This entry was posted on 2014-08-31 by Schalk.

Getting your first kitten or adding a new kitten to your home is one of the most exciting things in the world. The transition from mother or shelter to a new human family can be quite hard on the little guy. Thus he will be entirely dependent on you to ease him through the process. Keeping him healthy and content requires tolerance and planning from everyone within the family. All your hard work will pay off once your kitten grows into a self-assured, loving cat that knows he has a place to call home.

Here are some tips to get you started

The age and character of the kitten you choose makes a big difference:

Its important to get a kitten at the right age, some allow for adoption at six weeks but it is far better to adopt at ten to twelve weeks. Allowing the kitten more time with its mother, will give it a better understanding of what it entails to be a cat. It will be taught acceptable behaviors, from being able to interact with its siblings to getting accustomed to human contact. A kitten that is only six to seven weeks old may show signs of distress and confusion as it has been removed from its family to early. This can also cause your kitten to fear humans and negatively deal with interactions by running away or hiding.  If your kitten is six to seven weeks old its not to say that he will be like this forever. With lots of love and gentle handling, he will soon be more outgoing and better accustomed to his new environment. When looking to adopt a kitten its in your best interest to look for one that doesn’t shy away from you, is curious and energetic.

Kitten proofing your home:

Kittens are extremely energetic and basically like playing with anything that they can get their paws on. Open, dangling or swinging cords could suffocate or entangle your little kitten so to ensure that this doesn’t happen secure all blind strings, fastened drapes extra out of you kittens reach. Kittens also really enjoy nibbling on phone wires or electric cords so to prevent this roll them up and place them in a secure location.

Small items such as jewelry, balloons, and elastic bands extra are unsafe for your kitten if ingested. Remove any insect traps, close the toilet lid, and remove any plants that could be poisonous. Some common poisonous houseplants include Azaleas, Tulips, Aloe, Chrysanthemums, Poinsettia, Marijuana, Lilies, Mistletoe and Rhododendron.

All you cupboards that contain things such as cleaning products, floss and other items used in the home must be kept closed as your kitten may encounter them while exploring. Keep washing machines and dryers closed in the laundry area as your kitten might find it appealing to sleep in a warm place. You can look at it this way, if the item is harmful to a toddler then its harmful to you kitten too.

Bringing your kitten home:

When planning for your new kitten you should try and set aside at least one or two days so that you an comfort you kitten and give it everything it needs to settle into its new environment. Remember that your kitten has had to leave its siblings and mother, so every bit of effort towards making him feel happy will go a long way.

Start out by bringing your kitten home in a clean comfortable carrier that doesn’t contain any other pets smells. You can place a towel in the carrier that will provide your kitten with warmth and allow for absorption of any accidents. Kittens may miss their mother and siblings causing them to wake up at night or meow in confusion. You can help ease your kittens stress by speaking in a calming tone while stroking him in your arms. Placing a ticking clock wrapped in a small blanket beside his bed will provide comfort by mimicking the sound of his mother’s heartbeat. Kittens have tones of energy and therefore need to spend plenty of time playing to be content. Getting two kittens is a good idea, as they will use up all their energy on each other while playing. They are also less likely to become lonely and are incredibly entertaining to watch.

Where does my kitten sleep and how to introduce him to the house:

Introducing your new kitten to its new house is a process that relies on a lot of patience and care. Start out by ensuring that you have a room just for your kitten, this is where it will live for a few days or weeks so that it can get used to the unfamiliar environment in stages. Put the carrier on the floor of the room and open it, allow the kitten to come out by itself in its own time. Once he has come out and has started exploring don’t remove the carrier as this will serve as a familiar hiding place. He may tend to want to hide quite a lot in this first stage. But don’t let this worry you, as he is exploring while out of site. In no time at all he will be after your attention twenty four seven.

Make sure that you separate its litter box from its food and water so that they are on either side of the room. Cats are very clean animals that don’t like to mix the two. A cat’s natural instinct is to bury its waste, so all you need to do is show him where the litter box is and this will usually give him enough incentive to use it. You can make your kitten feel more at home by providing him with hiding places, either in boxes or furniture. Making a warm comfortable bed will help him to sleep better; you can also put one of your worn shirts on his bed, allowing him to quickly become accustomed to your sent.

After a few days when you feel that your kitten has developed a basic routine of drinking, eating and using the letterbox and is more comfortable within his surroundings, you can start introducing him to the other rooms in the house. Position his carrier in the room you are introducing him to; as this will once again serve as a familiar hiding place. As he begins to explore sit quietly in the room and softly talk to him. You need to be as vigilant as possible as he may want to run and hide in small spaces. When you feel that he has explored the room enough, take him back to his room and repeat the process for every room in the house until he has explored the whole house.

Once he has explored the whole house you can let him roam around as he pleases. Start out by leavening his food; water, bed and litter box in the same places. When you feel that he is more secure in the house you can move them to the desired position. Move the things one by one for example: move the food and water and show him where you are moving it to, he will soon relies what you have done.

Meeting the family:

While you kitten is adjusting to its new environment it would be best to limit the amount of handling for the first few days. Allow everyone in the family to introduce themselves separately, letting the kitten come to them.

Kittens are very fragile so it’s important to note that children under five years are not capable of handling a kitten correctly, they are generally to rough and sometimes cause tragic situations. Some rescue groups and shelters will not let families adopt kittens if their children are very young. An older child can be taught how to hold a kitten correctly – place one hand behind the kitten’s front legs and the other reinforcing its hindquarters. You should teach your children to never pick up the kitten up by its scruff, or grab its ears or tail. Show your children that you have to be gentle with the kitten by lightly petting its back and head. Always be present when they are handling him, especially when your child has friends visiting.

