Thank You for adopting one of our babies! You may be wondering a little about the family that your new kitten has come from... we are a family of seven... mom, dad and five children ages 2, 3 1/2, 9, 12 and 17. Our only daughter is 12 and is the general caretaker for the kittens. From bathing to feeding to litter box training to playing... Miranda is there. She loves her kittens! I am a certified pet nutrition counselor and managed a pet supply store for over three years. I was also a professional pet sitter and had my own service for four years before moving to the country.
We have three Shih Tzu in our home. Outside we have a collie and a border collie/ausie cross (we have sheep). Miranda has a rat terrier named Lolly Pop and then there is Mr. Wiggles... our mini Doxie! He is a hoot. So, the kittens have been exposed to small breed dogs as the larger ones are strictly outside.
Miranda baths the kittens before being sent to their new homes. About a week before the kittens come to you they have been wormed with a round worm wormer. We suggest that they be tested for all worms at your vets office and request that the vet worm your new pet for you. Their wormer is much more broad spectrum than what you can find at the store. And should be age/weight appropriate so - no guessing on your part.
You may be wondering what you can do to keep your pet happy and healthy and internal as well as external parasite free (fleas/ticks/mosquitos). Here are a few tips:
- add a bit of Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to their drinking water. - This helps keep your pet healthy in general and creates an in-hospitable environment for intestinal parasites. It also balances your pets pH (just as it would yours) and assists with digestion. Mosquito larvae cannot live in water where vinegar is present.
- put a bit of ACV into a squirt bottle and spray it on your pet. Believe it or not... fleas HATE vinegar (as do a lot of other bugs) AND it makes the BEST Crème Rinse EVER! Try spraying a little on your hair after a shower too! It is Wonderful!
- Baking soda and salt mixed together make a great natural "flea powder". It dehydrates the fleas! Sprinkle this on your rugs/carpets and let sit... then vacuum up. Hang your rugs outside in the sun to "bake those little buggers!". Be sure to hit your sofa... esp down the cracks and crevices as that is where fleas LOVE to hide. There are 4 stages to a fleas lifecycle. So, you may find you need to do this every week or at least every couple of weeks if you already have something going on.
- Add Nutritional Yeast (or Brewers yeast) along with garlic to your pets food. The little "vampires" (blood sucking insects) don't care for it and they are two easy things you can do to generally improve your pets health.
- Diatomaceous Earth... you can add that to your pets food to help kill intestinal parasites. Add it to your natural "flea powder" to put on your pet, furniture, etc. DE scratches the abdomen of the insect... it dehydrates and dies.
Shampooing your kitten/cat
Cats and kittens really do a great job of 'cleaning' themselves. But sometimes we feel that we should give them a full blown bath. Warning: Nearly all cats are NOT fond of bath water unless you have 'trained' them from very young. There are bathing bags you can get to prevent them from clawing their way through you and out of the sink or tub. It is very similar to a mesh laundry bag.
Make sure to always use shampoo that is approved for cats/kittens. They have a different pH than humans and our shampoos can be very drying to them. Causing them to itch and possibly have flaking skin. Do not use puppy/dog shampoo unless it is labeled for use with kittens as well. Sometimes the dog shampoo can be very tough on a kitten.
Put ACV and water in a spray or squirt bottle and after the final rinse... spray it on your kitten. This helps with fleas as well as naturally conditioning your kitties coat making it super soft and shiny.
Feeding your kitten
Your kitten most likely is still nursing. We do wait until they are well on moist food and don't necessarily 'need' to nurse any longer which is typically at 8 weeks or longer. I make my own raw food by grinding up full chicken leg quarters and organic veggies. I then add nutritional yeast, garlic and KELP to the food. Since we have so many dogs and cats I make up a HUGE batch and freeze it for a few weeks worth of food at a time. If you are new to this idea you may want to check out the book: Give your dog a bone. It will give you a Wonderful beginning to the whys and wherefores.
