maherwoman
Well-Known Member
Hi! 
I've had cats for over 20 years (and about as many cats...at one time we had about 15 living on our front porch), and can tell ya...
It'll be just fine. The suggestions to put a top on Butter's cage and keep the kitten's claws trimmed are perfect. Depending on the age of the kitty, even the small-sized softclaws might not fit right, so you may need to just trim them for a while first.
We used softclaws on our cats, but found that their claws just don't really uniformly fall off (as in, not all at the same time), and we had an issue with one getting stuck on Hobbes' claw so that it'd grown out quite a lot (enough so that it was making walking difficult for him), but the cap wasn't coming off, so I had to cut it off. I'm still not sure what happened for that to occur (as it was obviously not glued to the cuticle), but we haven't used them since.
You can trim the kitty's claws using a plain ol' toenail cutter (that's what I've always used), and you'll need to check his/her claws weekly to be sure she's not sharpened them again (you'll notice an increased desire to do so), but it's so much easier than trying to get a kitty to lay still while you're supergluing on a cap (especially if this is your first kitty). Here's a good site that gives instructions on trimming kitty's claws: http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm
If you get this kitty, I also HIGHLY recommend checking out a GREAT kitty site, www.thecatsite.com and if/when you sign up, can you mention my name? (I'm maherwoman there, too.) It's not as information-packed as this one, but there are tons of great people that are more-than-willing to help others out with kitty issues, and it would be a great place to ask questions in researching before getting a kitty.
Fair warning: there might be some people in that forum that would advise against doing as such (getting a kitten with a bun), but don't worry...just be sure to introduce the kitty and Butter SLOWLY and GRADUALLY and keep an eye out for the kitty not listening to Butter's signals to leave him alone (which is quite frequent an occurance with kittens).
Something to keep in mind: while a kitty WOULD more-than-likely kill an outdoor, wild bun, that same kitty won't attack a bun that's part of the family. So, don't worry...it'll work out fine. They have the ability to identify and have respect for family. The only thing you have to worry about is the kitty's natural defense when they get startled (reason for the top, in case Kitty happens to get in and feels trapped), and depending on the kitty's age, them getting carried away with play (thus the reason for trimming the claws and keeping an eye on them). I wouldn't leave them out together unsupervised at all (mine are extremely well trained, and I still have a hard time going to the bathroom with one of the girls out, even though I know both my kitties pretty much just avoid the buns...just because accidents happen and kitties get startled sometimes...so I just plain wouldn't recommend it at all).
Something that would be helpful for me to give you more refined advice: how old will the kitty be?
If you ever need kitty advice, feel free to drop me a line, ok?
Hugs!
Rosie*
I've had cats for over 20 years (and about as many cats...at one time we had about 15 living on our front porch), and can tell ya...
It'll be just fine. The suggestions to put a top on Butter's cage and keep the kitten's claws trimmed are perfect. Depending on the age of the kitty, even the small-sized softclaws might not fit right, so you may need to just trim them for a while first.
We used softclaws on our cats, but found that their claws just don't really uniformly fall off (as in, not all at the same time), and we had an issue with one getting stuck on Hobbes' claw so that it'd grown out quite a lot (enough so that it was making walking difficult for him), but the cap wasn't coming off, so I had to cut it off. I'm still not sure what happened for that to occur (as it was obviously not glued to the cuticle), but we haven't used them since.
You can trim the kitty's claws using a plain ol' toenail cutter (that's what I've always used), and you'll need to check his/her claws weekly to be sure she's not sharpened them again (you'll notice an increased desire to do so), but it's so much easier than trying to get a kitty to lay still while you're supergluing on a cap (especially if this is your first kitty). Here's a good site that gives instructions on trimming kitty's claws: http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm
If you get this kitty, I also HIGHLY recommend checking out a GREAT kitty site, www.thecatsite.com and if/when you sign up, can you mention my name?
(I'm maherwoman there, too.) It's not as information-packed as this one, but there are tons of great people that are more-than-willing to help others out with kitty issues, and it would be a great place to ask questions in researching before getting a kitty.Fair warning: there might be some people in that forum that would advise against doing as such (getting a kitten with a bun), but don't worry...just be sure to introduce the kitty and Butter SLOWLY and GRADUALLY and keep an eye out for the kitty not listening to Butter's signals to leave him alone (which is quite frequent an occurance with kittens).
Something to keep in mind: while a kitty WOULD more-than-likely kill an outdoor, wild bun, that same kitty won't attack a bun that's part of the family. So, don't worry...it'll work out fine. They have the ability to identify and have respect for family. The only thing you have to worry about is the kitty's natural defense when they get startled (reason for the top, in case Kitty happens to get in and feels trapped), and depending on the kitty's age, them getting carried away with play (thus the reason for trimming the claws and keeping an eye on them). I wouldn't leave them out together unsupervised at all (mine are extremely well trained, and I still have a hard time going to the bathroom with one of the girls out, even though I know both my kitties pretty much just avoid the buns...just because accidents happen and kitties get startled sometimes...so I just plain wouldn't recommend it at all).
Something that would be helpful for me to give you more refined advice: how old will the kitty be?
If you ever need kitty advice, feel free to drop me a line, ok?
Hugs!
Rosie*
