10 things I WISH I knew BEFORE getting a cat/kitten!

hey everybody so if you haven't noticed there's been a big change in our lives recently I'm sure you already seen this if you follow us on social media but if you haven't this is Finnegan and he's our new cat he's actually a kitten he's only seven months old but he's massive already and we got him when he was about two months old so I've been while you make this video for such a long time but life get in the way cats got in the way and now I guess I'm a cat lady so I wanted to make a video on the things that I really think you should know before getting a kitten or a cat and the things that I wish I would have known before adopting a kitten yes this is a second cat this was supposed to be our foster kitten but it looks like he's sticking around after having a crazy hip surgery so that'll be a totally different video and you guys can check in with us another time to learn more about this little kitty and find out if we're gonna end up keeping him the first thing I think you should know before thinking about getting a cat is that cats are not as well maintenance as you may have heard they actually require a lot of stimulation and enrichment especially if you're getting a kitten if you're getting a kitten they are so high-energy I cannot emphasize this enough this is why a lot of people suggest getting two kittens rather than one because you'll find yourself having to entertain your kitten quite often there are a lot of really great toys on the market to help entertain your kitten when you're not around but keep in mind that this is not going to be the only way to engage and enrich your cat's life so if you're thinking about getting a kitten or a cat please keep in mind they do require a lot of attention and play and it's important to provide that for them to prevent problem behaviors but also so you have a happy cat the second thing I think you should know before getting a cat is that they get into everything especially a kitten when we first got Finnegan he literally got into everything I drawers cabinets the dishwasher it's really easy to lose a kitten so I suggest getting a collar with a bell on it so you can keep track of where that kitten is in your house we have a fireplace in our house and we had to board it up specifically because he kept trying to climb into it and I've heard horror stories of kittens getting stuck in crazy places so always check before you close drawers close your washing machine close the dryer because cats get into all these crazy places and some cats you might even need to have a lock on those doors we have a pantry full of food and we have to lock it because if we don't lock it Finnegan has gotten in there and it's stealing all of our food and running around the house with it so keep in mind cats can get into everything and if you think they can't get up somewhere they absolutely can they can climb on things jump on things sneak into tiny little crevices so get a collar for your cat put a bell on it so you can try to keep track of where they are and keep them safe the third thing I think you need to know about cats again especially kittens is they get really active at night cats are nocturnal they like being awake and to hunt at dusk and dawn so if you're at work all day when you get home your cat will be really excited but don't be surprised if when you're starting to get ready to go to bed your cat has crazy zoomies and starts running around the house and jumping on your face so my suggestion and what worked really great for us is to play hardcore with your cat at least an hour before you want to go to bed to make sure that they're tired and this will help them sleep all throughout the night Finnegan has a great schedule he sleeps all through the night with us because we made a routine of dinnertime playtime all the way up until we go to bed and then he would sleep throughout the night the next thing I think you need to know before you get a cat is that they can chew up every single plant wire cord you name it so be really careful with what plants you have around your house and make sure that they're either gonna place your cat 100 percent cannot get - which I mean like on top of a shelf but there's no access to whatsoever or just get rid of in general a lot of plants are actually poisonous to cats and can be really toxic cause vomiting and potentially even death so be really careful with what plants you have around your house now like I mentioned before cats getting to everything on everything so if you have anything fragile lying around be careful they tend to knock over everything if there's glass even plastic I know our cat will get into plastic bags a lot to chew them up and plastic bags can be really dangerous too if they put their head inside of it they can actually suffocate so make sure you keep your house very kitten proofed pick up all dangerous items anything glass I mean cats love to drink out of glasses so out of glass cups so be really careful not to leave those things out or you might find a huge disaster when you come home I think it's really important to know that when you are getting a cat you have to provide for their needs and an example of this would be to make sure you have a cat scratcher and a cat tree cats need places that are are their own to hang out they need to be able to go by themselves get their alone time if they need it and cats really love to climb up high so if they don't have that in the house you might see them start scratching up the furniture climbing on places and getting into things that they shouldn't so make sure you have scratchers set up places and redirect their attention to the scratcher anytime you see them trying to scratch your couch and that you need to do before getting a cat is to make sure you have everything ahead of time now I'll be honest I did not do this I went to the shelter to go play with the kittens texted my husband a video and he said ok and I flipped out and of course took the kitten home and he was ours so I did