I AM GETTING MY FIRST KITTY TODAY!!!! ANY TIPS??

Montana's advice is good - and also if you need to leave the kitten for a long time when you first have it then I would limit it to just one room while you are out - with litter tray and food and bed available. Cuts the risk of 'accidents' and means you know just where it is.

Good luck

Well thank you all for the advice, unfortunately I am allowed only one cat where I live (I was lucky to get approval for one from my landord, even though my upstairs neighbors have 5!! and they told the landord they only had one, the landlord found out they had five and didn't kick them out or nothing, just let them keep them!!)

ANYWHO, I have had the kitten (cinder) since Friday! The first two nights he kept us up most of the night by jumping around, but last night he slept on the bed with us all night and didn't make a peep! Today is the first day I have left him home by himself and he starting crying (meowing) when we were leaving and I felt so bad.

Then again he cries if we leave him alone in any room, he follows me everywhere (he is so cute)

I have been feeding him wet food because he won't eat dry food!

again thanks everyone!!

ahhh, I'm sure he's fine at home.

Take care!

I know he will be, thank you... butI really wish I could have taken his brother with me!!!

Crazielady -- I once had a kitten that didn't like dry food. My vet explained that dry food is much better for kittens than wet food. It strengthens their new little teeth and it prevents the "kitten diarrhea" problem that so many go through.

The vet suggested I try this...and it worked.

Put some dry food in a strainer and run a little hot water over it until it gets soft. Then put it in his bowl. It will get him used to the taste. Then gradually start giving it to him a little dryer, then a little dryer, then finally completely dry. Be sure to buy KITTEN food...kittens need different nourishment from cats.

we scattered a bit of dry food over the wet food - our cats have always had dry food as well to help their teeth. that way the kitten doesn't have to try it from a separate dish and may come to like it.

Un huh! The yard cats at work subsist on dry food from the day they are old enough to eat. I tried canned stuff on last year's kittens. They must have thought I was trying to poison them.

When my mom got Gus-the-Bus (her adorable kitty), he didn't want to eat dry food either. Unfortunately, he gets smelly (from both ends) when he eats too much wet food. We got this idea from our vet.

Don't give the kitty an entire can of wet food at a time- some in the morning, and some in the evening, but always have a bowl of kitten chow and water available. If Kitty gets hungry in between wet food, then he can exercise his jaw (and clean teeth) with the dry food. We edited this advice a little, since I had ferrets at the time, and added a little Ferretone (essentially fish oil) to the dry food. It made it a little more moist and Gus liked the taste better. Eventually, Mom cut out the Ferretone entirely.

Another thing to consider is if your kitten is a picky eater. That sounds spoiled and kinda stupid, but I've had cats that'd rather go hungry than eat some flavors of cat food, especially fish. Just something to consider-- although with a kitten that shouldn't be such an issue.

Have fun!!!

Seattle you said you also have a ferret(s).. I am considering get a ferret also to give my kitten, Cinder, a friend to play with....Any suggestions? Do they get along? Thanks!!

The ferret will probably love playing with your cat, the question is more if Cinder will love the ferret. Often we'd come home to find him sitting by the ferret cage watching them. It seemed to be his favorite pastime.
While he loved to watch them, Gus didn't like to play with the Fuzzies (our nick-name for the 3 ferrets). I think they played a little rough for him, since our 3 liked to rough-house and Gus is a little staid. He's a "people-watcher". They liked him, and when I had them out to play, they'd happily investigate, "dook", and ferret dance, but he didn't enjoy their antics and always moved to watch from a distance.

When 2 of our ferrets died within 24 hours of each other, Gus sat by the cage for the next week and he and Pepper (the remaining jill) just watched each other. When Pepper died 6 months later, Gus would still sit watching the cage. Despite not wanting to play with them, they kept each other company. Gus hasn't really been as social since the Fuzzies died. We adopted another kitten, but he didn't take to her like he did the ferrets.

This is getting a little long. My advice: it depends on your cat. Gus loved watching the ferrets- not playing, but I had a friend who's cat and ferret got along fabulously. If you are looking to get a ferret, they require a lot of attention and are a large time commitment, but the odds of your kitten and the ferret getting along would be increased if you do it now when both are young.

bear your funny... my 3kittins are at the age of gettin fixed and funny things that they are bother and sister so they chase their sister around the house tryin to hump her.... and tis best to get em fix my 6moths old if female if male at 3 1/2 months...

What's the general concensus on wet vs dry food to y'all? I'm a fan of dry but he's not a kitten anymore -- he's like 4...

Nancy, our two cats are also around 4 years old. We always keep some dry food in their bowls. In the evening, they get a small can of wet food. That works very well for them.

They both drink a lot of water which is very important.

I've heard a great way to clean your toilet bowls is to put a little soap in the bowl, place your kitty in the bowl, then close the lid. Wait about 30 seconds, then -- and this is really important -- carefully raise the lid and be sure to get out of the way. Voila!

My 3 year old orange tabby eat's both dry 7 wet food. I started the wet when he was sick in dec. just to get him to take his med..now he beg's for it.

I'll give you a tip. Keep your cat in the house. They are non-native killers of local wildlife, and many people shoot stray cats for that reason.