Good for you on the balls-away thing, but if you can afford to, try and give him a food with a good meat percentage - I think Whiskas's most meaty range has only 14%!
Cats don't need all the carb filler stuff; their natural diet is meat, with bone included. Don't let him eat cooked bone, by the way - it splinters and could kill, but raw is OK.
If you feel dedicated, try and get him on raw as soon as possible. Rabbit and chicken is good, but NOT pork (evil parasites). Only 10% offal organs each meal. Good cooked food is Nature's Menu, pricier than supermarket stuff, but cats usually eat less of it, so it works out OK in the end.
Also, get him used to you brushing his teeth (with special cat paste, not human stuff) as soon as poss, or you'll be spending small fortunes on de-plaquing and other dental care. Cats are prone to bad teeth. Start by running your fingers over his teeth as soon as possible so he gets to the 'meh' stage, then add toothpaste.
One more thing, don't feed him any dry food if you can help it. I know it's convenient, but it's horrible for their little kidneys, especially male cats, for some reason.
I don't suppose I can persuade you to keep him indoors...? Average life expectancy for outdoor cats is about a third of that of indoorsies, apparently, culprits being cars, foxes, diseases, mean people, anti-freeze and other lethal substances.
De-fleaing and de-worming all as important as vaccinations. Fleas can lead to tapeworms, which are horrid and dangerous.
He's gorgeous! Have fun and love him loads and enjoy not having mice!
Good for you on the balls-away thing, but if you can afford to, try and give him a food with a good meat percentage - I think Whiskas's most meaty range has only 14%!
Cats don't need all the carb filler stuff; their natural diet is meat, with bone included. Don't let him eat cooked bone, by the way - it splinters and could kill, but raw is OK.
If you feel dedicated, try and get him on raw as soon as possible. Rabbit and chicken is good, but NOT pork (evil parasites). Only 10% offal organs each meal. Good cooked food is Nature's Menu, pricier than supermarket stuff, but cats usually eat less of it, so it works out OK in the end.
Also, get him used to you brushing his teeth (with special cat paste, not human stuff) as soon as poss, or you'll be spending small fortunes on de-plaquing and other dental care. Cats are prone to bad teeth. Start by running your fingers over his teeth as soon as possible so he gets to the 'meh' stage, then add toothpaste.
One more thing, don't feed him any dry food if you can help it. I know it's convenient, but it's horrible for their little kidneys, especially male cats, for some reason.
I don't suppose I can persuade you to keep him indoors...? Average life expectancy for outdoor cats is about a third of that of indoorsies, apparently, culprits being cars, foxes, diseases, mean people, anti-freeze and other lethal substances.
De-fleaing and de-worming all as important as vaccinations. Fleas can lead to tapeworms, which are horrid and dangerous.
He's gorgeous! Have fun and love him loads and enjoy not having mice!
Some friends were around my house tonight and both said my new little kitten was odd looking now I don`t know whether to get rid of the kitten or my so-called friend !!
Some friends were around my house tonight and both said my new little kitten was odd looking now I don`t know whether to get rid of the kitten or my so-called friend !!
Awww no kitten is odd-looking as far as I'm concerned! Let's see pics and we'll decide.
He really is adorable, you couldn't help but fall in love with him.:D
When I got my first 2 they were tiny 8 week olds. My husband was against me getting a cat because he didn't like cats at all and didn't want one in the house. I put it off and kept putting it off but thought to myself one day I'm going to go ahead and get one anyway. Then a friend let me know about a litter about to be born that I could have first pick from. I thought to myself that gives me 8 or so weeks to bring him around to the idea that a cat would be joining us soon. By the time they were ready to leave their mother I had decided to get 2.
I had bought all my cat things and hubby wasn't pleased but went along with it because I was determined and he was outnumbered by me and my daughter.
He frowned at me when I arrived home with 2 little kittens in tow, but by the next day he was in love with them both. He works nights and he'd come in from work in the early hours then sit and play with them for ages. I used to laugh because he thought no one knew what he'd been doing.
