First kitten: an alien species in my household

[Nici]

Hello all!

I am hoping to get a bit of kitten advice.
I have a kitten now! He's 4 months old, his name is Cassius and he is a Russian Blue.
We had cats in the family, but I have never been responsible for one before.
Physically, he is in great shape: I brought him to the vet for his health check and vaccination, no problem there. He had conjunctivitis a few days after our vet visit, so back to the vet with him. The antibiotic didn't seem to work, so in the end I treated him with apple cider vinegar (great stuff, actually!) and his eyes are no longer red, just a little teary on some days.
I have given him some good foods in the time I had him (dry: Mill Stream Kitchen, Carnilove and Arden Grange; wet: Lily's Kitchen and Natures Menu).
Cassius is a bit naughty and chews on things she shouldn't chew on (e.g. the velcro strip on my computer cable, the underwear on the drying rack) and he jumps on the table.
Since I got my dog Pompon five years ago, I have become a bit of a dog person, so now I have forgotten all about cat training (if you can call it that). I do trim Cassius's nails and brush his sharp little teeth.

He ignores my "NO" and my "LEAVE IT" when he's on the table/chewing on my clothes. When my hands happen to be wet from washing the dishes while he is naughty, I flick a little water on him and this works fine, but he does the same thing later on, when my hands are dry.
Also, Cassius is a real bully with Pompon (a Pomeranian); he chases him and whacks him on the nose, just for fun. Also, I have to lock the dog in his crate when he eats now because Cassius kept stealing from him.
He has not even reached adolescence yet!
Could it be that Cassius is too clever for me?
Would anybody possibly give me some advice about cat ownership?
Cat and kitten pictures are very welcome, I am a huge fan of pets. I will try to upload some in my next post.

 

[Nici]

Here are some pictures!

There they are both, Cassius and Pompon.


Here Cassius tried to help me decorate the christmas wreath.


He enjoys sitting on my visiting friends' laps.

 

[Umbongo]

You are not the cats owner, cats own you....is always quite an apt saying for cat owners! You are pretty much their private servant!

Ensure he has lots of environmental enrichment. Fun places to hide, climb up, scratching post, toys etc.
I have never been able to stop a cat from jumping on a table......... :/
Sometimes having 2 cats of similar age can help when they are young so they play with each other and tire each other out. However I had litter mates and this worked for about 1 year and they have hated each other ever since. Will you be letting him outside once castrated/chipped? Do be a bit careful with flicking water at him, I have known some cats to associate their owners with water guns etc and become very aggressive to the owners.

Generally keeping things out of reach that he shouldn't have is a good idea, especially whilst he is young and exploring.

This is a great website for lots of cat advice www.icatcare.org

 

[NinjaPony]

Not much help but wow your kitty is beautiful!! Unfortunately I've never managed to train my cat not to do anything in 13 years... He knows when something is naughty-jumping on the table and chomping flowers-and will leap off if I march in, but that hasn't stopped him doing it behind my back... In the end, I started out with lots of 'rules', e.g. no cat on the table, but have ended up compromising-no cat on the table when there is food. Is your kitten getting enough play time? My cat was very boisterous when he was small and loved to play with toys and it helped tire him out! Re dog and cat, they will work it out eventually, although watch out for the eyes... maybe have a 'cat free' room where he can go to to get away from him? My cat lives with our (also small toy) dog and its funny how the tables turn-he started off bullying our puppy, stealing food, toys etc but now he is quite elderly and she is all grown up, she is quite bossy with him and we have to tell her quite firmly to leave him alone. So the hierarchies need to be worked out, and may shift with age. It's harder when it's the cat-but I do regret not being firmer with ours-him stealing her food ended up making her a bit possessive of her food around him. I think keeping meal times separate is smart going forward.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

so cute - so pretty you lucky thing, glad he gets on with the dog

 

[Nici]

You are not the cats owner, cats own you....is always quite an apt saying for cat owners! You are pretty much their private servant!

Ensure he has lots of environmental enrichment. Fun places to hide, climb up, scratching post, toys etc.
I have never been able to stop a cat from jumping on a table......... :/
Sometimes having 2 cats of similar age can help when they are young so they play with each other and tire each other out. However I had litter mates and this worked for about 1 year and they have hated each other ever since. Will you be letting him outside once castrated/chipped? Do be a bit careful with flicking water at him, I have known some cats to associate their owners with water guns etc and become very aggressive to the owners.

Generally keeping things out of reach that he shouldn't have is a good idea, especially whilst he is young and exploring.

This is a great website for lots of cat advice www.icatcare.org

Thank you! I will try the website again later, they seem to have some technical issues.
We haven't quite decided whether he will be an outdoor cat yet, even though he is already microchipped, but eventually I'm sure he will go out.
Oh, thank you for the advice about perhaps not squirting water!

