(Part 2) Top products from r/kittens

Thank you for this thorough reply!

"Are you able to sleep in the room she currently is comfortable in? Maybe put a sleeping mat or cot in there?"

Yep I can actually. Currently there is a futon bed on the floor that I lay on when I'm in there with her. I could sleep on that one night or take a long nap on the weekend. I do agree with getting her used to me, it makes sense because she will be more trustworthy in the other rooms.

Great point with the food too as I was a bit iffy on that. Currently I put the food in her bowl and swirl it around so she hears it and her bowl isn't always filled.

It's been exciting. Those 2am spazz wake up calls when playing with this are reallllllll.

I foster kittens and having a litter genie has made a big difference for me. Without it, I have a hard time motivating myself to scoop the litterbox (and find a bag to scoop into, and tie it up, and put shoes on, and take it to the outside garbage, etc.), but with the litter genie right there you can scoop it right in and have a clean litterbox and no stink.

The favorite toys of kittens I've had:

a feather on the end of a long, very flexible stick like this

The stupidly named Da Bird

*Laser pointers. I've found it's a better deal to get a high-quality $20 one than the $4 pet store kind because of battery life.

You need to feed them separately and continue to bottle feed them. They aren't fully weened until about 8 weeks. Only use wet foods if you are going to feed them, especially kitten formulated foods. If you feed them milk, it should be a kitten formula and done in a bottle if possible, that way you can measure out how much food each one is getting so no one feels they aren't getting enough and then fighting over it. That's why one cat is NOT a) fighting the other b) suckling on little bits because it's replication of suckling a teet c) expressing aggressive behavior.

​

​

So get a few bottles for her to suckle on:

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Nurser-Bottles-Kit-2-2/dp/B0002ATA6I/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=kitten+feeding+bottles&qid=1558462462&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Kitten formula with bottle: https://www.amazon.com/Kitten-Replacement-Bundle-Nursing-Bottle/dp/B077X3QBF7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=kitten+feeding+bottles&qid=1558462518&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

​

Nova is probably more likely to go for kitten milk at 4 weeks and it may be her prefered method of feeding, don't worry about weening her too much, it's better for her to be a happy and healthy kitten than a hungry and angry kitten. If that means she drinks more milk than she eats, that's fine, just leave out some food for them to munch on here or there throughout the day for her to nibble on and hopefully eat. Maybe make a gruel and mix in the formula and wet foods to see if that will encourage weening, slowly removing milk as you go every week.

Your kitten is very young -- I assume that she has no other kitten companions in your household. The first two-to-three months of a kitten's life should be spent with their mother and litter so that they can properly develop and socialize, as this time is crucial to their development.

That being said, she may still see it as a 'playtime' activity when she grows up. It is not recommended to let her continue doing this, as she'll get stronger and more dangerous as she ages. I would recommend that you train her to not play in that way, since it can be painful.

One suggestion I have is to make a high-pitched noise or shriek when she bites or nibbles your hands. When growing up in a litter, kittens often playfight with their brothers and sisters, but use a high-pitched noise to signal an 'okay, that's enough, it's starting to hurt.' The same can be taught to your cat through you and your family.

Another suggestion is to give her more toys to play with. You don't have to spend a lot of money on toys -- a crumpled paper ball, a big brown paper bag from a grocery store, they're all viable toys. One toy that my cat loves is the Da Bird Cat Catcher ( http://www.amazon.com/Da-Bird-Catcher-Feather-Toys/dp/B000LPOUNW/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1346535251&sr=1-2&keywords=go+cat+mouse ). It's not an expensive toy, but it keeps my cat busy!

Maybe for the water try setting a faucet to a drip or light stream and see if she will drink that. Most cats love drinking out of the faucet, so maybe she will too.

One time when my cat was sick she wouldn't drink at all, and she hates wet food so we had a tough time. But we threw some of her treats that she really liked in a bowl of water and it sort of forced her to get some water in the process.

Also, I don't know how well it works, but there's stuff you can put in the litter box that is supposed to help cats use it. Something like this. Or maybe even just a different kind of litter might help. Oh, or maybe special bad-cat litter.

I’m a fan of these: Cord Protector - CritterCord - A New Way to Protect Your Pet from Chewing Hazardous Cords https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EH2I5O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cWrXCb06QQ9DH they’re available in a few sizes for different kinds of cables.
Most cats don’t do this with every cord. They notice things that contrast with their surroundings (so a black cord against a white wall will get her attention more than a white cord will) and things that move (so a lamp cord that is never moved will get less attention than a charger cable attached to a device in motion). So get a few of these for the most-likely cords. For others, you might try gaffer’s tape or the kinds of covers you see in offices a lot, made of some kind of resilient material.

Also most cats stop being interested in chewing so much after they hit a year or so of age. Unless they develop pica and obsessively chew every plastic wrapper or bag they detect in the house and you can no longer leave anything like that anywhere in your house. Ahem. For example.

a cheaper alternative to da bird is the cat dancer. my cat prefers it to any toy. she first played with it when she was ~6mos.