Hiya NEWKTY! Welcome to TDK and how wonderful of you to head over here with questions about your kitties. Well, I am not a seasoned kitty caretaker but I do have an orphan kitten that I hand raised and doing exceptionally well! :)
About your questions..
should he sleep in bed or crate? (see remember I am used to puppies ;O)
You can place the little one in the old dog crate like what you are doing for now. If the little one agrees to sleep in it, then all is well. Since he has his special blanket and toys in there, he will be comfortable for now. But remember, cats choose their sleeping place and unlike dogs, they do not have a long term relationship with their bed! Cats can sleep wherever and whenever they want!
When I leave during the day is it okay to leave him out?
I would say keep him in the crate for now at least until he is about 8 weeks old. Until then, always supervise where he goes and remember to kitten proof your house. Remove all breakables and most importantly of all, keep all chemical cleaners out of reach. Kittens have a tendency to bite or chew electrical cords so be on the lookout for that. Some plants can be harmful to cats but not dogs so do some research on it.
Here's a great website with info how to kitten proof your home:-
http://cats.about.com/cs/kittencare/ht/kittenproof.htm
What habits should I be forming in him now.
You do not want to encourage him to bite! Orphan kittens (mine included) have a tendency to bite as they are not properly socialized and did not learn proper kitty manners from mom and littermates. Never play with your kitten with your bare hands. Use toys to interact with him. If he does bite, raise your voice and say NO immediately. You also do not want him to climb on stove tops and other dangerous areas so have a spray bottle ready. When you see him doing things that he is not supposed to, mist a bit of water on him, never on the face, just on his body to startle him so he will know not to do it again.
Declawing is it a must?
It is NOT A MUST and never encouraged. Declawing is a touchy subject here but my personal opinion is, declawing should never be performed unless it is medically necessary. Other than that, try to encourage kitten to scratch on scratching post/pad/mad. Purchase one that fits his size. You can also try Soft Paws, a vinyl nail cap that deter your kitten from causing much destruction!
And last but not least, my advise of feeding. Feline Nutrition is my forte .. hehehe...
You need to learn how to read ingredient labels. By learning how to read a label, you can learn a great deal of information about the food you are feeding your pets. You can even learn how to compare one food to another and choose the one best suited for your cat.
Ingredient labels tell you a lot about what kind of meat is being used and whether the food has any cheap fillers which does not benefit your cat/kitten.
You want to feed a food which is high protein - meaning the meat source must come from wholesome muscle meat. Make sure to select only food that list chicken, lamb, rabbit, beef, turkey, venison, salmon, whitefish, herring or a combination or those and not one that says by-products (chicken by product, meat by product, fish by product)
Stay away from too much fillers like corn, corn gluten meal, wheat, wheat gluten, soy, oatbrans, etc. These are all cheap filler which help reduce the cost of manufacturing but brings little to no benefit to your kitten.
You would also want to stay away from preservatives like BHA/BHT and Ethoxyquin which are proven to be harmful to your kitten. Also you do not want other artifical preservatives such as propylene glycol and propolyneglycol .You need natural preservatives such as Vitamin C, Vitamin A or Rosemary.
Your cat need an essential amino acid called Taurine. Cats can only receive this from eating wholesome meat. Choose a food that contains ample amount of Omega 3 sources - Salmon Oil, Flaxseed Oil or Canola Oil.
When you are well educated in learning how to read pet food ingredients, shopping for the best food for your kitten would be easier.
I only feed 100% wet. I came to this conclusion after doing my own research and getting to know pets that suffer dire consequences as a result of being fed exclusively dry. These websites has great information if you are interested in learning more about feline nutrition and the proper diet for a cat.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/canned_food.htm
http://cats.about.com/od/catfoo1/tp/tpcannedadult.htm
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.naturalmatters.net/article.asp?article=621&cat=11
http://www.traciehotchner.com/cb/QandA.htm
Hope all these helps and good luck with kitty!
