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First cat, overwhelmed in 2 days.

Dezaxat

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Apr 27, 2018
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Hello fellow owners. I need some help from a veteran over here because my girlfriend an i feel overwhelmed by this new family member.
First of all i want to apologize myself for any mistakes in spelling giving the fact that i'm european and english is far away from my main language.

The long story short is that we have Anubis for 2 days and already have no idea what to do about him. There is a big chance that we do something wrong, obviously.

ipvi8c
15evajc.jpg
. That's the convicted thing.

He's almost 2 months old. And there starts the questions:

1. He's... Hmmm... Not surviving a nap without being taken and put on lap, legs, chest, arm, anywhere he's in contact with our bodies. He actually sits on one of our legs until we pick him up to have a nap.
2. He's having a stomach issue. Not actually a diarheea but something close. More like soft poop. A vet told us to let food on sight anytime so he will feed when he wants but i feel that this isn't right. He ate like 10 times today. Indeed, a few bites, but still, he ate a lot. We gave him today his first disinfestation pill (i have no idea if it has anything to do with it).
3. We haven't slept with him. We are kinda scared to do that because he's so small and i feel that i'm actually going to kill him in my sleep without any means to do that.
4. He hates his litter. We got it from my mom who has 3 cats (none sphynx) and it looks like a litter for grown cats, not puppies. Sometimes he uses it, most of the times don't. We actually have to pick him up when he's crying and drop him into the litter (at least he is crying when he feels the urge...)

Thank you in advance for making time to answer this dumb questions and helping the poor guy to not be killed by any human mistakes.
 

RoseEllen

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Jan 29, 2018
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He could have some separation anxiety which might be why he wont sleep unless he is on you.. don’t worry too much about this. My two cats did the same thing when they first came home and now they are much more independent.

Sphynx cats are known for having stomach issues and food sensitivities so it may take some time for you to find a food that doesn’t give Anubis soft poop. I am still working on this with my 4 month old kitty..

Try not to let him sleep with you, give him his own bed in a different room or even on the floor in your room and get him used to that. You will be thankful because its hard to break habits and he might interrupt your sleep a lot. I also learned this from my first cat, and immediately gave my new kitten his own bed in a separate room. He cried for a few minutes for the first few nights but then he stopped and now he goes to his bed on his own and loves sleeping there.

You might need to try a new litter.. is it the same brand that your breeder used? I found myself reminding my new kitty, Logan, where the litter box was and would do the same thing as you (set him in it). This only lasted a week at the most. He will learn. Do you have more than one box? It’s best to have 2 for one cat to avoid accidents.

Don’t worry!!! You are doing great. Try not to be too hard on yourself. It’s a learning experience for everyone when they get a new kitten.
 

Anansi

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With the litter thing definitely check what litter he is used too he might not like the feel of this different litter and just keep trying with him and definitely have two boxes if you only have one.

Sphynx cats are very affectionate and do love to be close and definitely if he is only 2 months he might just miss his mum and litter mates. Keep trying and it should settle as he gets older.

Stay in contact with the vet with his poop issues. Have you tried pumplpu for his soft poo? It helps with the fibre. We feed Orpheus two wet meals a day breakfast and dinner then he has biscuits out all day. Kittens eat a lot they are growing and need the food. If the vet isn't worried about his weight don't worry about him eating too much. Also Sphynx cats eat more than regular cats so it's probably nothing to worry about.

We have two beds for Orpheus in our room one next to the bed on the floor and one on top of a dresser as he likes being high. The first few nights he slept on our bed but he now prefers to sleep in his beds unless it's super cold he will join us up on the bed for a little bit. Just make sure the beds are warm and comfy and full of soft blankets and I'm sure you boy will love them.

You guys are doing really well it's super overwhelming when you get a new baby and you always want to do what's right.
 

Yoda mom

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@Dezaxat Welcome to the lair family
Anubis looks so adorable all cuddled in your arm

He is very young .. You mention he is almost 2 months old.. Many stay with their breeders until 14-16 weeks old. . So he just needs a little extra care in his big new world


It's a big new world for him and for you .. There is always an adjustment period
To figure out what works best for your baby

We are here for you
members will chime in with suggestions

Alway good to have a wellness check at the vet and a poo sample fecal test .
dewormer medication can in my explored me with kitties am dogs cause some poo issues when first administered

Many use unscented litters
Also what kind of litter box? If it has flap door I always remove those

You can set up a kitty safe room for his transition -
A spare bedroom , bathroom
I set it up with cst litter box food toys amd cat tree
I leave a radio playing too

Be sure to kitty proof your home
Sphnyx are known to eat things they should not

There are many great threads for sphynx life

Sphynx Cat Help Center
Sphynx pooping or peeing outside the litter box


Sphynx are very personable :)

We are here for you and yours with your new sphynx journey :)
We all started out the same (((hugs))))
Congrats happy gotcha! Can't wait for pics and tales!
 
