One problem...I don't have the first clue about having a cat! What do I feed him? How do I get rid of his fleas? And he is filthy. Do I give him a bath? Do cats take baths? Help, cat people!
The kids named him Gideon. Isn't he cute?
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Introducing Gideon
Look who wandered up to our house yesterday looking for a new home! This place is becoming a regular Old MacDonald Farm! But what a dream come true for these two 9 yr. old cousins.
One problem...I don't have the first clue about having a cat! What do I feed him? How do I get rid of his fleas? And he is filthy. Do I give him a bath? Do cats take baths? Help, cat people!
The kids named him Gideon. Isn't he cute?
One problem...I don't have the first clue about having a cat! What do I feed him? How do I get rid of his fleas? And he is filthy. Do I give him a bath? Do cats take baths? Help, cat people!
The kids named him Gideon. Isn't he cute?
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18 comments:
I look so good with that cat Evi
Cats are easy to take care of. Will he be an indoor or outdoor cat? Buy some dry food at Walmart (we also give ours kitty treats once a day and they share a can of wet food once a day, but it's not necessary!), give em' some water (ours prefer to drink out of a slow running water in my bathroom sink, but they are spoiled rotten!) and love and his basic needs are met. I have bathed my cats before, but it was no fun for me or them so now I pay to have it done twice a year. We've never really had fleas in since mine don't go outside, so I am no help there. He is very cute and Evi you do look good with him! :)
If you DON'T feed him he might actually be a good mouser for you. The cat that lived here before we moved here decided to never leave. He's very happy killing all our mice up and down the street.
hmm, you have baby chicks don't you? (just kidding :)
Pretty cat and cute kids!
I do prefer he be an outside cat. I don't really want to mess with litter boxes. By the way, my niece left the first comment. HA.
Ours is an indoor cat b/c we have eagles here that like to eat them. she is very easy, except she doesn't like our new dog.
I've had both indoor and indoor/outdoor cats. Dry food, water, if you don't want to mess with a litter box; it will dig in dirt, sand, etc. If your kids have a sandbox, cover it up or it will become a huge litter box for the cat, FYI. Yet, it should be a great mouser. I was able to give one of my cats a bath and he loved it. The other one, not so much. I'm surprised I don't have the scars to prove it. It wasn't pretty. But you can also take a warm wash cloth and give it a sponge bath. Good luck. Cats are a breeze (compared to dogs). Just don't be surprised when they leave you little gifts on your porch, i.e. dead birds, mice, etc. It means they like you.
Just like for your dog, go to the vet and get FRONTLINE It repels both ticks and fleas. It is CRUCIAL for both cats and dogs if you don't want fleas or ticks! And...ticks spread Lyme disease, or (depending upon where you live) Rocky Mountain Fever. Two of my dogs had Lyme disease and were totally miserable. Frontline for your dog, for the entire summer, will cost about $50, and about $30 for the cat.
I have had outside cats for years, and we have never had problems with fleas. Mine live in the barn, and love to eat the mice, grasshopers. I have bathed cats before but it can end up ugly! I like to whipe my down with babywhipes.
Baby wipes are great for a quick bath...wouldn't want to try a real bath...cats notoriously hate water. We always just gave our outside/barn cats some dry cat food. They were still good mousers! Kristen
Haha NOOO don't give a cat a bath !!! =] They clean themselves. I miss you guys. Wish you could've came to ABQ for Camille's graduation, even though it didn't turn out to be too much fun. At least my dad is home now ! Love you !
Heather
Awwww he's beautiful!
Like the previous posters sid, dry food (if you buy fresh-non dry food in tins, you might get ants etc sampling it.) Baby wipes, and frontline, if he already has a lot of fleas your vet might recomend a stronger treatment, but mainly it will be a spray or powder you put on him. If he looks dirty, he'll clean himself eventually...
Oh, tip! If you get the huge economy bags of dry food, get a plastic air-tight container and put several days worth of food in, and make sure the bags are well-sealed... Or the food goes a bit stale, and our cats won't eat it.