not have anything ready for a cat I didn't have a litter box I had absolutely nothing so I highly encourage you to get all this stuff ahead of time because it's kind of a hassle to try to take your newly adopted cat home without anything that he needs so the things that you'll need will be a litter box you'll need toys to entertain him with and I suggest getting a soft-sided carriers that you can carry your cats places like the and so on you'll also need bowls but personally I like to feed my cat out of toys so I choose some toys that provide stimulation where they get to play with it and the food falls out another toy I suggest getting is something to help keep your cat entertained when you're not around so this would be like a toy with a little ball in it something that they can do and of course you'll need a scratcher and eventually a cat tree as well now when you bring your cat home it's really important to put them in a small enclosed area where you can know where they are and keep them safe make sure this area is kitten proofed this will also give you time to get to know your cat without them running away in hiding a lot of cats and kittens will hide for the first few days and this is completely normal so if your cat seems to be a little bit unsure don't fret it'll take them a few days to kind of warm up to their new environment so that they can get accustomed to all the sound sights and smells and this will also help them learn where their litter box is so that they can learn where to go to the bathroom now this is not sponsored at all but my personal suggestion is don't use clay litter clay litter is bad for your cat's feet it kind of gets their feet chalky it tracks everywhere and there's lots of toxins and chemicals in the clay litter so if you can avoid it at all costs do so I personally use pine litter I find 40 pound bags for $5 at Tractor Supply Co this has been a huge huge relief for me I was in clay when I first got the kitten and I absolutely regret it so if you can start off right start off with pine or something that's not toxic that's not going to make a huge mess now this is especially relevant if you have a kid no matter how cute it is do not play with your hands I was preaching this and telling everybody this and yet I was still playing with my hands and what ended up happening is my cat saw me and my skin as the best toy he no longer wanted to play with his toys he only wanted to attack and play bite me so it's kind of cute but as they get bigger their bites get harder their teeth get bigger and it's just not a good idea to teach your cat to play with your hands it's really important to get your cat or kitten use to nail trims this is a huge deal your clap cat's claws will get so so sharp so I really encourage you to start trimming their nails from the get-go get them used to having nail trims it's really an easy thing to do but make sure you look up some charts so you can learn where the quick is if your cat has white claws you'll be able to see the blood vein in the actual nail so that's an easier way to know where to trim but I encourage you to start doing this right away to get your cat used to it I also encourage me to start getting your cat used to being brushed and if you're going to be bathing them do this at an early age that they get used to it cats don't need to be babes but I personally like to bathe them to make sure they're really clean I used to be allergic to cats so I need to make sure that they're clean all of the time so that I don't have an allergy come back up this also goes for tooth brushing I encourage you to get your cat used to getting their teeth brushed and too many people don't take care of their cat's teeth and periodontal disease is actually one of the main diseases that cats as adults can get so you can avoid that if you start taking care of your teeth early if your cats not so sure about the toothbrush try putting a little bit of coconut oil on it and see if your cat likes it the last thing that I want to tell you guys about is to be intentional as to when you feed your cat cats are notorious for screaming when they want things and telling you when they want it right back second so if you start feeding your kitten at five o'clock in the morning they're gonna get used to that schedule and start screaming and waking you up at five o'clock one morning so be intentional when you feed them throughout the day otherwise you like have a little screaming monster on your hands it's also important to feed them a really good diet cats really should not be on a solely dry diet they should be on a wet food diet or a raw diet if you're going to use some kibble just make sure you supplement it with things that are healthy such as canned food or even some sardines once in a while if you have any questions on what to do if you're going to get a cat cat behavior or really just anything cat related please comment below I would love to answer those questions and dive into it with you I've just been obsessed with studying cat behavior this is such a new field for me and I am loving it I'm reading every book I can get my hands on and I'll make a separate video of the specific products that I am using in the books that I've read that I've absolutely loved and learned so much about so if you like this video please like it and subscribe but I don't know where it's going to be I really appreciate it and share this with a friend tag somebody in its let me know what to do before they get a cat because the last thing you want is to find out you should have done these things before and now you have a problem cat on your hands so until next time see you guys later

Channel: Amber Aquart

Views: 1,668,512

Keywords: what to know before getting a cat, adopting a kitten, tips for cats, adopting a cat, cat adoption, cat tips, kitten tips, what to know about cats, what to know about kittens, adopting a new cat, getting a cat, getting a kitten

Id: Z-D-0VXUdlE

Length: 11min 4sec (664 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 08 2020