They are 7 now and this house just wouldn't be the same without them. He had no objections at all when I wanted to take in our newest cat last year
He really is adorable, you couldn't help but fall in love with him.:D
When I got my first 2 they were tiny 8 week olds. My husband was against me getting a cat because he didn't like cats at all and didn't want one in the house. I put it off and kept putting it off but thought to myself one day I'm going to go ahead and get one anyway. Then a friend let me know about a litter about to be born that I could have first pick from. I thought to myself that gives me 8 or so weeks to bring him around to the idea that a cat would be joining us soon. By the time they were ready to leave their mother I had decided to get 2.
I had bought all my cat things and hubby wasn't pleased but went along with it because I was determined and he was outnumbered by me and my daughter.
He frowned at me when I arrived home with 2 little kittens in tow, but by the next day he was in love with them both. He works nights and he'd come in from work in the early hours then sit and play with them for ages. I used to laugh because he thought no one knew what he'd been doing.
They are 7 now and this house just wouldn't be the same without them. He had no objections at all when I wanted to take in our newest cat last year
Well done you
You know I never wanted one, my 2 children and husband did, so it was 3 against 1.
Then my husband told me it was a dictatorship (me ) in our house and they want a democracy, so I was out voted. It's very political, over a kitten!:D
He is just so beautiful. I love them when they are that age, even if they are so naughty. My Archie has just run through the house with toilet roll in his mouth, making a right mess. Then they look at you with their cute baby faces and you can't be cross.
He is just so beautiful. I love them when they are that age, even if they are so naughty. My Archie has just run through the house with toilet roll in his mouth, making a right mess. Then they look at you with their cute baby faces and you can't be cross.
Ours keeps doing kamikaze jumps from his scratch post!!:eek:
Where his pole is based, it's near my husband's desk, the fireplace and the sofa. So he climbs to the top, spins on the spot and gages which one he should jump to. Earlier he did into the fireplace, my husband said and no and took him out. Just now, he tried to jump onto my husband's desk and fell flat on his face!:eek:
Ours keeps doing kamikaze jumps from his scratch post!!:eek:
Where his pole is based, it's near my husband's desk, the fireplace and the sofa. So he climbs to the top, spins on the spot and gages which one he should jump to. Earlier he did into the fireplace, my husband said and no and took him out. Just now, he tried to jump onto my husband's desk and fell flat on his face!:eek:
Aww, they are so funny to watch. Tough little things though, always running into things and falling from heights. A little while ago mine tried to jump from the bin to the kitchen worktop, missed and landed on the elderly cat :eek:
Aww, they are so funny to watch. Tough little things though, always running into things and falling from heights. A little while ago mine tried to jump from the bin to the kitchen worktop, missed and landed on the elderly cat :eek:
At least he had a soft landing!:D
I'm sure we have many escapades coming...:D And he's so darn cute!:)
Be prepared to be owned and not to be an owner - the kitten will rule the house. My advice is not to fight it - no matter how hard you fight its a battle you will loose!
Your kitten will follow whoever feeds it so try to share to feeding job. We used to leave the pouches on the side , turn around for a few minutes and amber would have the packet open whilst suki would just watch. Amber was very quick to learn that supper was served when the dog came back from walkies. If walkies went on too long (my son does walkies) Amber would go into the kitchen and rattle the blinds until I went out to feed her. She started to do this within a few weeks of coming to live with us at the age of 5 months.
You kitty will having you laughing so much and hopefully you will have many happy years together. Please only let him out when you are in the garden and don't let him roam. Male cat roam more than female cats, keep him in at night.
Take a look at the films on here - most people who watch this can see traits of their own cats in the films http://www.simonscat.com/
Exotic cats are cool. They're a cross breed of a Persian (beautiful, docile, dumb as a brick) and probably a British Shorthair (beautiful, friendly, slighly smarter than a brick). The result is the most awesomist cat you can get. I have two myself and they're fantastic companions.
