2. What to expect from a kitten
First and foremost, you should expect a lot of good emotions, as it is impossible to avoid this with a kitten! However, there is more to think about:
- quiet times are over. Kittens are like nuclear furballs, they run around at a crazy speed and their playground is measured in 3 dimensions at least. The mayhem takes place every couple of hours, day and night. Oh, a favorite playground might actually be your bed.
- a kitten will demand a lot of attention and a lot of play time. A bored kitten is walking trouble, as it will find something entertaining sooner or later. That “entertainment” can be anything from your shoelaces to keys, from a TV cable to chewing on your last payslip.
- your curtains are no longer safe, especially if they are soft and have a net-like texture; the same can be said about your furniture.
- with a kitten in the house most probably you would have to forget the concept of closed doors; due to their curiosity kittens tend to attempt opening them, which may result in scratched door frame or loud meowing when that is not successful.
- due to lack of experience in life kittens are more likely to get all sorts of small injuries, so you would always have to watch their back; risk of swallowing something inappropriate for feline stomach is especially high (string, pieces of foil, paper, small plastic pieces), and can become fatal.
- having a kitten usually means that not all things would be found again where you left them, and some will not be found at all. This is especially true with smaller movable items, such as pens, paperclips, jewelry, etc.
- welcoming a kitten in your house usually equals a couple of broken cups, vases and possibly a flower pot on the ground. Other decorations can suffer as well.
- kittens usually fall asleep anywhere where they suddenly feel tired, so you would have to watch out when starting a dishwasher or a washing machine, as well as closing drawers and doors of your wardrobe.
- kittens tend to have small “toilet accidents” from time to time, especially if they are under stress as they have just arrived at their new home and are not yet entirely sure how to find a litter box.
- a kitten might not be properly house trained; that is, you might have to educate the small one yourself. This includes using the litter box and scratching only the dedicated post/tree, not stealing food from the kitchen when you are not looking, and so on.
- you might have to cover your furniture, as such pieces as leather sofas and tiny sharp claws is not a good combination at all (even if a cat does not occasionally use it as a scratching post, the marks might get their from just running around or moving paws while purring; the more delicate the leather is, the more chance to have it covered with tiny holes).
You can’t be angry with that little furball, can you?
Of course, all of the above might not come in a form of one small furball, but the risk of experiencing at least 5 things mentioned above is very high. It’s like watching a child grow and become a teenager, and then finally an adult, but if that is not what you are looking for, getting an adult cat straight away might be an option.