I was at work today (04nov06) and found a stray female long-haired siamese kitten. now, i have had cats before, but it was many years ago that they were kittens and i was too young to learn about any processes. I have a dog, so the kitten is in isolation in my bedroom to prevent the kitten from spreading any diseases/fleas/etc she might have. i will be making a vet appointment come monday morning, but i would like some advice on what to do. i went out and bought her a new litter box and food and water dish (a "kitten starter kit" lol). i also gave her a warm water bath, but i don't have any shampoo. one of my coworkers will be giving me some shampoo come monday and i will be thoroughly shampooing her after work. I don't know how old she is or if she has been trained. She has her baby teeth, is very fluffy, and extremely affectionate. Any advice would be helpful, especially in getting my dog and the new arrival used to each other. thanks.
Answers:
keep kitty in the bedroom in isolation til she can be taken to the vet and given a thorough checkup. spend lots of time with her and make sure she knows how to use litter box. make a list of questions to ask your veterinarian. :-)
keep your dog away until u see the vet and as far as training a cat they just need to be put into the litter box once or twice before they just instinctively know!
If I was you, I would wait until the vet appointment before you give the kitten a bath, just incase she scratches you ya know?
Keep her away from the dog for now, and take her
to the litter box and put her in it and take her paw
and scratch the litter with it. She will get the idea
real quick. Make sure you feed her kitten food and not
adult cat foot. Do not bath her too much unless she has
fleas. St. Frances will bless you for finding her and taking
care of her.
Cats don't really need to be trained to use a litterbox. The general rule is the younger the kitten is, the closer it should be to the litterbox. Very young kittens will use a litterbox if it's close, but don't seem to remember where it's at if it's too far away.
The fact that you have your kitty in a room in the house means your dog has already started to get used to her. He can smell her. When I introduced my kittens to my dogs, I left them in their carriers and let the dogs and cats sniff each other for quite some time. When I was sure there were no problems, I allowed them to spend time together supervised. I don't know what kind of dog you have, but kittens are very fragile and the dog may trample the kitten and hurt it without meaning to, so be extra careful.
You can use a mild dishwashing liquid to bathe the kitten, if needed. I would be extra careful to avoid any type of flea shampoo for the kitty unless recommended by your vet.
Good luck with your new pet. She sounds adorable!
Cats naturally go to the litterpan although I have run into a few strays that didn't know what litter was, and wouldn't use it. I had to start them with potting soil (dirt) in a box and then gradually add more litter and less dirt til the cat was using litter.
You can use just a tiny bit of Dawn dish soap to bathe the kitten with, although if you gave her a water bath already, that was good enough til she is seen by the vet. You don't want to stress her anymore than you have to.
You don't say what age or breed your dog is, whether the dog is used to cats, etc.I wouldn't let a kitten unsupervised around a dog. If your dog isn't aggressive toward small animals, other dogs, cats, etc, I would put the kitten in a pet carrier or other cage that the kitten can't get out of and that the dog can't get into, so they can watch each other and smell and hear each other. Cover the carrier all except the door for the kitten to see out of and put the carrier against something so the dog can't get behind it, Then the kitten will feel safer. The kitten most likely will be scared of the dog at first, even if the dog is one that's gentle with cats. If your dog is aggressive or if you're not sure, ask your veterinarian's advice, and give the vet the details of the dog, breed, personality, etc, so that the vet can recommend a trainer or behaviorist or other good reference to help you if needed. Another possibility is to go to AKC site and find the national breed club for your breed there, and then go to the breed club site and find a local breeder to call for advice.
It was very wise to isolate the kitten, and protect it from the dog until you're sure the kitten and dog are safe together.
Siamese get on well with dogs, they can look after themselves. Probably better that you do have the dog as they are a social animal and will damage furniture if alone for too long, have fun
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