I don't agree with other posters who say they should never be allowed outside. Whilst they may be quite content with staying indoors (some cats actually prefer it) it's not natural and they may pine for the great outdoors. Mine would certainly be climbing the curtains if I didn't let them out every day.
I let mine out when I'm home and they can disappear for hours at a time. The first few times they did this I would go out looking for them, calling their names for an hour or more, only to return home to find them by their bowls, scowling at me for not being there to feed them on time.
One thing you should bear in mind is that Exotics have a reputation for being fearless. They won't fear other cats or people, making them very sociable, but there's the possibility that they also won't think twice about charging at an oncoming vehicle to see which one comes out the victor. However, to say all Exotics have the same personality traits is simply a lazy characterisation. All cats of all breeds will have their own personality and won't necessarily conform to their breed's profile. I think it's best that they are introduced to the world slowly, and under constant supervision and they will soon learn not to try to take on a car. In fact they will learn a lot over their years. My Humphrey has learned that I never get up before my alarm clock sounds, not even a second before, so he will sit on my bedside table and paw at the alarm clock, trying to set it off. He has yet to be successful.
As other posters have said, you don't own the cat; He owns you and everything you possess. When He moved in you effectively signed the deeds to your house over to Him. He will feign affection for food and treats but don't let Him fool you into thinking He genuinely likes you. At best He tolerates you.
I would strongly advise you to get a scatching post. In fact get two or three. If He feels the urge to scratch He will probably use whatever's closest, be it a scratching post, furniture, curtains or your leg. This is His right, as all of these things belong to Him. You may try to discourage this behaviour by shouting or clapping loudly to startle Him, but this will teach Him only to scratch His furniture when you're not at home.
He will bring you the dismembered bodies of mice, shrews, birds and slow worms as an occasional reminder that beneath His soft, cuddly exterior, He is, at heart, a killer. Sometimes He will cough up a fur ball as a sign of His disgust. If He thinks you aren't getting the message He will throw Himself under your feet as you descend the stairs. He isn't try to kill you, merely to remind you who is in charge.
If you shower Him with love and affection (and treats) He will reward you with His presence for many years. If He should feel neglected He may release you from your duties and He will move away to enslave new humans.
Enjoy and cherish your new keeper. He will be a great addition to the family, but don't be surpised if you wake up in the middle of the night to find Him draped across your face. He might just find it a comfortable position. On the other hand He might be trying to thin his herd.
Oh OP I had a few 'squeee!' moments looking at your pictures of Simba....he is totally gorgeous!!
I adore my cats
My first cat Harry was a ginger shorthair and he taught me everything I needed to know about cat ownership - that resistance to the kitty cuteness is completely futile!
I know you weren't too enamoured by the idea of pet ownership, now you're officially a slave to your cat, how are you feeling now?
Seriously, enjoy every moment of your beautiful kitten, they grow up so quickly. My husband was never really a cat person (always had dogs at home as a child and was quite anti-cat) and now loves the cats as much as I do. I'm sure in time you'll grow in confidence as you handle Simba - cats adore affection and you get so much in return from them.
He has the life of riley at the moment, always sleeping on someone's lap, mischievous when he feels like it, going a bit crazy and darting around like a lunatic and eats and drinks when the mood takes.
I just went to say hello to him, he's very quiet with husband and 2 children because all they do is pick him up and snuggle him, he miaowed at me. I asked, are you alright, he miaowed back, I then asked, what are you up to, and he miaowed back again. My daughter said he only does that to you, he's quiet with us.
I don't live with my cat anymore but see him often and speak to him on the phone almost everyday He meows to me on the phone (just me though, nobody else).
Little daft word of advice though.. If he falls off something or falls over, don't laugh.. it may earn you a very cross look
Comments
Help coming!
Good for you on the balls-away thing, but if you can afford to, try and give him a food with a good meat percentage - I think Whiskas's most meaty range has only 14%!
Cats don't need all the carb filler stuff; their natural diet is meat, with bone included. Don't let him eat cooked bone, by the way - it splinters and could kill, but raw is OK.
