When should I let my kitten roam around my room? (kittens, sleeping)
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I got a kitten 2 days ago, her name is Lucifer and the lady I got her from said she's about 6 weeks old, and that's she's already been weened off mom. She eats wet food just fine and she always has water. I work during the day so I put her in a box with litter, dry food and water. I keep her in the box through most of the night also. I'm scared to let her sleep on my bed with me incase she starts exploring and falls off my bed or gets hurt going around my room. Plus i have a big dog, catahoula/pit, Slater. He does really well with Lucifer to my surprise. He just sniffs her a lot. She constantly meows when in the box unless it's really quiet like no one's in the room. How do I get her to not roam around on my bed at night and just cuddle up to me? Help in general please. Any advice would be nice...
Okay, you have an infant kitten. 6 weeks old is about one month too young to have left her mother.
She is an infant. You aren't going to "get her" to do anything at this age, it is your job to take care of her, not keep her shut up in a box day and night, which is animal cruelty.
If you really want to learn how to raise a baby kitten, good. If you have no interest in learning and putting in the work involved (and there is a lot of work involved) please take her to a shelter or rescue right away.
First of all a kitten, especially at six weeks old, needs a lot of socialization. You cannot keep a kitten shut up in a box 16 hours a day. She needs to be free to move around, see things and she needs to be around people or other cats (her mother and litter mates of course but obviously the idiot who didn't spay her cat and dumped the kittens at too young an age doesn't give a darn about this baby).
Based on the little information you have given, it doesn't sound like your lifestyle is suitable for a kitten this young. If you really want a cat, my advice is to take the baby to a no kill shelter, and adopt an adult cat instead, one known to be okay with dogs. That is, if your dog is known to be okay with cats.
Last edited by catsmom21; 10-18-2015 at 10:07 AM..
I'm cleaning up my room and making it kitten safe. I let her roam when I'm home, and I have her in my dogs crate while I'm cleaning and she'll be able to roam around with no problems. She's doing well in the crate, plenty of visibling and room to walk around.
I'm cleaning up my room and making it kitten safe. I let her roam when I'm home, and I have her in my dogs crate while I'm cleaning and she'll be able to roam around with no problems. She's doing well in the crate, plenty of visibling and room to walk around.
Okay this sounds much better! A kitten proofed room for her to have full access to when you are not home, so she can play and run and jump and look out the window, and the whole house so she can be around you when you are, is much better.
It's great that you are feeding her canned food, but instead of leaving dry for her when you aren't home, I would suggest you get a timed feeder, so you can keep her on all canned even during the day. The feeder can be programmed to open at certain times during the day. Use it while you are home a few times first to make sure it works.
A large dog crate would not be so bad overnight, as long as it is near your bed where she can see you, and even possibly get close to you, through the bars, while you are sleeping. It would be okay for a little while, but I wouldn't use it for too long, you want her to learn to sleep with you and she can't learn that if she is crated.
She meows because she is a baby and needs company.
I wish you'd change her name though. Names are important and naming a kitten after something evil is just....well not a positive thing, you know? Kittens are precious and innocent.
Another suggestion Leave a radio playing softly in her room when you are gone during the day. Make sure she has a cozy bed, a Box Fort and something to climb and scratch on.
I got a kitten 2 days ago, her name is Lucifer and the lady I got her from said she's about 6 weeks old, and that's she's already been weened off mom. She eats wet food just fine and she always has water. I work during the day so I put her in a box with litter, dry food and water. I keep her in the box through most of the night also. I'm scared to let her sleep on my bed with me incase she starts exploring and falls off my bed or gets hurt going around my room. Plus i have a big dog, catahoula/pit, Slater. He does really well with Lucifer to my surprise. He just sniffs her a lot. She constantly meows when in the box unless it's really quiet like no one's in the room. How do I get her to not roam around on my bed at night and just cuddle up to me? Help in general please. Any advice would be nice...
Stop putting her in the box overnight, and let her get in bed with you if she wants to. She's old enough to handle a tumble or 2, though I doubt that would happen much, if at all. She's crying at night because she needs the comfort of the companionship she was deprived of when separated from mom & siblings. Besides you're denying yourself one of the joys of raising a kitten.... being purred to sleep.
Do a little 'kitten proofing' around your house, and keep the confinement to a minimum. She needs to free to learn and develop as a normal kitten. Long periods of confinement can & will have a negative effect on a cats social skills.
And yes, please change her name.
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