Noob at Kittens! Health question!

Rhino

I'm getting two female kittens; both are apox 8 Weeks old and are eating "hard food" and also litter trained.

I'm getting two, because if I only got one; it would probably get lonely.

I'm going to take them to the vet and get shots and/or spading (if they are old enough?) and anything else the vet recommends on keeping them healthily.

I'm going to keep them inside for now so they don't get hit by trucks (I live near a busy street).


The question I have though; is I heard that a cats poop will have parasites and then infect your brain and the brain of rats and infants and make you crazy. It's called topozomania I think? How do I prevent this?

I also heard that cat litter (even free of poop) kills your brian cells; sperm and the unborn babies of pregnant woman?

Can I use wood chips instead? Or sand? Or shredded paper. I have TONs of shredded paper laying around.

Also I heard that flea collars give kittens cancer?

There is a lot of disinformation about this (mostly from my stoner ex-friend that "studied" animal medicine before flunking out). I don't know how much truth is in these?

I don't want the brain cancers please. kthxbi.

EDIT: Months, not years.
EDIT: 8 Weeks, not months

Trowizilla

Assuming you're talking about toxoplasmosis: yes, you may catch it if you get cat poop in your mouth (euw), no, it won't make you crazy. It's only dangerous to pregnant women if they catch it for the first time while they're pregnant, and a doctor can run a test to see if you've already caught it. For everyone else, it's not a big deal, and you can only catch it if you ingest fecal matter anyway (again, euw.)

Cat litter is also not a big deal; get a low dust kind and clean it often. Ammonia isn't good for you, so don't let peed-on litter sit for days and days, but this should be a no-brainer. Don't use wood chips or sand or shredded paper, it'll smell terrible. (The exception to this is if you get kittens young enough that they don't know not to eat the litter; then, newspaper is good.)

Flea collars, however, have been linked with many health issues, including seizures and death. Bad idea! If you have a flea problem, go to a vet and get Frontline or Advantage. Both of those are drops you put on the back of your cat's neck once a month and the cat won't get fleas. Don't use the over-the-counter kind of flea treatments, as those have the same problems as flea collars.

They're quite old enough to get spayed and it's better to do it as soon as possible. Don't declaw them! Also, this thread needs pictures!

ManonvonSuperock

8 months, those are nearly full grown cats by now.

onceling

Toxoplasma gondii -> Toxoplasmosis?

If your cat happens to have this, which I'd say is already not absolutely definite, you just need to use common sense and do things you usually would. That is, wash your hands with soap after emptying their litter box and keep a clean house if there are any accidents.

Personally, I'd say don't let your cat outside at all, but there are varying opinions on this. If you do let your cat outside later in life, also be sure to wash your hands after you go into your yard and/or do gardening in case they have taken a crap in the yard somewhere (pretty likely).

When you completely empty the litter box (once a week at least) wash out with hot water and disinfectant of some kind (rinse thoroughly though, cats won't like the smell).

Pregnant women being affected by the litter itself? I am pretty sure that's a load of crap and it's (again) the Toxoplasmosis risk to the fetus (which is quite real). So like, if you have a pregnant woman around... clean the litter box for her, or buy a bunch of rubber gloves for her to use. Some forms of litter are full of dust and crap but I really, really don't think there's chemicals that have a known risk to pregnancies. I actually recommend "World's Best" litter anyway. It's more pricey but it clumps, is great for young cats because if they eat it, its not gonna kill them and it's biodegradable. But even the regular dusty stuff - it's probably more harmful to the cats lungs than ours.

Can you use wood chips? Sure, but your cat might not like em, they can be very picky. Same goes for the shredded paper. Buy a few cheap boxes (even use cardboard for the first week if you want) and fill up with a few different things. See what the cats like, I recommend sticking with it, its just worth it not to have any accidents.

Flea collars - see this link:

http://www.hartzvictims.org/index.php

If you have a flea problem (it's not a given, cats don't come packaged with fleas, they only have them if they have been exposed to them) then go to the vet and grab something applied to the cat's shoulders and then absorbed into the skin. Collar is unncessary and ineffective. You can even buy the meds online but I just think its safer to go to a vet you trust and be 100% sure you're getting a reputable product. I've never had a cat with fleas so I can't recommend a brand sorry.

Improvolone

You can only get toxoplasmosy if you get the fecal matter in your mouth or eyes somehoe, AND the cat has a particular bacterial infection. Not all cat poop will cause this.

Blake T

My parents got their new cats spayed at 6 months and I thought that was a little late personally.

Rhino

Ops, 8 weeks I mean. about 2 months old.

Rhino

This, right?

http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/dpd/parasites/toxoplasmosis/factsht_toxoplasmosis.htm#spread

Rhino

oh noes

http://www.treshanley.com/cic/feline.html#KITTY%20LITTER%20DANGERS

Lord Yod

I use Advantage, works great. My cat seems to like the Arm & Hammer litter. Only health problem I've had is an increase in nasal congestion if I don't clean. (She sheds a lot)

HKPacman420

Get clumping litter if possible. Shitload easier to clean.

Trowizilla

Rhino wrote: »

oh noes

http://www.treshanley.com/cic/feline.html#KITTY%20LITTER%20DANGERS

The problem that's talking about is that the litter swells up when wet (obviously; that's what makes it useful.) Adult cats wouldn't ingest enough litter to cause a problem, but very very very young kittens might not know enough to not eat it. If you have dogs, you should keep them out of the litter box anyway, of course. If your kitties are old enough not to eat the litter, don't worry about using it. Also, "holistic vet" should be viewed with the same skepticism as any other "holistic" medical practitioner.

EggyToast

Are the two females littermates? If not, even spayed females can be very territorial.

As for cat poop, don't eat it, and don't let pregnant women clean your litter box. Litter is safe, your kittens SHOULD already be trained for it (litter training usually occurs between 4-8 weeks).

Litter is great stuff, far better than wood or paper, because it controls the smell. Also, I would suggest waiting until the kittens are about 4 months old to get them spayed. Have them go in together so they're not wondering where the other one is.

Cats are pretty easy to deal with. Just make sure your place is moderately kitten-safe, by cleaning up counters, papers, and other things. They're going to run around and clonk their heads/bodies on things, but demolishing a roll of paper towels is pretty standard if they're left where they're accessible (and besides the mess, they'll probably end up eating quite a bit of the paper).

Most everything you heard seems to be false. No wonder your stoner buddy dropped out.

Beck

HKPacman420 wrote: »

Get clumping litter if possible. Shitload easier to clean.

Very much so.

But they may try to ingest it, and that can cause a ton of problems. So a normal Kitty Litter while they're really small would be best, and you can trade up as they get a little bit older (and learn not to eat kitty poops).

onceling

This litter is both clumping but also safe to ingest:

http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/FAQ/default.aspx

(uh, for kittens to ingest of course)