Last edited:

Sheldon13

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I’d like to add that he may constantly want to be on you because he is cold. Make sure he has a nice, warm blanket he can burrow into. Also, in a comment above it was suggested that you try pumpkin for his poop issues. It’s a great suggestion but was misspelled as pumpleme or something, so I wanted to make sure you understood they meant pumpkin, since English is not your first language.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Pembrook

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Apr 13, 2018
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Here's what I learned with my little boy and soft poo and later diarrhea and blood all over everything for 1.5 years: soft food diet. Worked within first day feeding cycle. We feed Canidae brand only. No problems. Hope this helps. Maybe it's not the problem, but put it in your back pocket.
 

Maddie

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Fir the poops, could be stress. Then maybe the food.
Up to you where your kitty sleeps, mine sleeps with me but that's what I wanted.
If I'm sitting my girl is glued to me lol she's my shadow almost.
As for the litter, is the box too tall? Maybe kitty can't actually get in?
 

Dezaxat

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I'm back. Different time zone, i was asleep while you guys really did an amazing job trying to help us.

I'm using only brand food for him, to be precisely Royal Canin mother & baby cat. That was the best the vet i went to could provide for us. I will definetly try the pumpkin.

The litter is indeed huge for him. It's not a fancy one, just a box that's big. We are gonna buy a new one and keep the old one there. Last night he went by himself, this must be a step forward.

He already had one bed, but considering that he's our first pet (i'm starting to feel that we are his pets, not otherwise) we went a little bit too far and bought him another 2 beds just in case. He loved one of the new ones because it's shaped as an igloo and keeps him warm.

Here's a pic of him not sleeping.anubis2.jpg
 

Anansi

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My boy loves his igloo bed and chooses that over us sometimes. So I think that's a good step. Like others have said the poop could be stress from being in a new home but try the pumpkin my boy eats the royal Canin and does really well on it so try that first and go from there I would also suggest asking your vet to test is poop for anything that could be causing his soft poo. Also if he is going to the litter box by himself it could just be he's in a new place and is uncertain so keep at it I think it's all going well for your first time!

Also your boy is so dang cute!
 

Maddie

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For food, just feed the best you can afford :) pet stores actually sell some good foods. Just look for ones that aren't full of fillers is usually the easiest way to find "good" food. If the first 3-4 are sources of protein you are good. Brand that push the guest ingredient is neat but the next ten are flour actually out weight the meat in fillers :)
 

Toa and Ross

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Happy gotcha day! No worries about your English, I'm no native English speaker too and mess uo with English all the time. And they still allow me to be here:).

Your boy probably misses his mommy and the rest. With two months he's very young to have to be without his mommy (with a sphynx 12-16 weeks is more common) so he needs you to feel safe and warm.

Do you know what kind of litter the breeder was using? If it's a different kind maybe you can use that one? Was he alresdy litter trained by the way? Maybe he was still used to be placed on the litterbox and needs to learn he can jump on ot by himself.

Tummy issues can be caused by stress, it's a whole new world for him. But always good to let him check by a vet. Specially because he's so young.

Hope he will feel at home soon. You're doing great so hang in there
And he already learned you an important lesson. He's not your pet, you are his:)
 

kauna

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Hello and welcome! You've definitely came to the right place for advice.

Your boy is adorable! He is a little on the young side to leave his mom and litter mates, so he is probably snuggling with you for that added comfort and warmth.

I would check with the breeder what kind of litter they were using, he may just prefer that one.

When I brought my girl home she was in a spare bedroom to help transition her to our household. It had her food, litterbox, beds, toys and a cat-tree all hers. I wanted it to be her domain or safe space if she wanted alone time in the future. I also had 2 medium-large dogs that I wanted to keep separate from her in the beginning until she was comfortable. I think it only lasted a couple weeks before she was running the place!

Hopefully, he will feel at home soon! Keep us posted :)
 

Fastone990

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Feb 26, 2018
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My best advice is to hang in there. This sounds a lot like Merlin's first few days with us. He experienced separation anxiety and sucks on himself for comfort. Very weird but not uncommon. He settled into a routine now and is much more chill.

We let him and our other 2 cats sleep with us. We had the same worries abouts rolling over him in our sleep. He is incredibly warm so I've learned to feel for the hot spot before I move. So far so good. He is 6 months now. He also seems to be more alert at night than our other cats and will usually mew when he feels one of us move so we know his position.

We did learn that he was using a laundry pile as a little box and started him off with his own litter box separate from the other cats litter box. He very quickly started using the big cats box on his own. You may have to try other litter to find the right one.

We did also get him his own dry kitten food and are moving him to eat the same food as the others. We learned the stools will gradually become more solid. Merlin does eat small amounts many times per day and I often felt he was over eating but his weight is healthy. He is very energetic when he's not sleeping.

Hope this helps and you don't give up. The first month is the hardest. Once you all develop a routine, things work themselves out. I wish you the best!
 

StacyD

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Feb 21, 2017
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I think any new pet is needy & requires time to settle in. Our dog cried so much when we got him as a puppy I had to put his crate on our ottoman in the living room & sleep on the couch with my hand in it or the whole house would be awake all night. And our cat, who we got at 2 yrs old had loose stools w/poop foot sometimes & hated our dog (who only wanted to be friends so very badly) But it's all good now. I wouldn't worry too much. It will most likely get easier/better with time. Oh, and our cat, Ace, also was much less playful and more clingy when we first got him, but after about a month his true mischievous personality shined through.
 
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