Take your other pets to the vet to get them tested to make sure that they are disease free before you get your new kitten. Introducing your new kitten to your present pets can be a bit difficult; supervision until the kitten can fend for itself is a must. The other pets will be aware of the new member and you’ll find them sniffing the opening at the bottom of the door of the room you put him in. If you already have a cat, give it more attention as to lessen its anxiety caused by the introduction of a new pet. When you feel that the kitten is better adjusted allow your cat and it to meat briefly. Make sure you are present within the room while they get to know each other. You may notice them making some strange sounds. This is normal but if there is any hostility take your cat away and try again soon.

Don’t ever leave your kitten alone with a dog, they tend to become quite aggressive and the kitten may react by scratching your dogs face. When introducing your kitten to your dog, make sure your dog is properly leased and go about introducing them using the same process you used with your cat. You mustn’t let your kitten run away as your dog may think it’s a game and start running after him. Only once your kitten is fully-grown can you stop supervising interactions.

Safe playtime:

As your kitten is very small, inquisitive and fragile you must always keep a close eye on him. Its very easy for your kitten to fall in the toilet, get caught in home appliances or furniture, or even get stomped on. Only when your kitten is able to distinguish between what is safe or not will you be able to leave him be.

Here are a few things you can do to keep your kitten’s playtime safe. Choose the toys you allow your kitten to play with carefully, like you would a toddler. Ensure that the toys don’t contain any bells, buttons or any small parts that you kitten may ingest. Be aware of shape edges and of anything that contains yarn, string or ribbon as if swallowed can be very dangerous.

If any of your kitten’s toys contain these things, you must always be present to supervise and ensure that nothing happens. A kitten will have endless fun with any small stuffed animals to practice its attacking skills and a ball that is too big to fit in its mouth. Something else you could do is tie a toy or fluffy mouse to the end of plastic fishing pole and pull it along the ground in front of your kitten who will love to chase this pray.

How to make being home alone fun for your kitten:

If you leave your kitten home alone you should put him in a secure room with his food, water, bed, litter box and scratching post. If you will only be returning in the evening, place a night-light in one corner of the room. To keep your kitten busy give him plenty of safe toys e.g. trackball toy. Position a radio or some other musical device that can keep playing music outside the door. Cat sitters have found that cat’s prefer country western or classical music. You can also try leaving the television on a channel that just airs talk shows, as some cats seem to find a humans voice soothing. If you work during the day and have to leave you kitten home alone make sure you give him lots of attention when you return.

Vet check ups:

Within the first day or two of your kitten’s arrival you should take him to see the vet. The vet will check for fleas and ear mites and inspect a sample of his fecal matter. This is because it is very common for kittens to have some type of warms. Routinely most vets will deworm all kittens’ with medications ingested orally. When you kitten is seven weeks of age it should be given a “three way” vaccination which will protect him against distemper (feline panleukopenia), FCV (feline calicivirus) and respiratory diseases FVR (feline viral rhinotracheitis) as well as a booster shot which is administer twelve to fourteen weeks later. If your kitten is a bit older about nine to ten weeks old tests for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and FeLV (feline leukemia) will be done. Generally by law your kitten should get a rabies shot at twelve weeks of age. Your vet will advise you on your kitten’s routine check ups throughout its life.

Spaying or neutering your kitten:

Your kitten will be much happier and healthier if you get him neutered or spayed. Spaying a female cat protects her from the risk of uterine, mammary and ovarian cancers and from the strain of pregnancy. If you neuter your male cat it will reduce his risk of prostate cancer and he won’t mark his territory by spraying urine.

The earliest you can get you kitten neutered or spayed is eight weeks of age. But you should do it by the time your kitten is six months of age. Your vet will advise on the most appropriate time in which your kitten will be able to handle the small procedure.

What to feed my kitten and what will it cost:

For the first five years of your kitten’s life it is a constant growth machine, needing two to three times the amount of nutrients and calories then that of an adult cat. Your kitten will need additional protein for tissue and muscle growth, fats and lots of calories. With that said when you first bring your kitten home its best to carry on giving your kitten the same food he’s used to.

Some foods have much higher quality ingredients then others. So you might want to change your kitten’s food according to your vet’s recommendation, as to provide your kitten with the best possible diet. This can be done over about five to seven days. All you have to do is add a small amount of the new food in with the old increasing the amount of new food added each day, until your little kitten is only eating the new food. When your kitten is three to six months of age you should be feeding him three to four small meals a day and then reducing that to two times a day when he is six months old.

Always follow the feeding instructions on the packet of the food you buy and be wary about over feeding your kitty. Kittens don’t need milk so don’t try and give your kitten any; if you would really like to feed him milk Royal Canin has a milk formula called Growth Babycat Milk. Always ensure that your kitten has fresh clean water to drink. If your kitten doesn’t drink much water, it’s probably because of the chemicals they use to sterilize it, so rather give him bottled water.

Here are some foods that we recommend

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·       Royal Canin Growth KITTEN 36-2kg

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·       Orijen Cat & Kitten-6.8kg

What we suggest: Hills science plan:

·       Hills Healthy Development Chicken Can Kitten

·       Hills Healthy Development Chicken Kitten or Tuna

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