Cat Maintenance

No. Newborn kittens do not have venom in their claws.

There are a number of real and unreal reasons for people to believe that kittens have venom in their claws:

* Some people are allergic to cats and may have associated the claw touch with the reaction.

* Claws come into contact with a number of things (including the litter box) - a scratch may get infected as a result and seem like "poison."

* Some parents don't want their younger children to play with the kittens, so they tell them that their claws have venom to keep them away.

comb

brush

scissors

nail clippers

hair gel

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There are many human foods that are toxic to a cat:

Chocolate - Can affect the heart and nervous system causing excitement / nervousness / trembling, vomiting / diarrhoea, seizures, muscle spasms, coma and death.

Caffeine - Can affect the heart and nervous system and causes the same or similar symptoms as chocolate.

Alcohol - Giving a cat alcohol repeatedly (or a lot of) will cause liver damage, breathing difficulties, coma and even death.

Garlic (any form) - Can damage red blood cells and lead to anemia.

Onion (any form) - Can damage red blood cells and lead to anemia. Onions are more toxic than garlic.

Tomatoes (all aspects of the fruit and plant) - Can cause the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems, but mostly causes severe digestive upset.

Potatoes (Raw and plant) - Can cause the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems, but mostly causes severe digestive upset.

Mushrooms - Some species of mushroom are highly dangerous as the can cause shock and even death.

Grapes and Raisins - It is unknown why these are toxic, but even a tiny amount can severely damage the kidneys.

Macadamia Nuts - Can cause gastrointestinal upsets, lethargy, vomiting and muscle tremors or stiffness.

Foods that are potentially harmful:

Liver (in large amounts) - A small bit of raw liver on occasion is very beneficial to a cat.

COOKED bones and fish bones (including raw and cooked) - Cooked bones are very hard and brittle and will splinter which can cause obstruction or laceration in the digestive system. Raw bones are much safer as they are soft and do not splinter.

Dog Food - Dog food is vastly different to cat food so doesn't have the added Vitamins and Fatty Acids cats need, such as Taurine.

Foods high in Salt and Sugar - Too much of both can harm your cat's health (sugar can cause obesity and diabetes and salt will cause a chemical imbalance, as well as dehydration).

Milk - Cow's milk, despite popular belief, is not tolerated by many cats as many are lactose intolerant. An adult cat gets no nutrition from any sort of milk, but specially formulated cat or kitten milk can be used as an occasional treat.

It could be the kitten is getting enough water from his food.

Cats are notoriously bad drinkers, even when they are thirsty. This is because they have evolved to get all their needed moisture from their prey (their ancestors were cats that lived in very dry and arid environments where water was hard to come by). It is a trait that has been passed down over the thousands of years.

There are several things you can do to increase how much water your kitten is intaking. By far the easiest option is to feed a wet food diet. Canned or pouched food has anywhere between 60 to 80% water. Seeing as in the wild a cat's prey is around 70% water, wet food provides a cat with more than enough water each day.

If you feed dry food, it may be ideal to and incorporate at least some wet food into the cat's diet each day, so your kitten gets at least some water.

Another way to increase water intake is to leave a tap on, or purchase a pet water fountain. Many cats are fickle when it comes to water and will only drink fresh moving water. A running tap or fountain keeps water constantly moving and fresh, and both methods are very successful in enticing a cat to drink more water.

If your kitten is male, it is especially vital to make sure he is thoroughly hydrated. Male cats are much more susceptible to urinary tract infections (UTI's) which is often caused by not enough water over a period of time.

no, human medicines are not okay for animals.

horsefreak, you are completely ignorant. yes, you can give benedryl to cats or dogs. a compounding pharmacy will even flavor it like fish, chicken, etc. pls contact your veterinarian instead of consulting these boards.

Launder the bag with a product like Oxyclean.

There are also several urine-removal products for sale in the grocery store - look in the pet food aisle, usually located near the dog shampoos.

yes indeed they respect there owners! snuggling with a cat can releave stress and form a bond. cats love human attention and love there owners. i have two cats and enjoy them. just show cats love and they will love you back!

no because it gives them a illness a callled "Synarothies"

You could take them to a good vet who will take in litters and see to it that the kittens are healthy and try to find homes for them. My vet does this, but not all vets do. You could also try to find homes for the kittens. Put posters up that say 'free kittens to good homes.' There are also Animal Shelters. I would either keep the kittens, sell them, or give them away.

