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Tips for a new kitten owner

My friend found a cat from the street and she wasn’t able to take it in, so now I have her. She’s a very good girl and surprisingly, she’s taken to the litter box and scratching post very well. She’s very shy around humans so it takes a bit of coaxing if I want to pet her, and she doesn’t take to getting carried around very well. My parents and I are doing our best to get her used to human company and she’s improving a little each day. I’m pretty much spoiling her compared to the life she probably had on the street.

Problem is she has a bit of a cold and we want to improve her behavior/shyness factor around humans before taking her to the vet. She scratched my friend up really bad when she tried to pick her up, but we know she didn’t mean it - she’s just easily startled.

What can I do to make her learning process more tolerable? And what other tips might you have for me? She appears to be a little less than six months old. She uses her claws a lot and they get caught on the carpet and whatever she might touch, but I’m guessing she’ll learn when and when not to use them.

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Answer #1

Yes you need to take her to the vet before she scratches anyone else. First start with a combo test. If the is negtive then start her vaccines and do a stool check and let them check for earmites. you can not sees these to the naked eye. Once all this is done make appt to get her spayed. I don’t like getting cats declawed because you are removing the fist nuckle of the cat. We keep cats for 2 days after this surgery and pain meds is a must, the younger the better. If she does damage to your home and you can’t keep her because of this then I would rather you get her declawed or the best thing you can do is get her what is called Soft Paws. they are like press on nails and they come in all colors. Congrats on helping this little girl out, she does need to see a doctor and get a health check and her PRC and Rabies vaccines. But do combo test first. We just had two kittens come in lastnight and both were postive for ringworm, and we can get this from them, so you need to be safe with her before letting a lot of people handle her. Good Luck. what is her name?

Answer #2

Just give her time… mine took months before she got used to me… more than a year before she stopped hiding behind the couch, and years before she tolerated other people… and she only tolerates them, she still doesnt like any one else… she still doesnt like me picking her up… just give her a little time, and clip her nails (if you dont know how to do it, get the vet to). You need to take her to the vet ASAP if you havent already. You never know if she’s sick, she could have feline leukemia, she needs her shots and what not… dont worry about the vet, they deal with hostile cats all the time, but she needs to go in, really first thing you ever do with a new pet is take them to the vet…

Answer #3

Her name is Eva :)

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