This post is the final part of a series named Here For The Kittens
and is in collaboration with Cats Protection, the UK’s largest feline welfare
charity…
You can find all the links for their social media here: Cats Protection’s LinkTr.ee
You can find the first post of
this series here: http://www.imnotdisordered.co.uk/2023/05/hereforthekittens-series-intro-managing.html
The second post is here: http://www.imnotdisordered.co.uk/2023/05/hereforthekittens-week-one-all-emotions.html
The third post here: http://www.imnotdisordered.co.uk/2023/06/hereforthekittens-week-two-unseen-baby.html
And the Fourth is here: http://www.imnotdisordered.co.uk/2023/06/hereforthekittens-penultimate-post-week.html
I feel like this past month has been an absolute whirlwind and I know people say it a lot, but I honestly can’t believe how fast the time has gone! Perhaps that saying about ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ is true? I feel like it was ages ago that I paid the deposit for Ruby and that the time between then and getting her went so slowly but now I have her; everything seems to be whizzing by! It’s a notion though, that has made me even more determined to enjoy her being a kitten! And so, I’m really grateful to Cats Protection for helping with this collaboration – I don’t know that I would have been able to document my first month with Ruby so well if this series hadn’t happened! So, a massive thank you to their Relationships Manager and the whole Media Team! Now, for the series finale, I’ll be sharing my top tips to looking after a kitten (learnt over the past month with Ruby), as well as a letter to her, and my favourite videos, photos, and moments with Ruby across this past month (and yes, it was incredibly difficult to choose those!) …
Don’t be
concerned or disheartened if the general advice you’re given doesn’t work for
your kitten – they’re all individuals and sometimes you need to just adapt to
them and their little personality quirks!
Firstly, a
bit of a disclaimer; I wrote ‘general advice’ because I wanted to make it clear
that I’m not referring to medical advice from your kitten’s Vet – because if
that isn’t working then you absolutely need to be concerned! Although, I will
say that when my last cat, Emmy, first became poorly with big sores on her face,
her Vets weren’t really taking it seriously and I felt really dismissed because
I was absolutely 100% convinced that something was genuinely wrong. So, I ended
up taking her to a completely different Veterinary Practice who almost
immediately and thankfully, completely validated me and prescribed medication
for her with the recognition that if I had trusted that original Vet, she could
have lost her eye as one of the sores was right next to it! This scary fact
left me feeling really reassured that I had done the right thing and it made me
feel even more confident that when it comes to my pets, my intuition is pretty
much spot on!
Emmy also wasn’t
litter trained and so the Vet, a Behaviour Therapist, and numerous websites(!),
gave me advice varying from putting her litter tray where she was having all of
her accidents, to using soil in the tray instead of cat litter because she was
found on the streets we wondered if she’d grown used to going to the toilet whilst
on that sort of texture! But even that; did nothing to change things! And
initially, yes; I did have all those thoughts and feelings around the notion
that these tips not working, meant that I’d gotten a bit of a ‘dud’ of a cat!
Well, I swayed between that and considering myself to be a bit inadequate and
useless because I wondered whether I was doing something wrong.
A key
example of this (advice not working) over the past month with Ruby; is actually
also to do with her poor toileting habits and apparent confusion in the idea
that she should use the litter tray every single time she has to go! In this
instance with Ruby though, I’ve found myself being much more positive and
patient with her; and in all honesty, I think that this is largely because I’m
in a very different place with my mental health. I mean, in February I had the
largest relapse in nine years, and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act
and admitted to a psychiatric hospital; and it was actually very much the worst
hospital I’ve ever been in. With the staff treating me so poorly and making so
many mistakes, I developed the opinion that yes, in the very short-term it was
lifesaving, but ultimately; it didn’t help and that meant that even after being
discharged, both my mental health and my safety levels were still incredibly low.
But I developed the conviction that getting Ruby would help all of that and she
really has (I haven’t self-harmed at all since getting her four weeks ago and
that’s the longest amount of time since February)!
My two
previous cats – Emmy and Dolly – definitely helped my mental health too… It
just feels different with Ruby – I think that this difference is because I’m
more grateful for that improvement. Having experienced that terrible admission –
maybe it did help in a way(!) because it made me more appreciative of my home
comforts and more driven to never have to go back there! And so, in the grand
scheme of things, Ruby having the odd toileting accident? Well, it just doesn’t
leave me frustrated or upset, because I would rather, she be here and me have
to clean up poop than me not have her!
Cats
Protection have an enormous section on their website full of advice and tips on
different things to do if other recommendations aren’t working for your cat:
Help and Advice
| Expert Cat Care Guides | Cats Protection
Don’t be surprised if you find
yourself having to do/buy something you hadn’t thought of, because it’s not
realistic to believe you’re 100% prepared for getting a kitten!
No matter
how much research you do – which I would definitely still advise you to(!) –
before getting a kitten, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be completely
prepared for everything that could happen or even everything that your cat
might need.
We all know
the basics: food and water bowls, a scratch post, and a litter tray. And yes, a
lot of people will buy toys too, but the lesson there for me, was that it’s a
better idea to buy several completely different toys e.g., one that moves, one
that makes noise, one with feathers, one with a bell, a ball, one on a wand
stick… The variety will enable you to discover which your kitten likes best so
that you know which type to look for if you go shopping for more. And vice
versa! In that, if your kitten seems terrified or put off by the sound of a
bell on their toy, then you’ll know what to avoid. This is important because,
as a kitten, they’re likely more playful than an older cat and whilst exercise
is especially important no matter what the age, kittens have a massive – and completely
correct! – reputation for being curious and boisterous. And playing, will actually
teach them different skills too, for example, when I first played with a wand
toy with Ruby, she would leap in the air and land on her back to the point
where I was convinced, she was going to break something! But in the past week
or so, I’ve noticed that when she jumps to those heights, she lands on all four
paws now. She’s also mastering the act of sneaking up on something, wiggling
her bum, and pouncing – when I first got her, she would just run over and jump!
Cats
Protection have several articles on play for kittens that you might find
useful:
Cats
and Play - Cat Behaviour Advice | Cats Protection
How
to play with a cat – fun games to play with them (cats.org.uk)
Behaviour
focus: inappropriate play (cats.org.uk)
‘Why
does my cat want to play at bedtime?' | Behaviour FAQs (cats.org.uk)
Kitten
Academy: Learning through play (cats.org.uk)
___________________________________________
Favourite Photo
Favourite Video/Reel
Don’t forget that after I purchased this Hello World sign: £5.99 from Phoenix Cove – to celebrate this series, the Etsy
store have offered you lovely readers an exclusive discount code for 10% (now
only valid until midnight to mark the end of the series!) off their incredible
products, just type in: HEREFORTHEKITTENS10 at the checkout! Also,
you should go follow them on Instagram: Personalised Gifts, Decor, Wood Signs & More!
(@phoenixcove.co) | Instagram