To entertain him, I ordered most of his things from Zooplus:
he has a few toys filled with valerian (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/valerian/372162)
a toy duck suspended to the doorframe (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/miscellaneous/other_interactive_toys/185596)
and a figure of eight with a ball inside (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/miscellaneous/other_interactive_toys/571415), although his favourite are scrunched up pieces of paper which he sometimes chases and attacks for 20 minutes on end.
He also has a large scratching post (80 cm) and a smaller cardboard one strewn with catnip (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/sisal_scratch_toys/pads/101907).

Not much help but wow your kitty is beautiful!! Unfortunately I've never managed to train my cat not to do anything in 13 years... He knows when something is naughty-jumping on the table and chomping flowers-and will leap off if I march in, but that hasn't stopped him doing it behind my back... In the end, I started out with lots of 'rules', e.g. no cat on the table, but have ended up compromising-no cat on the table when there is food. Is your kitten getting enough play time? My cat was very boisterous when he was small and loved to play with toys and it helped tire him out! Re dog and cat, they will work it out eventually, although watch out for the eyes... maybe have a 'cat free' room where he can go to to get away from him? My cat lives with our (also small toy) dog and its funny how the tables turn-he started off bullying our puppy, stealing food, toys etc but now he is quite elderly and she is all grown up, she is quite bossy with him and we have to tell her quite firmly to leave him alone. So the hierarchies need to be worked out, and may shift with age. It's harder when it's the cat-but I do regret not being firmer with ours-him stealing her food ended up making her a bit possessive of her food around him. I think keeping meal times separate is smart going forward.

Thank you!
Good, the dog food will go on being served in his crate then. I wonder whether their hierarchy will invert eventually!
But you're quite right with the rules, I have also had to let go of a few, like "no cats in the bed", "no cats on the desk", hehehe. Now he sleeps under the cover with me and sits ON my notebooks and laptop, sometimes both at once.
The animals still get separated when I cannot watch them both, I suppose that fits in the "cat free" definition. I hope they will get along at some point, then I can leave them together when I go out.

 

[Nici]

so cute - so pretty you lucky thing, glad he gets on with the dog

Thank you! They are roughly the same size now. Eventually, the cat will be about 2 pounds heavier than the dog.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

What a beautiful cat!

Could it be that Cassius is too clever for me? Definitely!
Would anybody possibly give me some advice about cat ownership? Accept that you are now a slave to the cat's every need and whims.

We have a kitten too. I haven't shared it before as he did his best to die, so had to stay at the vet's on a drip. He's much better now and is home, so I should pop a photo on here tomorrow.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

What a beautiful cat!

We have a kitten too. I haven't shared it before as he did his best to die, so had to stay at the vet's on a drip. He's much better now and is home, so I should pop a photo on here tomorrow.

No!!! You must do it now. How dare you!

Lovely cat Nici.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

OK, I'll go and get a pic now.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I hope this works.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Gorgeous pussy cat! Love his tail rings.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

He's very, very, VERY naughty! LOL!

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Is he a Bengal? Kittens are supposed to be mischievous!

Is he an "up your curtains" type?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

An Ocicat.

He's not been up the curtains... yet. I'm not sure that the christmas tree will last long once we put it up though. If he wants to be picked up, he doesn't wait for you to reach down and get him, he just launches himself at you and then climbs up. He also leaps at you from above from the landing as you go down the stairs. *sigh* Poor Percy has been pounced on and wrestled with so much that I'm surprised that he hasn't left home, but he's actually been very tolerant. Kasper on the other hand has made it clear that he doesn't want to be pounced on and has said some rather rude things. I didn't even know that he knew such terrible swear words!

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Oooh, not seen one of those before. I assume that goes back to ocelot?

Our adopted Burmese at the field has a tendency to climb up your legs - it hurts!!!

Poor Kaspar, pesky kids eh?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I think they are Siamese x abyssinian. I love Burmese so much, but we decided to go for something different as our Burmese was such a special boy that we didn't want to 'replace' him if that makes sense?

Yep, it really hurts. Kitten claws are so sharp, I have bled a lot.

Kasper definitely thinks 'pesky kids' and rolls his eyes in disgust!

ETA - a better photo.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Makes perfect sense to me. I don't think special ones can ever be replaced.

I'd love a Bengal but don't think we're the right set up for one here. Our older cat has come back to her normal self after being a bit off the last year or so. Thought we were going to lose her at the end of July, she had a funny turn and I was very close to taking her to the vet to be PTS. Couple of hours later she was outside as right as rain.

