I've been dying to share this news, but have kept it under wraps on fb because I know a few people that will give me flack for it. But I'm hoping that you all won't do that, so I'm going to share.

We got a kitten a week ago, he'll be 10 weeks old this Sunday. Yes, another animal to add to my small zoo. We got the kitten for Jared. He's always been more of a cat person. Not that he doesn't love the dogs, and the bunnies, and the birds, and the gerbils, but he's always wanted a cat. So have I.

We didn't get one before because of Rod's allergies. But we figured out a way to get around that. We have a bi-level house, so the upstairs is as big as the downstairs. The kids bedrooms are downstairs, as well as the large family room, the laundry room, and a bathroom. For now the kitten, named Kakashi (kaw kaw she), Kashi for short, is only allowed in the basement. When he's a bit bigger, and has been with us a while longer, we will introduce him to the dogs, and hope it goes well. I could definitely use tips on how to do this successfully.

We hope to eventually have him have the run of the house, except for the bunny bird room, and our bedroom. So far Rod has been playing with Kashi a lot, and has had no issues with his allergies. He feels that if the kitten stays out of our room, doesn't sleep on our bed, he'll be fine.

It's been a long time since I've had a cat in my life. A very long time. My cat Ginger was the last, and he died a few months before I met Rod. We were both 19 when we met. We're both 43 now. So yes, it's been a while.

Any tips anyone is willing to offer would be great. I could use all the advice I can get, from food, to kitty litter, toys, etc. etc.

He's going to be an indoor cat, outdoor will be on a leash and supervised.

So, any tips? Want to see a picture? Okay, twist my rubber arm. :)

Having trouble posting a picture. Sigh. :(

As far as litter goes, I'd stay away from clay litters. I've found that other materials work better. I've used walnut, wheat, and pine based litters. All of them absorbed smells better than clay litter.

One thing to keep in mind, is that most cat allergies are a reaction to an enzyme in their saliva, rather than dander. The enzyme gets trapped in their fur when they groom themselves. Kittens do not produce that enzyme or dander in significant levels until they are several months old. So, the allergy issue may be still to come.

I already shared my advise on the other topics.

Thanks Heath. Rod has been around cats before. As long as he doesn't spend too much time petting them (which he can't resist doing) he's fine. His allergies to cats make him stuffy, but that's it. He said he can live with that if it happens. :)

We never get a pet unless we're prepared and ready to keep it until the day it dies, no matter what happens. Kashi is in his forever home. :)

Now I have to go nurse my toe. My fault. I wiggled it, he bit it, it bled. But totally my fault. He's so fricking adorable.

Wish I could figure out how to post a picture. Never had a problem before. :(

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Hoping this works.

Make sure you clean your toe REALLY well, and that it bleeds freely for a bit. Cat bites almost always get infected, and you don't want a blood infection. If he's a biter, you need to start training that out of him, now.

Cat scratches are usually OK with minimal cleaning.

Why would anyone give you flak?

Cute cat!

Thanks odinn. As for the flack, well, because I already have a small zoo, and too many people think that I have too many, and feel that it's their responsibility to tell me so, and make me see things their way.

Yes, I have a lot of animals. My kids are growing up surrounded by animals, caring for them, loving them. They don't play on their ipads, iphones, text, etc. They come home, and take care of and play with their pets. Because of that they're much more grounded than most kids I meet today.

I do have to say, Kashi is 9 weeks old, 10 weeks this Sunday. That picture makes him look huge, but if you look at the hand in that picture, he's really very little, and such a cutie.

Heath, he only bites if he's frustrated. Also, I think he's teething. Going to pick up more toys for him tomorrow, just not sure what sort of "chew" toy to get a cat that's teething. Dogs no problem, cats I'm lost.

Forget what anyone says...who cares.

You're an adult...you want a cat, have a cat!

We have 4...there is hair everywhere....

Cats will chew on just about anything they will pounce on. Try stuffed toys. His claws will get a good grip on them, and he can chew on them. Hard balls and feather toys don't have the same grabability. Also, you don't have to worry about tripping or getting stabbed in the foot, like you might if you step on a plastic ball.

Since he's alone much of the time, toys that he can interact with are a good idea. They make balls in circular tracks, so the cat can bat them around without them getting lost, and toys on strings that you can hang from doors. Anything that doesn't require a human to be interesting is a good idea.

LOL! That's how I feel. But I've gotten to the point where I just don't need to hear negative crap when I've done something that makes me and my family happy. It's just easier to shut up about it so the haters don't have a chance to hate.

Yes I have a lot of pets, and that's how we all like it. It's never a dull moment in this house. :)

Alty, he is cute. :)

I have been expecting a new bunny. :D

Scratching pads! My cat loves the flat corrugated-cardboard scratching pads. On a table in the window, she can bask, claw, rub, survey her domain, etc.

