Don’t ever ever give in to your cat’s request to be let out in the wee hours. Just wear ear plugs for a week until she gives up. Once you give in, it will happen every night for the rest of your life.

Start playing with your kitties’ paws right away. You’ll need to trim their nails and you want them to be used to fiddling with their paws.

Learn to speak Mama-Cat, that is, learn a guttural hiss. On a few occasions in kitty’s life you will need to exert your authority. Nail-trimming in the first year is one of these. When kitty gets squirmmy, hiss at them. After the first year of trimming they pretty much resign themselves to it and after many years it is a non-event.

Our kitties are 2 yrs old this year, and I can do one kitty in one sitting and the other one, one paw per session. I insist on finishing the paw I am on before releasing them.

Anyway, if you start playing with their paws now, pressing on the pads to make the claws extend, it won’t be so unfamiliar when you do it with clippers in hand.

If you get the newspaper try laying down a thick layer in the litter box then adding a bunch of shredded newspaper on top (use a paper shredder) instead of cat litter. It’s recycling and it’s dust-free. This is so much healthier for your cats than commerical litter and it’s cheaper than all-natural varieties. Some cats won’t tolerate the change though if you try to do it when they’re older so it’s best to start out right away on it. Change it everyday or every other day for best results.

If you’re really into it and want what’s best for your cats make their food from scratch — meat, veggies, a little starch and some supplements and you’re good to go. There are great books out there on how to love your cats naturally.

Have at least 2 litter boxes, sometimes cats just don’t like to share and if there’s not another box available, well, any corner will usually do!

Contrary to popular belief cats should be given neither canned tuna nor milk. Trust me on this!!!

First, invest in a self-cleaning litter box. We use the LitterMaid brand, available at Wal-Mart. Does most of the stinky chore for you!

Second, don’t declaw your kitties. Instead, cover their claws with a product called SoftPaws. I wrote about it on our blog, here:
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/05/not-declawed.html

I can’t say enough about the SoftPaws. They even come in cute colors and different sizes so you can start your kittens on them before they destroy your furniture or curtains.

We live with two cats and a dog, full-time in our 300 square foot RV. They bring such joy to our lives.

Okay, on to advice. Keep in mind that Dogs have Owners, Cats have Staff. This will prevent many misunderstandings.

Nature’s Miracle is the only kitty pee cleaner worth buying. If kitty is peeing in the wrong place it is not an accident, she is telling you something. Our kitty peed in our bed when we switched kitty litters. So, if you ever switch litters, keep two boxes (one old litter and one new litter) to make sure she is okay with the new one.

Kitty window perches are a great idea, but don’t bother with the plastic ones, as two full-grown kitties will break it and fall on the floor and glare at you as if it is all your fault. Get these ones. (No affiliation).

Don’t skimp on kitty food. Ask your vet what he or she uses and feed them that.

Teach your kitties to come when they are called. When they are heading your way anyway, shake a bottle of Cosmic Tuna Flakes Cat Treat. When they arrive, give them the treats. Do this dozens of times until kitty will head your way when you rattle the bottle. This is a life-saver for getting the kitties in at night.

Get your kitties at the same time. If they weren’t already together, bond them thusly:
Put each kitty in a carrier.
Put each carrier in the back seat of the car.
Get in the back seat yourself.
Have someone else start the car and start driving.
Transfer (at the same time if you can) each kitty to a new shared box,

They should be so anxious about the car that they forget to hiss at each other and will instead huddle together for reassurance. One trip around the block should do it.

Then carry the box into the house, open in, and walk away. Leave them to themselves. They will either have to choose to hiss at one another or to start exploring out of the box. Most kitties will opt for co-exploring.

Have fun, kittens and kittes are a joy.

Be sure that whenever you indicate to your cat that you want it to come to you, always reward it in some way. The reward doesn’t have to be food, it can be your undivided attention for a 30 second ear scratch. It also helps to make a point of giving the cat some attention when it comes over on its own. Once the cat realizes that it always gets positive attention when it comes to you, it will come when you call.

Keep the litter box clean…for your health and for the cats.

Don’t give them canned food. It’s not the best for their dental hygiene.

Don’t de-claw them. None of my cats has ever torn up my furniture. Cats can be trained not to scratch on the furniture. When they do, make a loud noise to startle them. You can also keep a squirt bottle handy for this. I’ve also heard that they are repelled by the smell of wintergreen, so putting essential oil of wintergreen where you don’t want them might work. I’ve not tried this myself.

Hmmmm….that’s all that’s coming to mind right now. Hope it helps.

If you have to litter train them, this can seem scary but they almost always know what to do. I’ve trained many a kitten. All you do is have the clean box ready for them. A few minutes after they eat (which is often when they are little) put them in the litter box and take their little paws and teach them to scratch and dig in there. they’ll instinctivly know what to do rather quickly. I was surprised at how easily this came. Not to say there won’t be accidents becuase there might be but I bet they’ll catch on quickly.

Cats should be spayed or nuetered around 6 months of age (I’m channelling Bob Barker here but it really is best for thier health) and if they are outdoor kitties, make sure they have their vaccinations up to date to keep them safe.

Ok, I think I’m done I’m excited for you! It’s going to be fun!