Adopting a kitten - advice needed

Best to adopt two together. All advice given so far is good but Cats Protection best ones to sort problems. So good to Adopt not shop too! Had my latest lovely boy for about 18 months & he is still settling as I am his 3rd Cat Parent! Hard for him poor boy but he is a much loved older indoor boy so no problems of him getting lost, stolen or run over. At my age if I outlive him he will be my last cat so I make a big fuss over him so start gently getting your new one used to being touched then played with. Best of luck with her!

Definitely get 2 similar age cats if you can. We're currently have 4 cats (numbers 6,7,8 and 9,) but only one of them was chosen by us, the other 8 wandered into our lives at various points and adopted us !

If her mum is feral she may be shy for quite a while. I had a farm kitten who hid for a few months and only came out to eat when I was not in the room. He eventually was a great pet.

Our rescue cat took a very long time to settle, we couldn't get near her ! It took months. Had her 6 years now and she is adorable and affectionate! You will need to let her go at her own pace . We changed our cats name- no problem. She sleeps in the utility room in her cosy bed - off the floor. Her litter tray is in the same room but well away ftom her food and bed - it's quite a big room.
If she is outside during the evening I call her in , it can take 10 minutes sometimes but she always comes! Summer evenings are a different story, she sometimes refuses to come in.
We have never had any aggression from
her. Good luck and enjoy your new friend.

I've just had the home visit on FaceTime. Apparently she's four months old, not seven. The reason I said I won't fuss is because she's very shy. Apparently her mother was what they call a 'working cat' - in other words from a farm or stables, with very little human contact, hence the shyness. But they hope that because she's so young she will come to like and trust people. Her poor mother was just a year old - so young to have kittens, poor thing!

I've searched the house and can't find the old litter tray, so I'll have to hit the shops. The lady on FaceTime was very helpful and reassuring, so fingers crossed she'll be happy with us. We've decided where to put her at the beginning, in a small bedroom, to give her time to find her paws.

And I think we've settled on the new name.

I'm getting excited now! Wish me luck.

Any chances you could adopt another one same age?

They would keep each other company and would play together a lot

That is the standard advice in the US.

Worked very well for us

Where did that U come from?! 🙄

Changing the kitten’s name shouldn’t be a problem. Our little rescue cat had had three different names by the time she adopted us. I’ve always trained my cats to answer to a gentle hand bell. It makes it easier to get them in at night! U

The litter tray should be kept separate from her food/water dishes. Not sure why you say you won't fuss her until she comes to ask for it. I'd leave her to find her bearings for the first few days but afterwards I'd handle her as much as possible. We have a cat flap that is operated by the cat's chip which means that only our cats can access it. We close it at night and our cats aren't allowed out until morning to ensure their safety. Good luck with your new baby!

I’m great believer in dap diffusers when I get a new pet. Feliway for cats. Not sure that they work but I always get one. A mistake I made with a cat years ago that I had problems with toilet training was that I put her litter tray in the downstairs toilet but also put her food bowl there too to stop the dog stealing her food. I’d personally keep her inside for as long as possible but then I’m a terrible worrier. I’m reading Sophie from Romania at the moment and they changed her name. I remember when I did have cats I used to shake their munchies box to bring them in from outside ( although not a good idea to create sudden noises with a rescue cat, at least for a while).And I used to feed them late afternoon so they would get used to being at home before it got dark.

Call your kitten whatever you like, it will get used to its name.
If you have a utility room keep your litter tray there, if not how about a downstairs loo? We used to keep the litter tray there, the kind with a hooded type lid.

I also recommend Cats Protection for advice. We adopted 2 kittens from there and they have so much practical advice. We changed our kittens names after adopting them and they seemed to cope

Have a look at the cats protection site

It will answer everything you need to know😊

I found it invaluable and you can always contact them for advice.