When I am not feeding raw... I will only buy Nutri Source brand foods as they are the only ones on the market that have NOT had a pet food recall or been associated with the death of a treasured pet. For the tiny bit your kitten will eat and all the affection it gives you... isn't it worth the few extra dollars? We get this at All Pet. They have a great card program there and helpful employees. Be sure to check out their moist foods as well.
If you choose to feed NutriSource dry Cat and Kitten (or any other dry food) be sure to add water so that the food doesn't tax the liver so much. Dry food is really hard on a pet. Think about what a cat typically eats... it is moist... never dry. A cat doesn't need 'kibble' to clean its teeth. If you are keeping his gut healthy with ACV, garlic, nutritional yeast and giving plain full fat yogurt on occasion your pets intestinal tract will be healthy and thus his body will be.
Feeding raw and/or Nutri Source you will find that the litter box isn't as smelly and the stools are not so huge (or colored... YIKES) as you would find feeding something else. They have fewer allergies. Have less of an issue with skin problems... typically the skin and coat are so healthy and shiny... there is even less shedding than their counterpart that has been fed 'yuck'.
To De-Claw or Not to De-Claw???
hmmm... decisions decisions. I will NEVER de-claw another cat. EVER. When we were first married we chose to do a front de-claw on a kitten we adopted through The Cat Protection Society. I will never do that to another cat again. They need their claws. If they are ever to get out... it would leave them defenseless.
Instead provide your furball with loads of fun via a nice tall scratching post! Rub it with cat nip every now and then to encourage kitty to use it rather than your walls or furniture.
When to spay/neuter your kitten
This is information I gleaned from a veterinarian as well as from personal experience.
If you do it too early... before they are mature... you could end up with an adult cat that has chronic issues with their urinary system. If you do it to late... you could have a mama kitty on your hands or a boy that is spraying.
So, where is the 'sweet spot'? When are they 'mature' enough to spay or neuter without risking their life long health?
I find that point to be at 8 to 8.5 mos old. Girls could go into season at 9 mos old and boys could start spraying at that point. This is a sign of sexual maturity.
If you do what we did to Wicket and get your male cat neutered at 6 mos old... their urinary system is not fully developed and their urethra is quite short. It is short already... but when neutered this young. It can cause it to be even shorter and that is why the problems begin. urinary stones, kidney stones, blood in the urine, painful urination, not wanting to use the litter box and using your bed or furniture instead (which by the way is your cat saying... "something is wrong... this hurts"... so get them to the vet asap).
By adding the ACV to the water you are helping to break up stones etc and keep the urinary system healthy by way of pH balancing. However, even with all that... if the neuter was done before maturity... your cat may have a life long problem.
Return Policy
I have an OPEN DOOR to ALL our fur-babies. Whether is it a week from now or 20 years from now... if you move or find that someone is allergic or just don't want to keep the cat for any reason... Please let us know and we will take him or her back in a flash!
Best ways to reach us:
cell: 417-712-4165
email: shroomshack@gmail.com
email: wsemyck417@yahoo.com
email: ozarkorganics.org@gmail.com
you know how to reach us on facebook! Willow Mountain Mushrooms... or our personal names
Mailing address:
Bob and Wendy Semyck
PO Box 467
Tecumseh, MO 65760
I had a cockatiel once that I adopted out when we had our first child. We felt that we just were not giving it as much attention as we needed to. So, a single girl I worked with adopted her. Instead of letting me know that she was finding that she didn't have time for the bird (only a couple months afterward) she gave it to a breeder. My little hand fed "Sunshine" became eggbound and died. Please. I am very serious. Do NOT RE-Home kitty! Just let her come home. No worries if we have moved as we have family in Mountain Home, Midway and Lakeview.
If you have any questions or concerns Please contact me!
Have photos or stories you would like to share about your fur-baby? We would LOVE to hear from you!
Blessings and Happy Fur-ever endings!
~Wendy and Miranda
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