Evidently Angel thought she was going to be Angel-food Cake to this bird!

tuesday...is your cat really 2 pounds?

Maybe she's 3 pounds. I don't know for sure. When I pick her up, she doesn't seem to weigh much more than a feather. She's all muscle though. She's only a little over a year old, so she hasn't filled out. I don't think her ribs have sprung yet. She's still allowed to eat as much as she wants, since she's so skinny and active, but in the past couple of months she's quit pigging out.

Thanks to the dog, and my cat's tree climbing abilities, this cat survived not one but two run ins with a panther. The first time she just ran up a tree, I only saw the panther walking away (at this point I just thought it was an unusually large tom cat, although I'd never seen a tan cat before, but it was dark). The second time, the dog treed the panther up the same tree the cat was in. I turned on the outside lights just as the panther was leaping off the tree (and got a good enough look at it's tail and haunches to realize what it really was and how big). I didn't know Smudge was up the same tree until I had gotten back to the house, after chasing the dog who had chased the panther, and found Smudge climbing down from the same tree. Fortunately, for the cat, panthers don't hunt in trees (I'm guessing here) and I think it was a young panther because I heard a second panther (mother maybe) wailing from the opposite direction the dog had chased the panther. That was the last time I heard or saw the panthers, which was good because this happened right after I first moved to Florida and my suburban self hadn't yet come to terms with living in the wilds of old Florida. Now I think it's rather cool.

a panther- that is a lucky cat! interesting stuff :)
where in Florida are you?

I'm in the middle of nowhere but only 30 miles to d/t Orlando, halfway between Orlando and Titusville. Less than a mile from the St. Johns. We are closer to 95 than I4 off of 46. If you are familiar with any of that. People think we are crazy for living out here but then they come out for a visit...

must be nice living so far out, away from the craziness of the city ..one day, i would love to move to 10 acres, and have my own botanical garden going :)
Olya

Well, if you are ever out on this side of Orlando....

A neighbor has a killer botanical garden, on less than 1/2 acre that is modeled after her grandmother's gardens in Mexico. It's been a work in progress since she moved here 30 years ago. The first time I got a tour I was absolutely awed.

We live on about an 8 acre lake but there are only houses on 2 sides, since the rest floods. Out the back of the house all I see is the lake and the trees on the other side. We've got eagles, osprey, all types of herons, egrets, ibis, anhinga, otters and a gator. The list goes on.

Unfortunately, since we are only renting (waiting for the housing market here to get real) my garden is rather sad, as it's all in pots waiting for the day I can have my own gardens again. Can't wait until I can start stapling my laelias to trees.

Wow. Sounds great! If I ever get over your way, do you mind if I drop in? Usually, I'm in the Clearwater area...but I do think that sometime now that dd isn't a thumbsucker, I'll have to take her over to Epcot before she graduates....

I don't know if I'd like a gator....

Lis, you and the family are more than welcome, anytime.

It took many months and Xanax to learn to live with a gator in the back yard. Since, I work at home and am outside all day, as is the dog, the gator has moved to the other end of the lake. When we first moved here I had one very notable close encounter, like 10 feet away, that flipped me out. I was outside watering the orchids when all of a sudden, it surfaced right there in the lake. The resident gator is about 12 feet. The first time I ever heard it "growl", one night, also flipped me out as I was sure it was right outside the porch in the shadows where I couldn't see it. I figured if I didn't get over it, I'd end up institutionalized:) Fortunately, I haven't seen it in months and heard it last week for the first time since May.

There is a pod of manatees living in the lake a block away, at the end of the street, which is way cool. One guy who lives on that lake, spent 2 hours one day scratching them. Evidently, the bull brought the pod over for a good back scratching from a human. This is why I've gotten over being 10 miles from the nearest grocery store.

Nothing new from me. High quality food, shots, spayed, and don't declaw. I hate declawing, and I'm fairly certain cats don't care for it either.

Also grow some catnip, it makes them happy. I've had cats that like honeysuckle too, but that's harder to grow in an apartment.

I want a pet manatee!

Speaking of catnip, our girl is currently wasted on catnip and has been crashed on her back with her 'love sock' on her belly for about fifteen minutes. I'd get up and take a picture, but it's way too early for me to open my eyes, even.

The number one killer of kittens is hanging themselves. If you have cords on your blinds, curtains, etc., tie them up out of the kitty's reach. Same for any other kind of dangling strings.

I have been reading some articles recently that too much catnip can actually kill a cat. Browse the Internet for what vets say.

I have two cats, a 12-year-old female who weighs in at 17 pounds -- she's a bit overweight -- and a lean and mean two-year-old female who weighs 13 pounds. I can't even imagine a grown cat weighing much less than this.

Felines -- Orchids -- Bromeliads
I have learned (the hard way!) that Barriers and Bitter Apple are effective.

In November, two kittens were added to the household. Two litter-mate brothers are now 9 months. They're both in the 10+ pound range now.

Big enough to chew leaves and knock over larger pots....

The good news? I've had other cats, some MUCH larger - some not. They adjusted, I adjusted.

There was already a resident 6 y/o feline, almost a plant perfect cat re: my plants.

Fortunately, the kittens learn a little bit from her. Not fast enough....!

--Stitz--