Next Alty-Project, building a cat-tree. :D

My daughter had a friend in school who was allergic to cats. They found out when they got a cat. They tried daily wiping the cat off with a damp wash cloth and keeping it brushed. It was working for them. I don't know if it will help Rod.

Thanks Cat. He's pretty darn special. He loves to be held like a baby, loves his belly rubbed, loves his feet touched. He's an odd little kitten. Fits right in. :)

So far he has one of those round disk things with a ball in it. He loves that, will spend hours with it. He also has a ball on a string attached to a stick. He has to be in the right mood to play with that. He chased a mouse (a real one) yesterday. Almost had him. I'm so proud. He uses the litter box like a champ, and for some reason, I love watching him go potty. The look on his face when he goes just makes me laugh. He can jump on Jared's bed so far, and his lower dresser, but that's about as far as he can go. He's still pretty little.

He did unplug Jared's alarm clock. That worried me. We're trying to figure out a way to protect the wires and plugs so that he doesn't electrocute himself. I really don't want to see the scene from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation in real life.

I'm still wetting down his food for him. He will eat the dry hard food, but he has a bit of trouble with it.

He'll be 10 weeks old this Sunday.

Jared is so happy. Just seeing him this happy makes it worth it.

And no, no more bunnies. This is the last pet for a while, until there are more vacancies. :(

I'm already getting material to make him the best darn cat tree I can. The skies the limit. Well, the height of the ceiling is the limit, but you get what I'm saying. :)

He's really sweet :-) I understand the "zoo". We were at 4 dogs and 2 cats until fairly recently. Lost one cat to a stroke last year at 17 years old and one of our dogs last month to congestive heart failure at 13 years old. We've done both home cooking for them (have a great recipe if interested... my oldest daughter worked for a well known all natural pet product company) and commercial food.

Enjoy your new baby, but I know that's a given!

I know a few people that will give me flack for it.

Flack Flack Flack Flack Flack Flack Flack

You asked.

He is cute. We've had good luck with the small bat-able stuffed toys.

They even make the cardboard scratch pads with catnip packs to dump into the corrugation.

An idea that I do not know if it will work is the waterless shampoo sprays onto a cloth to rub him down with.

Well, if you really want some Flack. ;)

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Doula, I'm now at 2 dogs, 4 rabbits, 2 birds, 3 gerbils, and the kitten. It does sound lik more than it is though. The rabbits and birds have their own room. The gerbils are in an aquarium in Jared's room (which we'll have to move once the kitten is big enough to jump onto the tall dresser they're on). The dogs have the run of the house. So far the kitten is sequestered in Jared's room until we figure out how to kitten proof the basement, which will be this weekend. Once that's done he'll have the run of the entire basement, and then once he and the dogs can be trusted together, he'll have the run of the house, minus the bunny bird room and our room. Truth told, there's more room in the basement than upstairs, and way more fun stuff for a kitten to play with, since both kids bedrooms are down there. :)

Cat, I'll take that Flack. :)

Kashi is growing every day, and man can he jump. He's tiny. I don't know how he gets to the places he does. I thought I had some time before I had to cat proof the taller areas in the basement. He's one determined kitten.

Going to trim his nails tomorrow for the first time. Going to wait until he's good and sleepy. I don't think it will be too hard, he actually loves having his feet touched, and I've been retracting his claws by pushing on his paws since we got him, and he doesn't mind it at all. But it's time to make him a little less deadly. ;)

Just in case anyone wants to see them, and isn't a friend on fb, here's more Kashi kitty pictures. :)

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I'm hoping that worked. :)

He's a cutie! Has a bit of a mischievous look... :-) How did the nail trimming go?

He look like he's thinking, "Being so cute and adorable can be exhausting! I'll give them my bored-kitty look. When's lunch?"

We should pair him up with my Matty. She's all black and very sleet and shiny. They'd look great together, nice contrast. He looks like a real sweetie pie!

Thanks Doula and WG.

He is very mischievous, typical kitten. He's practicing his fierce look lately, arching his back and trying to look tough. It's hilarious. He's too small and cute to pull of fierce, and as soon as you pick him up, even when he's doing his archy back, he's all purrs and love.

At first I thought the ledge around our entire basement would be safe for a while. I have a lot of knicknacks on that ledge, and I thought I'd have time to move them to a safer location. Not so. Kashi has been able to get to the highest points in the basement. He's a little ninja (according to Jared). :)

The nail trimming went very well. I waiting until he was good and tired, ready for a nap, sat him in my lap, and snip snip snip. He didn't care at all. A great start.