Anna
Sweet kitty! Does he have blue eyes? If so, have the vet check to see if he's deaf. Once Gideon's initial vet.checkup is done and he's had his shots (rabies shots are a legal requirement almost everywhere; feline leukemia and distemper shots and annual booster shots are highly recommended) and been de-fleaed if need be - and ideally, neutered or spayed, kitty care is simple, as others have pointed out.
Once he's initially clean, he'll take care of bathing himself,
barring unusual circumstances. It hasn't been discussed, but please don't declaw him - unless you want to keep him indoors 24/7, and even then, it's a painful and limiting procedure with a fairly long recovery period and the risk of turning the cat into a biter when threatened. However, please DO feed him regularly - hungry cats are not better mousers, they're just sad and usually malnourished cats who are forced to hunt for food. Give Giddy-Kitty a warm safe place to sleep, good food twice a day, a constant supply of clean drinking water, lots of love (I can see he's already getting that!), and he'll return it tenfold (the love, not the drinking water and good food).
Gideon's a pretty one - my cousins found a tiny brown-eyed, long-haired white kitten abandoned last summer, named her "Biely Kot" ("white cat"), and she's now ruling the roost and bossing their big kitty.
Congratulations on the new family member!
Susan in Ky
Cousin to Two Great Kids from Ukraine (and happily owned by cats since age eight...)
What cute guy! He knew what family to come to for a good home, so the word must be out ;)
The previous given advice is purrfect. Dry food, clean water, Frontline for the summer, vet check-up..etc. I have had many a barn cat since I was little and would recommend having his ears checked for mites. The vet can do this, it isn't uncommon for outdoor cats to get them, especially if he is as filthy as you say.
Letting Liesel and Evi make him a "sleeping spot" would be a fun task. They could use anything from an old box to a broken clothes basket. (I had a cat that slept in a old paint pan that we put a towel in!)Once the girls figure out where he wants to "hang out" after he eats and decides this place is his territory, they can choose where to put his sleeping quarters. That was one of my favorite things to do as a little girl.
And do be prepared for "gifts" that are half-eaten or newly (ahem) gotten. I even had one cat that would bring them over alive and drop them on my feet.
Ah, the love of a kitty! Have fun!!
Kellie, Haleigh and Averee Bassett
Oh man. That will help with your chicken problem. Soon you won't have chickens to be a problem.
My in-laws have an outdoor cat. Real handy for snakes, rats, etc... them thar cats is.
The cats get fed all of the leftovers, and anything that would normally go down the kitchen garbage disposal.
Oh...and worm tablets. And, I'd get some of the flea oil from Atwoods.
And all that from a "no-cat Nancy."
Whew!
Just wanted to add that I visited some friends' farm yesterday - they have FIVE cats (barn and house, plus one that's just shown up), a flock of around 50 sheep and lambs, a brand-new (as of Sunday) "rescue sheep" from the local stockyards - poor thing hasn't been shorn in several years and was scared, but eating well and will get shorn and checked asap - a sweet sheltie, and around two dozen half-grown chickens plus several adult ones. The cats and dog don't bother the chickens - the big poultry can take care of themselves, and the chicks are in a cat-proof pen atm, in the barn with three or four of the cats, who were more interested in sprawling on the cool concrete floor than in potential chicken dinners yesterday. All the animals seemed to take one another for granted and the friendly kitties were very affectionate with each other. All of which bodes well for your own sweet Gideon! Keep us posted...
Susan in Ky
There is non-wash shampoo. You spray it on the cat and towel them off and voila. That's what we do to Catarina and it works good actually!
One suggestion coming from a person who works at a rescue shelter in the middle of kitten season (lol)....if you are going to keep the cat...look into getting him/her spayed or neutered! Other then that....cats are probably the best because they don't require much! I would agree...Frontline for Cats is probably your best bet--otherwise, enjoy cathood! I didn't think I was much of a cat person until I started working at my new job...now I LOVE THEM!! Boy cats are especially loving!! Let me know if you need anymore help....Yvonne~
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