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From: welsch@houxu.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.pets
Subject: Re: Training a kitten
Message-ID: <193@houxu.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Aug-83 21:33:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: houxu.193
Posted: Mon Aug 29 21:33:50 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 30-Aug-83 20:26:57 EDT
References: <385@5941ux.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 62

It sounds to me that your cat is already well trained. The only
problem you will have is keeping her trained. To do that always
keep fresh litter available. Friends of mine who have not
followed this simple rule have had problems. After all would you
want to use a toilet that hadn't been flushed for a week. Well
cats don't like it either. It is much more difficult to retrain
a cat than to keep her trained.

Do not worry about her using the outside. I have found that all
of my cats prefer the great out doors. One month is definitely a
bit young for her to go outside alone. I recommend that you wait
until after she has had her rabies shot and has been altered
before you let her run free.   My outside cats have even
tried going out in the middle of snowstorms to take care of
nature, only to discover how miserable the weather is and return
to the warm litter box.

If she is to be an outside cat then DO NOT GET HER DECLAWED. Her
ability to climb trees and use her claws for self defense are
critical. You will undoubtedly have scratched up furniture. I
have learned to live with it. If you cannot then I recommend
that you train her to stay in rooms that do not have furniture
you care about. This can be done by placing barriers and gently,
though, firmly removing her from rooms she doesn't belong in.
It takes great patience since cats are naturally curious, but
once she discovers the great out doors the house will loose
interest and the training will pay off.

At one month old she needs a lot of love and attention. Be
certain to give it to her. She has just been taken from her
family and needs affection. As she grows older she will require
less attention.

A few more notes.  Take her to a vet. for a general check up.
When I picked up my last kitty from a house that was worth a
quarter of a million dollars, she had both ear mites and worms.
The vet. said she was born with the mites.

Also, if she is to be an out side cat about once a week while
you are petting her check her ears for mites and her fur for
scratches and fleas.  The scratches should be sterilized.  The
fleas should be gotten rid of outside with a mild flea powder.
If you don't sterilize her scratches she could develop
abscesses.  The fleas if not caught quickly will infest your
house.  It is generally more expensive to have an out side cat,
but I think cats prefer the great out doors.

One final note.  Cats do catch little animals, ie. mice, rats,
birds, squirrels.  They love to display their catches, so don't
be surprised if you find a dead mouse on your porch.  Be certain
to praise her for her trophies.  It is her nature, also if it
wasn't dead it might be alive and in your house.  I always found
cleaning up the trophies more of a pain than cleaning up the
litter.  I had one cat that used bring back 5 or 6 dead rats a
night.  The neighbors could not believe how infested the
neighborhood was.

						A Cat Lover

						Larry Welsch
						houxu!welsch