Giving a kitten a bath is never easy, but here is a method that works well for me. First of all, never have the water running when the cat is in the room. That will only scare the cat more. Have a bucket/tub/sink full of water before you bring the cat in. Dunk the cat in the water (but don't put his or her head under water) and rub him/her with cat shampoo. Rinse him/her in another bucket full of water. Immediately after the bath, wrap your kitten in a towel that has been warming in the clothes dryer.

because cats are clean animals. and they don't take showers or baths so when they clean themselves they do it good so they won't have to again for a while.

Cirumstantial evidence, but I think a skunk did eat two of our kittens. Our kittens were in a wooden cat house with the entrance about a foot back from our back wall, entrance facing the wall. Last night when it was getting dark I saw a skunk walking away from the house area. This morning I found the skeletal remains of two of the kittens at the door of the cat house--only skulls and fur left.

Hello-

Yes, they will eat them if they can get them. I just lost two kittens to a skunk before we were able to save the rest.

Well it depends on allot. Do you have children, if so I wouldn't recommend it because you don't know the temperament of the stray animal, what it's history is, whether it is sick or if it will bite, scratch or if it'skid freindly. I honestly would call the local humane society, who knows they may find a home for them.Just remember if you should start to feed s stray, they will beback for more. You may not mind the company, just be leery of a stray, stay safe.

All healthy kittens have tons of energy, and are constantly running and jumping around the house. So, yes, an 8 week-old Siamese kitten should be active. Any kitten of any breed should be active.

My Kitten weighs about 600-700 grams!

its about the size of a mouse (adult mouse) maybe 2 1/2 inches (including the tail) they are very small and fragile, so be careful!! if i was helpful to you, please recommend me!! :D that would be great!!!

Do not feed them as much as they will eat, this puts them at risk for over eating which can cause the formula to go into their lungs and they can die. There are directions on the back of kitten formula cans: Feed 1 oz per 4 oz of body weight.

Flea baths for cats are only necessary if fleas are present. If fleas are present, flea products should be used according to the label.

No, but it might give you a few good scratches. I have bathed cats before but usually it is not necessary, because cats are very clean animals usually and will lick themselves clean. But if the cat has gotten in grease or some other substance that could harm it, it will need a bath. Use warm (NOT hot or cold) water and a mild soap such as a cat shampoo or baby shampoo. Do not use dishwashing liquid or adult human shampoo, as these are too harsh for the cat's skin.

Its not bad for cats i know that. i give my cat baths because she gets very muddy and dirty when she goes out so i like to keep her clean plus it helps with preventing fleas ,What my cat will do is she will jump out of the tub so NO some CATS don't like to be bathed.

Yes they urinate and defecate just like big kittie. The mother clean them and this causes them to use the bathroom. The mother kittie then cleans that mess up.

Head lice are tiny insects that somewhat resemble fleas. If you want to see what they look like, you can search on any search engine which has an image search feature. Go there, click images, then type in "head lice" and you will see various images of head lice itself as well as nits that are eggs of head lice.

If it licks it all away from where it needs to be, this can be a problem. I had a cat with a long-term wound which got better soon after switching to another ointment, which tasted bad (unlike the ones it had been on). So if this sounds like your cat, ask your vet if they can prescribe a bad-tasting ointment instead.

You can pick them up. But I would just leave them alone.

Do not pick any of them up or bother to try to pet/touch them. Chances are, the mother will get angry and fight.

Technically, no. They must first be weaned which takes about 6 weeks to do. Once they are weaned, you can take them away from their mother but you will need to put it on a newborn kitten milk formula, which you can get from your local pet store. You can also find out more at a pet store and they will show you what to do. The first answer on here is sort of wrong. You can touch the kittens, the mother won't reject them if you do. But I would advise that you should not touch or hold the kittens until the mother has kind of wound down with them.