Prekrasne Siberian Cats:
Beauty is more than skin deep
Rules for transitioning your kitten & what to get before the big day!
One of the most important things to remember when you get your new kitten is that they will need time to settle in. We have some basic rules to follow to help your new friend become a lifelong family member.
1. Set up a room for your kitten. Your kitten is coming to a whole new place with strange people and new smells. This can be overwhelming. The room you set up will create a safe space for them to settle into gradually. It will also give them a chance to learn where their litter box is rather than looking all over the house. Make sure the room has basics like their food dish, water dish, litter box, bed, and toys. We suggest a week in this room but some may need a bit longer depending on how confident the kitten is. If you are getting a retired adult cat, expect this process to take longer. Adult cats can take 3-4 weeks to adjust to their new home and realize they aren't just visiting.
2. Don’t overwhelm your kitten with new people and pets. Just like a human baby, kittens can be over-stimulated leading to inappropriate behavior. It is always tempting to bring everyone over to meet your new kitten and let family dog in on the act but each new person brings a whole new set of sensations – sights, smells, sounds, etc. This can be overwhelming when your kitten is also getting used to a new home as well. Nothing is familiar. We recommend introducing new people gradually, over a few days.
3. Take your new kitten to the vet. This is required by contract of course, but most importantly this gives you the all clear for letting the kitten play with other family pets. Remember, like human babies they can pick things up easier than adults. The kittens will have been vaccinated a minimum of twice before going home, while this doesn't mean they will never get a cold it means if they get one it should be very mild.
4. Feed a diet similar to what your kitten has been eating here at least at first. We recommend it long term of course as it’s a well balanced diet of high quality, super premium grain free dry, wet and raw foods. However, if any changes are made be sure to do them gradually. This helps minimize digestive issues. Cats and dogs should always have their foods changed slowly. Rapid changes can lead to diarrhea and vomiting.
5. Don't panic if your kitty doesn't eat or drink at first. They may not even use the litter box for a while. This is normal. This is also a great reason to have the room set up for your kitty. If they haven't gone potty for a while and suddenly need to after the stress passes, there can easily be an accident as they search for their new litter box.
6. Give your kitten time to get to know you. Your kitten may not be your very best friend at first. They just left their mom, siblings, the dogs, and the humans they came to know. You are a stranger to them. Unlike dogs, cats are not pack animals. They don't automatically assume you are part of their family. Just relax and give them time to get to know you. Don't force the attention on them. When your kitten is ready he or she will come to you. Yes, this even means they may crawl under a sofa for a while. This is perfectly NORMAL. Again, adult cats will taken a bit longer than the kittens to adjust. They are more set in their ways and this is a big change for them.
What to buy:
Scratching:
Scratching post(s) – your kitten will need to stretch and scratch and this is a must
Sisal door mat – this is an inexpensive way to give your kitten places to scratch and you need them anyway.
Food and water:
Advice - avoid corn, wheat, or soy. These are cheap fillers with no nutritional value for your cat. A high quality, grain free or low grain diet (preferably raw) is what we feed. Not only have you never seen a tiger eating a salad, or a bobcat snacking on a bowl of rice this is essentially "junk food" for your cat. Also, these ingredients are typically the ones involved in recalls of tainted pet food such as the one that happened in 2008 that resulted in the deaths of thousands of pets.
Water - lots of fresh water. Dehydration has been linked in studies to urinary issues in cats. Be sure to keep any food and water dishes away from your cats litter box. It might be convenient for you to keep them both in a washroom but imagine eating your lunch in YOUR bathroom. Not only that, but cats often kick out pieces of litter and if this is in their food or water it can result in various illnesses including but not limited to e-coli.
Wet food – Instincts, BG, Go! Natural, Wellness, or Blue Buffalo canned
Litter – we use Feline Pine Original (not the clumping because it doesn’t clump well). The clay litters often have perfumes that aggravate odors and the silica dust is not good for cats or humans. If you prefer clumping, we suggest World’s Best Cat Litter.
Stainless steel bowls – we suggest stainless steel food and water bowls. They are easy to clean and sanitize and plastic bowls can cause feline acne. This is as icky as it sounds if not more so.
Litter box – If you like a covered box to keep in litter, rather than spending $30 or more, just use a Rubbermaid or comparable storage container with the lid. Cut a hole in the lid large enough for your cat to climb in and out. Fill with about 1- 1.5” of litter. Much less expensive and after all it is a litter boxJ.
Entertainment:
Cat tree – cats love heights and a good cat tree gives them a place to climb and get out of the way and survey their domain. There are even some cool ones that make nice additions to the décor. If you have a cat show in your area, there are often local vendors who make their own and it’s always nice to support the small business person.
Toys – wand toys, Da Bird, jingly mice, catnip toys, the cat dancer, etc. They also love the Turbo Scratcher! Hours of fun!
Grooming:
A Greyhound style comb is indispensible! This metal comb has teeth that are fine on one end and medium on the other. Works wonders and won't split the hairs.
Nail clippers - we find the guillotine style clippers to be the most efficient. You can find them at most local pet stores.