If you feel dedicated, try and get him on raw as soon as possible. Rabbit and chicken is good, but NOT pork (evil parasites). Only 10% offal organs each meal. Good cooked food is Nature's Menu, pricier than supermarket stuff, but cats usually eat less of it, so it works out OK in the end.
Also, get him used to you brushing his teeth (with special cat paste, not human stuff) as soon as poss, or you'll be spending small fortunes on de-plaquing and other dental care. Cats are prone to bad teeth. Start by running your fingers over his teeth as soon as possible so he gets to the 'meh' stage, then add toothpaste.
One more thing, don't feed him any dry food if you can help it. I know it's convenient, but it's horrible for their little kidneys, especially male cats, for some reason.
I don't suppose I can persuade you to keep him indoors...? Average life expectancy for outdoor cats is about a third of that of indoorsies, apparently, culprits being cars, foxes, diseases, mean people, anti-freeze and other lethal substances.
De-fleaing and de-worming all as important as vaccinations. Fleas can lead to tapeworms, which are horrid and dangerous.
He's gorgeous! Have fun and love him loads and enjoy not having mice!
Thanks so much!
My cats love raw minced turkey by the way, in case you decide to go down the raw meat road.
I'm still toying with the idea of raw meat, not sure yet.
Think he must have been up all night cos he's shattered now, him sleeping an hour ago and still sleeping http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/282185_10150395051651124_552206123_10603498_3393554_n.jpg
The friend, definitely the friend.
Awww no kitten is odd-looking as far as I'm concerned! Let's see pics and we'll decide.
My son with him http://bit.ly/pbQFGG
http://bit.ly/q6ilMg
http://bit.ly/oMudDI
http://bit.ly/qLEiM2
http://bit.ly/oSJQYE
Kittens really are just so adorable and he's especially so
Although there is a list of my daughter's and son's friends who wants to come round to meet.
I thought I may do a 30 min viewing per person and charge a fiver, what do you reckon?:D
He really is adorable, you couldn't help but fall in love with him.:D
When I got my first 2 they were tiny 8 week olds. My husband was against me getting a cat because he didn't like cats at all and didn't want one in the house. I put it off and kept putting it off but thought to myself one day I'm going to go ahead and get one anyway. Then a friend let me know about a litter about to be born that I could have first pick from. I thought to myself that gives me 8 or so weeks to bring him around to the idea that a cat would be joining us soon. By the time they were ready to leave their mother I had decided to get 2.
I had bought all my cat things and hubby wasn't pleased but went along with it because I was determined and he was outnumbered by me and my daughter.
He frowned at me when I arrived home with 2 little kittens in tow, but by the next day he was in love with them both. He works nights and he'd come in from work in the early hours then sit and play with them for ages. I used to laugh because he thought no one knew what he'd been doing.
They are 7 now and this house just wouldn't be the same without them. He had no objections at all when I wanted to take in our newest cat last year
You know I never wanted one, my 2 children and husband did, so it was 3 against 1.
Then my husband told me it was a dictatorship (me
Ours keeps doing kamikaze jumps from his scratch post!!:eek:
Where his pole is based, it's near my husband's desk, the fireplace and the sofa. So he climbs to the top, spins on the spot and gages which one he should jump to. Earlier he did into the fireplace, my husband said and no and took him out. Just now, he tried to jump onto my husband's desk and fell flat on his face!:eek:
At least he had a soft landing!:D
I'm sure we have many escapades coming...:D And he's so darn cute!:)
Your kitten will follow whoever feeds it so try to share to feeding job. We used to leave the pouches on the side , turn around for a few minutes and amber would have the packet open whilst suki would just watch. Amber was very quick to learn that supper was served when the dog came back from walkies. If walkies went on too long (my son does walkies) Amber would go into the kitchen and rattle the blinds until I went out to feed her. She started to do this within a few weeks of coming to live with us at the age of 5 months.
You kitty will having you laughing so much and hopefully you will have many happy years together. Please only let him out when you are in the garden and don't let him roam. Male cat roam more than female cats, keep him in at night.
