So, like I said in my last post, I got a kitten. That’s Chanel up there at about 8 weeks old – isn’t she the cutest?
When I got her, she was just 6 weeks old and now, she’s just over three months. Anyone who has been around me for more than 5 minutes since I’ve had her, has heard me obsess about my kitten. Y’all, I went from a self professed “I’m a dog person” to crazy cat lady in 2.5 seconds.
That said, I had absolutely no idea how to raise a cat before I got her. I grew up with dogs – not cats. Call me crazy but I like to be prepared and while I really wanted a cat, I knew I was not prepared to own one, so naturally, I did tons of research before actually picking Chanel up (I literally read 500 articles and watched 2 million YouTube videos – nothing too crazy). Nothing I read or watched could prepare me for the crazy that was and is cat town. It’s a good crazy, but there are just things I wish I knew about life with a cat.
1. Cats bite
Ok, so maybe everyone but me knew this (since everyone I have spoken to seems to). I knew cats have claws so I was 110% prepared for scratches all over my body, but bites, oh boy. For at least two weeks, my little chew monster’s favourite toy was my (and Danny’s) big toes. It was constant. She’s gotten a little better at not biting now, but she still nibbles from time to time. Little bugger is so lucky she’s cute.
2. Cat’s don’t listen
So like I said, I grew up with dogs. “come”, “fetch”, “sit” and “stay” were all commands my dogs knew and listened to. Well lets just say, Chanel was and still is having none of this. She’s all cat and dammit, she will do what she wants, when she wants and “no” is just a suggestion not a command. I’ve come to accept that my apartment is hers and I just have the pleasure of living in it (to feed her obviously). Funny story – I bought her a beautiful cat bed, and every night for the first two weeks I tried to train her to sleep in it. Did she? Yeah. no. Every night she looked at me like “you cray” and jumped into my bed. It’s a fight I gave up and well, now I have an alarm clock that I don’t have to set #thebrightside #ornot.
3. Cat sleep … a lot
So when I first got Chanel, I thought something was seriously wrong with her. She slept SOOOOO much. I mean, I want to play with you cat, why are you always sleeping. Then, I actually googled “how much do kittens sleep?” and realized well, they sleep all dang day. Fun fact: on average a kitten sleeps 18-20 hours. Who would have thunk it… clearly not me. Its not uncommon for me to see Chanel doing just this:
4. Cat’s play a lot (but you don’t need to buy a million toys)
Not in total contradiction to the “cats are always sleeping” thing, when they aren’t sleeping they are playing (or eating but thats for later). Well, at least kittens. I see people posting Instagram pics with all these cats sitting sweetly and I’ll say, yep, I got me a faulty cat. Y’all Chanel goes NONE STOP (when awake). It’s the cutest thing though and I could play with her for hours … or just watch her play. That said, before I got her I spent approximated 5 million dollars (ok maybe a little less) on all kinds of toys. Yeas she prefers bags, and boxes and hair ties and shoes and basically anything that didn’t cost me money. Lesson learnt.
5. Cats are picky eaters
I think Chanel is payback for all those years I gave my mum trouble because I didn’t eat this and didn’t eat that. This little 3.05 lb kitten is so picky! I bought whole bags of meow mix and whiskers kitten chow before I realised that well, she would only eat Purina kitten chow… and even then, she would only eat it mixed with wet food. This little cutie keeps me on my toes I tell ya.
6. Litter training is easy (if you even have to do it at all)
So enough of the “bad” stuff, lets talk some good. I spent hours of my life learning the how to’s of litter training a kitten, since I knew I was getting her at a really young age. Yeah, I didn’t need any of that. She came to me at six weeks old fully litter trained and knock on a big oak tree, she hasn’t had one mistake since.
7. They’re independent … but not as independent as you’d think
All I heard before getting a cat is that the are independent, and they are… but they are also insanely obsessed with their humans. At least mine is. She can play for hours by herself, but if Im at home and in another room, she will meow and let me know that I’m not in her sight. I kid you not. And sleep? well she has to be on the bed, near humans. Again, this is a fight I gave up because – who can resist cat eyes?
8. I’d be this obsessed
I knew I’d love my kitten no matter what, but man I am 100% a cat lover now. I miss the little thing when I’m at work and get so excited to see her in the afternoon. Yesterday, Danny and I were at my parents house all day long and during the day, my neighbour sent me a picture of her looking out the window… and all I wanted to do was run home to her. Yeah … Im a tad crazy.
All things considered, even though I wish I knew all those things, well… Im still obsessed with my kitten. She’s a complete Diva but she’s cute and playful and just the best.
Do you have cats?
Have a great Wednesday guys!!
