Need some advice about my new kitty!

[Stormymystic]

here is something we used to do to get the new addition to sleep in their own bed.....take a towel and place it where she normally sleeps, leave it there for a few days to a week, then slowly move it a little at a time through out the weeks ahead, by the end of the month you should have the towel in the bedding, once she get used to sleeping on the towel, her scent will stay on it, and that is where she will sleep...good luck [img]smile.gif[/img]

oh and btw, cute kitty [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 09-06-2004, 06:00 PM: Message edited by: Stormymystic ]

[Lady Sedai]

All I can do really is echo the statements that 1. cats will sleep where *they* choose and that 2. she's needing to feel secure in her new home and has attached herself to you guys for now.

My Maerlynn would ONLY sleep at my head (on my pillow, LOL!) when he was a kitten, but as he's grown, he sleeps either at the foot of the bed (mostly in winter when it's colder) and on various parts of the furniture.

Perhaps she's not fond of the little cubby, also. I only have one (out of six) who likes the cubby and she was the runt and is the smallest (about 7 pounds). Perhaps your little girl just doesn't like the close quarters. You could try something a bit different...get a box (about the size that 10 reams of printer paper come in), put her blanky in there and a couple of toys and see if she likes the open box better.

This way, you don't "waste" more money on something she might not like and you can see if it's just her not liking an enclosed place to sleep that bothers her.

Another thing to try is...if she's a "heavy sleeper" (you know...when she's asleep, you can carefully pick her up and she won't stir), you can try waiting til she's asleep and moving her to where you prefer her to sleep. But if she doesn't like that cubby or being enclosed, that may not work. This approach would be easier if you try the box.

Anywhoo...she's a doll to be sure. [img]smile.gif[/img] And ragdolls are sooooo loveable. [img]smile.gif[/img] Be patient and treat her well and she'll be the happiest kitty alive.

[Cloudbringer]

LOL, yup, as I told you earlier, Maz, she's a darling little thing!
Kittens like to 'pile' with other kittens or their mama and your little Mikka will most likely want to sleep on or near you or Mary Rose most of the time. Mine do!

Merlin used to only sleep up against me but now, 6 yrs later, he finds places nearby or within sight unless he's cold. Inga always likes to be close by, but not on the bed most of the time.

Some suggestions: Get the catnip scent dissipated from the little bed you bought. Catnip's a stimulant and she's not likely to SLEEP there if she smells it. She may also be too young for catnip to effect her just now, so don't be surprised if she doesn't respond much to it. Some cats love it, some ignore it and some go bonkers...I've had all the above types over the years!

Put the bed someplace near one of you (in a corner of the room). She'll probably check it out but most likely won't sleep in it unless you aren't home or a mood strikes her. [img]smile.gif[/img] She may end up prefering a different type of spot to sleep or love that bed to pieces. It's sort of hit or miss with cats. I bought a kitty 'condo' for mine to play on and scratch at etc when I first got a kitten and he wouldn't go near the thing. Months after I bought it I mentioned giving it away to a friend and danged if that cat didn't crawl all over the condo and start sleeping on top of it the next week! LOL Many years and a new set of cats later and I'm just considering throwing it away because it's been used to death!

Try a few different blankets for her (small bits of fleece or quilting are nice) and rub them on yourself and your sister. Mikka will find it reassuring. You can put them anyplace you want her to sleep or on furniture you don't want her on but know she's going to be on anyway!

It's kind of a 'learn what she likes' sort of thing when they're kittens. Like people, they have preferences in sleep spots and toys.