Take a look at the films on here - most people who watch this can see traits of their own cats in the films
http://www.simonscat.com/
I don't agree with other posters who say they should never be allowed outside. Whilst they may be quite content with staying indoors (some cats actually prefer it) it's not natural and they may pine for the great outdoors. Mine would certainly be climbing the curtains if I didn't let them out every day.
I let mine out when I'm home and they can disappear for hours at a time. The first few times they did this I would go out looking for them, calling their names for an hour or more, only to return home to find them by their bowls, scowling at me for not being there to feed them on time.
One thing you should bear in mind is that Exotics have a reputation for being fearless. They won't fear other cats or people, making them very sociable, but there's the possibility that they also won't think twice about charging at an oncoming vehicle to see which one comes out the victor. However, to say all Exotics have the same personality traits is simply a lazy characterisation. All cats of all breeds will have their own personality and won't necessarily conform to their breed's profile. I think it's best that they are introduced to the world slowly, and under constant supervision and they will soon learn not to try to take on a car. In fact they will learn a lot over their years. My Humphrey has learned that I never get up before my alarm clock sounds, not even a second before, so he will sit on my bedside table and paw at the alarm clock, trying to set it off. He has yet to be successful.
As other posters have said, you don't own the cat; He owns you and everything you possess. When He moved in you effectively signed the deeds to your house over to Him. He will feign affection for food and treats but don't let Him fool you into thinking He genuinely likes you. At best He tolerates you.
I would strongly advise you to get a scatching post. In fact get two or three. If He feels the urge to scratch He will probably use whatever's closest, be it a scratching post, furniture, curtains or your leg. This is His right, as all of these things belong to Him. You may try to discourage this behaviour by shouting or clapping loudly to startle Him, but this will teach Him only to scratch His furniture when you're not at home.
He will bring you the dismembered bodies of mice, shrews, birds and slow worms as an occasional reminder that beneath His soft, cuddly exterior, He is, at heart, a killer. Sometimes He will cough up a fur ball as a sign of His disgust. If He thinks you aren't getting the message He will throw Himself under your feet as you descend the stairs. He isn't try to kill you, merely to remind you who is in charge.
If you shower Him with love and affection (and treats) He will reward you with His presence for many years. If He should feel neglected He may release you from your duties and He will move away to enslave new humans.
Enjoy and cherish your new keeper. He will be a great addition to the family, but don't be surpised if you wake up in the middle of the night to find Him draped across your face. He might just find it a comfortable position. On the other hand He might be trying to thin his herd.
I adore my cats
My first cat Harry was a ginger shorthair and he taught me everything I needed to know about cat ownership - that resistance to the kitty cuteness is completely futile!
I know you weren't too enamoured by the idea of pet ownership, now you're officially a slave to your cat, how are you feeling now?
Seriously, enjoy every moment of your beautiful kitten, they grow up so quickly. My husband was never really a cat person (always had dogs at home as a child and was quite anti-cat) and now loves the cats as much as I do. I'm sure in time you'll grow in confidence as you handle Simba - cats adore affection and you get so much in return from them.
He has the life of riley at the moment, always sleeping on someone's lap, mischievous when he feels like it, going a bit crazy and darting around like a lunatic and eats and drinks when the mood takes.
I just went to say hello to him, he's very quiet with husband and 2 children because all they do is pick him up and snuggle him, he miaowed at me. I asked, are you alright, he miaowed back, I then asked, what are you up to, and he miaowed back again. My daughter said he only does that to you, he's quiet with us.
I don't know if that's a good thing or bad!:D
I don't live with my cat anymore but see him often and speak to him on the phone almost everyday
Little daft word of advice though.. If he falls off something or falls over, don't laugh.. it may earn you a very cross look
today he weighs 18.5lb but its standard for his breed as he is a 3/4 ragdoll
http://s342.photobucket.com/albums/o435/nettiegill/kids/?action=view¤t=DSCF2208.jpg
He is absolutely gorgeous
What? Why?
Oh I know Dekaf
Who? When? How? Where?