numerious questions

[Trickiesmurf]

i am new to this sight, i have a five month old kitten. and first time cat owner

1) food, right now i am feeding her purina one with yogert. i came to a conclusion that i try and eat as healthy as possible and i eat as much natural food as i can, i feel better. so i want to know if there are good natural food she really likes the natures choice pouches (not can stuff for some reason), any suggestions?

2) scratching, ARG, so i have tin foil on my nicest chair (lol im a college student so it isnt a thousand dollars, but still i would like it to last me at least till i am out of college and can afford that nice furnature set). well as you can imagine, i do look slightly nutty, i had three friends come over today and look at me like i was crazy when i was trying to explain what i was doing. well the kitten isnt scratching the chair shes scratching my bed. i do have a post. its actually a peice of drift wood from the beach some one told me that a lot of cats like that, and my dad is makeing a post and i am worried that she is not going to use it. i have no idea what to do??

3) call for the wild. i am starting to notice my cat liked to try and fallow me out of my house, where i live there is a ton of strays, out door kitties that do have homes, and ferrel cats. my little kitty is very patete (sp) and tiny as my friend put it today she was the calista flockheart of cats (she does eat).

and i know, this is not a subject of cat but how do i put a picture in here?

[DirtySouthChins]

@ #5

Okay first off, I personally wouldn't recommend the yogurt, dairy products aren't the best for cats, as it can cause diarrhea. Purina one is okay, but there are better food's out there, however you will feed your cat what you feel is best

As for scratching, I would recommend "soft paws" alot of people use them and they work great. I've never personally used them on my cats, because I've always trained them with a spray bottle We have always had a small spray water filled with water and everytime the cat began to scratch the furniture, rugs, etc. We would tell them no and spray them. They now know what the spray bottle means All of our cats are a year or older, and we have no problems at all with them scratching where their not supposed to anymore.

As for cat wanting to follow you outdoors, keep an eye on that, because cat's can be sneeky and quick. I would suggest keeping your cat indoors for the most part, however there are other's that believe there is nothing wrong with an indoor/outdoor cat. Ours go outside on the patio where they can't go any further (it is just how our house is set up).

Since your cat is 5 months old, I might suggest to look into spaying her as well, some cats will begin to go into heat between 5-7 months old. We've had one cat go into heat at 5 months old, and another didn't until she was 9 months (we had to wait to spay her because we were in transition of moving).

As for posting pics, you can either use the thumbnail attachment, by using the advance posting option, and scrolling towards the bottom where it says manage attachments, you can upload a pic to a photo host and then use the [*img] [*/img] tags w/out the * or you can sign up for a supporting membership which includes image hosting through PT.

[Trickiesmurf]

i spayed her about a week ago. thank you so much about the advice

[Chrisanne]

ditto to everything Kim said.

The spray bottle works wonders.

As for feed.... my cat eats Felidae. It is an all natural cat food.

[kittygirl109]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trickiesmurf i am new to this sight, i have a five month old kitten. and first time cat owner 1) food, right now i am feeding her purina one with yogert. i came to a conclusion that i try and eat as healthy as possible and i eat as much natural food as i can, i feel better. so i want to know if there are good natural food she really likes the natures choice pouches (not can stuff for some reason), any suggestions? 2) scratching, ARG, so i have tin foil on my nicest chair (lol im a college student so it isnt a thousand dollars, but still i would like it to last me at least till i am out of college and can afford that nice furnature set). well as you can imagine, i do look slightly nutty, i had three friends come over today and look at me like i was crazy when i was trying to explain what i was doing. well the kitten isnt scratching the chair shes scratching my bed. i do have a post. its actually a peice of drift wood from the beach some one told me that a lot of cats like that, and my dad is makeing a post and i am worried that she is not going to use it. i have no idea what to do?? 3) call for the wild. i am starting to notice my cat liked to try and fallow me out of my house, where i live there is a ton of strays, out door kitties that do have homes, and ferrel cats. my little kitty is very patete (sp) and tiny as my friend put it today she was the calista flockheart of cats (she does eat). and i know, this is not a subject of cat but how do i put a picture in here?

1) No yogurt. Dairy products cause diarrea(sp?) and other issues in cats. I would feed Max Cat, or Royal Canin. No Iams, Eukanba, or Purina. If you want something natural, try a small piece of canned chicken as a occiasional treat, maybe some fish. Remember, cats are natural meat eaters.
2) Clip her nails, for starters. If you have to, spray her whenever she scatches your things, and reward her with a treat when she scratches her post. She's smart, she should get the hint after awhile. Is her post big enough? It need to be sturdy, and taller then she is when she is all streched out.
3) Put her in your room, or her room when you leave the house, depending on how long you are going to be gone.

Lastly, remember, she is just a kitten. She's a BABY. She's just learning, and she needs you to teach her. These things will hopefully go away with time.

Good luck!