A sit agreed to months ago for a grown cat will now include a kitten. I love cats, but don’t know anything about kitten care. Please share insights / experience to help me make an informed decision.
The host is asking whether I want to go ahead with the sit.
I think it will completely depend on the age, situation and background. It could range from bottle feeding it every few hours, including night feeding, to just a bit of extra attention and play time. If the older cat is the mother, it would be easier.
I would talk to the owners and ask specific questions about the extra tasks: toilet training stage, sleeping habits, feeding requirements… If it’s not too demanding, I would go ahead but if it is a very young, recently rescued and unadjusted to the new environment, it could be hard, especially adding a new sitter for the poor kitten to deal with.
We’ve had a number of cats for 40 years now, some from 3 months old which definitely qualifies them as kittens, and the only special thing we have had to do is a bit of discipline. Where they can’t go (for example the kitchen table), what not to claw at (for example the couch) and don’t touch the plants. When we get home we show them food and water. We then put them in the litter box. We put them back in a second time an hour or so later if they didn’t go the first time, and they’re good to go. The only thing there is more of with a young cat is “the zoomies”. Always entertaining and sometimes downright scary with some of them. 
Thanks, @Newpetlover and @gchampagne. I’ve withdrawn from the sit. I don’t want to deal with a bunch of unknowns while telecommuting abroad. I can visit on my own another time.
Good thing is, the host has plenty of notice to find another sitter, because they told me now. And they said they appreciated that I replied promptly.
Where is the sit and when?
I love kittens! There were 2 foster kittens at my last sit, in addition to the resident adult cat. The HO partly chose me because of my kitten foster experience.
It’s on Nomador, for Hong Kong.
Thanks. I hoped it was in the US.
I arrived at a sit to find that there were three surprise kittens, plus a fostered cat - in addition to the cat, dog and eight horses that I was expecting.
The home owners had found the kittens huddled together crying in a ditch and rescued them, paid for inoculations etc. I think they were probably only a few months old at the start of the sit, used a litter tray, and were at the stage where they were just starting to learn to use a cat-flap to go outdoors.
In the grand scheme of things, they weren’t really a problem at all, and provided plenty of amusement. They were very affectionate - I remember wearing waterproof trousers in the house at one point, as they would actually try to climb up my legs whilst I was eg. cooking, if they could! I had to keep a bit more of an eye on them than an older cat, as they were very inquisitive and there was a lot for them to explore outside, so more of a concern if they went AWOL for a few hours.
They pretty much kept themselves entertained, including crazy zoomies in the evenings, and a lot of the time they were just a lovely warm kitten bundle on my lap whilst I worked.
That sounds sweet.
The sit I declined was in a Hong Kong high-rise. Flats there are TINY, so I would’ve risked needless stress or chaos if a kitten peed or pooed astray, clawed, ran amok, etc., while I was telecommuting. And I’d be doing that on reverse hours, because of the time difference with my coworkers in the U.S. It’s not even like I could find a coworking space during night hours in HK. And I doubt I would’ve been able to leave a kitten for long even during daylight hours. All in all, better they find a sitter better suited.
Kittens are super cute and I love them, but often more work than puppies 
They have endless energy and zero interest to please you. And as they can jump and climb, they can reach so many places they shouldn’t. It’s easier if there’s two kittens, they can play together and consume their energy that way.
I find cats most challenging around the age of 7 months to a bit over a year.
With kittens there are likely no pee-poo accidents, as using the litter box normally comes naturally to them, so that’s easy.
This is very true. I have given kittens an old cardboard box filled with ash from a woodburner before to use as a litter tray, for lack of anything ‘proper’ to use. They just seemed to use it instinctively.
Good to know about kittens’ pooing and peeing instincts. I hope to adopt some one day. Not now, because our rescue dog is not right in the head.
Oh yeah, if I were a sitter, I would looooove kitten sits. Kittens are just crazy wonderful, and not really a huge workload at all.
Cats learn super fast (unlike dogs), and are easy to train. Kittens love to play, love to learn and soak up new things, love to explore (the only part that takes some work, be aware and protect them from being too stupid; they will fall down things if you let them), love to cuddle and they EAT LIKE CRAZY.
If I could turn my babies back into kittens, I’d do that every day…
Cat instincts are to leave no smellable trace behind. So if they have a place to dig, they will use that. Just so.
Can you explain why? I found mine just grew through that period … nothing special… They were of course neutered as early as possible (3 months I think), so if you are referring to them being in heat, the host forgot to do their job and have them neutered.
Dream sit!
Even the neutered cats go through puberty, and show “teenage” behaviour @elmi4711 .
How strong and prominent that behaviour is, is of course individual, so you’ve been lucky! Our two cats were spayed/neutered early, and they went through quite a clear teenage phase, which lasted months. That was interesting
Ah, talking 'bout your own cats. Then of course they were neutered 
Well, perhaps I got lucky. They also bonded strongly with the male cat (very delicate one) that was in the household; like a surrogate mommy. I mean… my little one (see my post in the #caturday thread) behaves like a teenager all the time anyway, zoomies, undecisiveness, snuggle attacks…
What kind of teen behaviour did yours expose?
It was very similar to what many dogs go through at their puberty, and humans too for that matter 
Being super stubborn and doing things they knew were forbidden, experimenting with dominant behaviour etc. But of course they also were cuddly, cute, playful and all other nice thingst the same time.
They both grew out of it, and became their sensible selves again.