Sydney gave him a stuffed moose the other day, from her stuffy collection. It's half his size. He was on the ledge with it, playing, then picked it up as if he were a mommy cat, and decided to try and get down from the ledge with Bob (that's the stuffies name). It was hilarious. It also taught me that I should have my camera with me and ready at all times.

Have to add. My parents alcove area, which isn't easily accessible, has been accessed by Kashi. It's their urn with both their ashes, two pictures on the wall, one of each of them, a few angels around them, two ceramic pictures of flowers, their birth month flowers, and other breakables. Indy and Jasper's ashes are also in that alcove. When I saw Kashi get access to that, I was a bit afraid he'd break something, but I sat back and watched, ready to catch any fallen angels. He was so careful. Didn't knock a thing over. It was almost like he understood that this was a special place, and he was paying his respects. He also made me realize that it's long past time to dust that area. ;)

Cats get into the strangest places. I've seen Unky jump from a sink to the top of a door several feet away and a few feet up. The smallest foothold and enough speed will get them just about anywhere.

I can only imagine what Kashi will accomplish when he's full grown. The commercial "Dear Kitten" lied. "You're small, so you can't jump". BULL!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Sn91t1V4g

Watch it, it's totally worth it. :)

That's adorable.

Edith's version is more like, "Dear kittens, I gave birth to you. Now, stay out of my way. I hate you."

I love the part about "vac cume". We have no curtains of invisibility, we have blinds. Poor kitten.

Also, the red dot can't be caught. I'm telling them the truth! :)

Just be aware that cats will destroy blinds, to be able to sit in windows. They'll bend the slats until they break.

Already been there and done that, sadly. But they were old blinds, so I'm not upset. Now the blinds are up, and Kashi loves to sun bathe and people watch from Syd's 3 windows. We tied the blind ties up so he won't hurt himself. :)

The other day Whiskers, my neighbors cat, walked by. Whiskers loves to visit us, he's an indoor outdoor cat. Kashi will be mainly indoors, outdoors on a leash only. But Kashi was very fascinated when Whiskers walked by. He was more fascinated when our neighbor walked to his car. He was entranced by the outdoor activity. :)

Windows and cats. Matty likes big trucks. A nearby street was being redone, so lots of big trucks idled in front of our house. She was thrilled (ears flicking and tail twitching)! Dido likes to wait for the mailman (the outside box is right under the window). It makes her day when the mailman gives her a wave and says, "Hi, little kitty!"

Cats are so funny!

So far Kashi is just getting used to the outside world through the windows. He's seen the dogs in the backyard through Jared's bedroom window. Syd's window are more interesting, there's the view to the front step, mailbox, everyone coming and going. The second window allows a view of the front yard. The third window allows a partial view of the front yard, but mostly the neighbors house, comings and goings. We're in a cul-de-sac, so a bay window three window view pretty much encompasses the entire neighborhood. He's all set. :)

Outdoor time on a harness and leash will happen as soon as I can find a harness that fits a kitten. Walmart used to have them, but the ones they had available a few days ago, I could fit 4 Kashi's in that on the lowest setting. :(

We tried a harness and leash on various cats and tried to "train" them indoors. The cats would just flop down on the floor and refuse to move until we unharnessed them. Our local cat shelter has outdoors in good weather a huge screened-in cage/box with various level benches in it. Certain cats like to go in it, but others don't. Maybe too many street and people noises rattle the shyer cats? odinn7 might still be selling pet buggies. :)

No buggies. My animals are animals, not humans. I treat them the way they're meant to be treated. :)

I've put a harness on Kashi. It was too big, so couldn't use it outside, but I put it on him to get him used to it. We're in the burbs, and in a cul-de-sac to boot. The garbage men come once a week for around 20 minutes, and the 10 homes in our circle come and go, and that's the major traffic we get. No loud noises, no major scary things. He should be fine. If not, welcome to indoors, that's it, so enjoy. :)

He's not shy at all. He's an Alty kitty from the tip of his toes to the top of his head. No fear at all with this one. He's a ninja. :)

I got a toy breed sized dog harness (which I have since lost, somehow). It fit Spot, Edith, and Unky just fine. Zoe slid right out, even tightened as small as it would go.

You'll probably have to wait until he gets bigger, before he fits in a harness. Spot was about four months old when I first put a harness on him, and I still had to find a way to cinch it an inch or two tighter than it was made to go.

Some cats are fine in a harness, and some aren't. I got the harness when the kids were about 4 months old, and started taking the boys and Edith out. Spot never got over acting like the harness weighed a ton. Edith ignores the harness, but turns into a hellbeast at the mere sight of a dog, so only went out once or twice. Unky goes into a blind terror the minute I put a harness on him, running blindly in random directions, so has never actually made it all the way outside. Zoe is a little wary of the harness, but is fine once it's on, but hasn't been out because she's too small for the harness.