Sorry for hi-jacking your post OP!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I'm glad that she is OK now. It's such a worry when there is something wrong. Cats are so stoic that you know it's bad when they show a problem.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

She visits the old lady down the road during the day so had become a bit distant from us. Rarely ventured further than the kitchen. She's now curled up by my feet on the sofa.

 

[Nici]

Makes perfect sense to me. I don't think special ones can ever be replaced.

I'd love a Bengal but don't think we're the right set up for one here. Our older cat has come back to her normal self after being a bit off the last year or so. Thought we were going to lose her at the end of July, she had a funny turn and I was very close to taking her to the vet to be PTS. Couple of hours later she was outside as right as rain.

Sorry for hi-jacking your post OP!

No problem! I love a good cat talk!
@Faracat, I also understand. In fact, we used to have a British Longhair (also grey) and my mum was so sad about his death that she specifically asked me not to get the same breed (same colour was fine .

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It's so nice that both of you understand, I don't feel quite so crazy now.

 

[Nici]

This is the British Longhair we used to have. He was so dignified that he hated my guts for brushing him and trimming his nails... :rolleyes3:

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

What a beautiful cat Nici. We used to have a long haired ordinary moggie who would rip you apart when attempting to groom her. Thick gardening gloves were essential. Heaven forbid trying to remove a matted bit, you got sworn at in many different languages. Those green fuzzy, sticky balls were dreadful things for her fur.

 

[Nici]

Those green fuzzy, sticky balls were dreadful things for her fur.

Oh, that they are!

 

[Nici]

What a beautiful cat!

This must be the sweetest gif on this website!

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Wow he’s gorgeous! Looks like he already rules the household .

Mine are only 20 months so I’ve just been going through the kitten / young cat stage. I find they both like to chew a lot.

They love a stuffed cat toy shark which they chew on and one loves to chew pieces of cardboard boxes or anything paper if I leave it lying around. They love the scratchy cardboard trays especially for cats and they’ve luckily not touched the furniture or anything nice.

They are both serial killers though and I think they must have decimated the local mouse population and a fair few birds as well. Last night I was woken up by one tossing a mouse up and down the hallway trilling in excitement. I really hate that part.

 

[LadySam]

Oh, Russians. I recently lost my adored Russian boy having been owned by him for almost 18 years.

Russians are so, so smart. They need mental stimulation and enrichment more than any other cat breed I've ever come across. Having a problem to solve is a good thing for them. The upside of that is that they are very trainable. When Pushkin was a kitten I trained him to jump up on things and jump down on command. This made it easy to teach him where he could and couldn't go and he stuck to that for the rest of his life. Never jumped on the kitchen bench unless he was quickly en route to the window, would get down from certain places when told. (Sometimes not without a discussion, but would still obey. 'Come on, down from there... BUT I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING... I don't care, come on, down you come... IT'S NOT FAIR' but he would come down. If it was my partner there would be a bit more attitude - 'Come on, get down... YOU'RE NOT MY REAL DAD!')

They love human company and develop very close bonds with their main humans. Take advantage while he's young and training is play to him. It will set him up well.

And now, because I feel I must... his final pic. A grand gentleman enjoying his morning meditation.

 

[9tails]

Kittens are naughty and playful, get used to it! I've also got a kitten, just 5 months old now and terrorising my older cats. She's getting plenty of stimulation, currently galloping around upstairs leaping on the beds and other sleeping cats. I also try "NO", the little squirt answers me back and continues her troublemaking. She'll eventually grow out of it.

 

[Nici]

Oh, Russians. I recently lost my adored Russian boy having been owned by him for almost 18 years.

Russians are so, so smart. They need mental stimulation and enrichment more than any other cat breed I've ever come across. Having a problem to solve is a good thing for them. The upside of that is that they are very trainable. When Pushkin was a kitten I trained him to jump up on things and jump down on command. This made it easy to teach him where he could and couldn't go and he stuck to that for the rest of his life. Never jumped on the kitchen bench unless he was quickly en route to the window, would get down from certain places when told. (Sometimes not without a discussion, but would still obey. 'Come on, down from there... BUT I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING... I don't care, come on, down you come... IT'S NOT FAIR' but he would come down. If it was my partner there would be a bit more attitude - 'Come on, get down... YOU'RE NOT MY REAL DAD!')

They love human company and develop very close bonds with their main humans. Take advantage while he's young and training is play to him. It will set him up well.

And now, because I feel I must... his final pic. A grand gentleman enjoying his morning meditation.

How funny! Our British Longhair was called Pushkin, too!
That’s such a lovely picture.
I’ve tried to make him sit when I set his food bowl down, and “hop” to get him to jump, but I don’t know if he accidentally sits after 2-3 minutes and jumps only because he wants to jump, but I’ve also heard that the breed is extra clever, so I remain hopeful!