With litter pan- my suggestion from experience and hanging out with 30+ cat owners and vets on a mail list for the last 15+yrs is to put one pan out either where you want it in the end (someplace off the beaten track- cats usually like some privacy) or very near to where you want it eventually and keep showing her when she starts to 'hunt' for a place to go. You've probably already figured out the signs by now. Also, for her sanity and yours, keep her confined to one room or area (where the box is)when you aren't around unless your place is fairly small. Kittens can't hold it like older cats can and they usually have to go NOW when the urge hits, so running all over looking for the box is gonna mean accidents. But once she learns where it is, you can bet she'll head for it every time. Don't move the box around from room to room or even location within a room at first- that's confusing and likely to mess up her training. I did keep a tiny box in the living room when one of my cats was a kitten (he'd been taken away from his mother before being weaned and was not litter trained), but I moved it a little at a time over a few weeks til it was next to the big one that became the permanent box. The one day I had the permanent box moved to clean it, my poor little kitten ran his little self to the spot where it was supposed to be, cried a few times and piddled RIGHT WHERE THE BOX usually sat! I was so proud of him! LOL

Your kitten's a real cutie and I bet you'll be wrapped 'round her little paw in no time. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

edit: another type of bed that I've had really good luck with is a wicker basket one with a low side on one end and a cushion or blankets in it. All of the cats in my house over the years have slept in one that I got about 19 yrs ago at some point or other. They like feeling something on all three sides but having immediate access in or out.

[ 09-06-2004, 10:39 PM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Gangrell]

Originally posted by Aelia Jusa: A couple of other things - make sure you have lots of litter trays. If she's anything like Tuppence she will not like to use the same tray twice in the row. Tuppence has six trays and if she didn't she'd go in the corner. Also cats really like to piddle on mats or rugs (e.g. bath mat, persian rug...).

I'm sorry, what's that rumor I hear that cats are clean creatures? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

All I can tell you is pretty much what everyone else has, when they first start sleeping in your home, they're going to sleep as close to you as possible, new borns don't like being alone. If my animals couldn't sleep in my bed (because I have a tendancy to thrash about), they'll sleep under it or as close as they can.

Good luck [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Memnoch]

She's an absolute bundle of energy and we're already spoiling her to death. She's very sociable for a cat - she always has to be around us or on our laps, only time she sleeps is on our lap and she goes all floppy and totally relaxes on her back on our laps and goes to sleep. Then when she gets excited she turns into a nutter, chasing her toys everywhere. She's so inquisitive as well, poking her nose everywhere. We've given up on making her sleep in her bed.

As for litter, she's obviously been using her litter (to have a wee) as I've seen the markings but I never see her using it (we've put it in my sis's bathroom as that's the room where she sleeps) and I'm not sure how often she's meant to go to have a poo - is it normal for her to go once a day? Or less or more?

LOL - as I type this she's hanging on to my forearm with her front paws and trying to lean her head on my wrist.

[ 09-07-2004, 04:27 AM: Message edited by: Memnoch ]

[Cloudbringer]

ROTFL! Yup, she's a cat, alright! I had Merlin sitting on my monitor and poking down at the cursor when he was smaller. Nowadays his 20pound bulk can't balance so well on the tilted monitor! LOL

They ARE curious as kittens and still pretty into everything as adults. I had to cover all the cords in the house after Merlin joined us. None of my other cats ever chewed on electric cords but he gnawed on them all the time so I have little plastic covers on everything! I have to keep the grocery bags up out of reach too, he chews anything plastic like that.

Awww...she sounds so sweet, Mems! teehee...just remember not to encourage any behavior in her NOW that you wouldn't like when she's twice or three times as big! LOL, like wrassling feet or lying on your neck to sleep...argh...Merlin loved to do that but I gently dissuaded him as a kitten and BOY am I glad I did now he's turned into an enormous critter!

Check around the house to see if you find any 'prezzies' from Mikka (it's not common but occasionally a cat won't like to poo where it pees and needs two boxes), but it's not unusual for them to use the box once or twice a day for each option. My adult cats tend to use the box about two or three times a day on average, with the heavy duty stuff being mostly morning and evening (after meals). Kittens usually have to go not long after eating, so watch her for a while after a meal and you should see her use it. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Enjoy being owned by a cat, it's alot of fun and very rewarding, Mems!