SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Cat Care
Cat Care Tips
Baby
Kitten Care Essential Info
Even if you’ve had years of experience with adult cats, taking
care of a kitten is a whole new world. Kittens eat differently,
sleep differently, and need time to adjust to changes both
inside their bodies and in the outside world. Learn about
a kitten’s basic needs and how to help your kitten grow
into a happy, healthy adult cat.
Make Your Home Kitten-Proof
What, exactly, does kitten-proofing entail? Particularly if
you already have older cats, what more do you need to do?
For one thing, kittens are much more active and curious than
older cats. Like human babies, they often satisfy your curiosity
by chewing everything in site. For this reason, you should
purchase all-natural cat litter—not the clumping clay variety
that is commonly used with older cats.
Another element of kitten-proofing your home is giving the
kitten a safe place to be. This need not be an entire room,
but it does need to be quiet and closed off from other animals.
After a few days, give the kitten and the other animals some
closely supervised time to get acquainted. If your new kitten
has not been to the vet, keep it quarantined from other animals
until you can be certain he doesn’t have any infectious diseases.
Give the animals a few weeks to get used to each other and
don’t push too hard; before you know it, the safe room will
be a thing of the past!
The First Visit to the Vet
The first visit to the vet should take place shortly after
you’ve gotten your kitten, particularly if it was a stray and
you do not know its medical history. This is particularly important
if you have other household pets that could be infected if
the kitten has any communicable diseases. Until you take the
new kitten to the vet, you will need to keep him away from
the other pets.
At the veterinarian’s office, your kitten will undergo a detailed
physical exam. This will include looking at baby teeth to determine
age, measuring temperature, palpating organs, listening to
the heart, brushing fur for signs of fleas, and checking eyes
and ears. After the physical exam is complete, the vet will
perform several lab tests, such as:
- Fecal float checks for worms
- Blood Tests check for FeLV and FIV viruses
Depending on your kitten’s age when you first take her to
the vet, she may be vaccinated. Vaccinations take place at
9 to 10 weeks of age. Kittens are given a booster shot at 12–14
weeks and possibly a Rabies vaccine, depending on local laws
or if your cat is considered at risk.
Two procedures that may be taken care of at different times
are spaying/neutering and declawing. Some vets prefer to spay/neuter
at a younger age, as it may be better for the cat. You need
to make a separate appointment for this. Unlike spaying and
neutering, declawing is a more debatable procedure. Learn more
about the benefits and disadvantages of this procedure before
you make a final decision.
Social Growth
In his first month and a half of growth, a new kitten experiences
tremendous changes. Typically, new cat owners will not bring
home a kitten until week 6, when it has been weaned off its
mother’s milk. For this reason, typically new kitten owners
will be more involved in the social growth than physical growth.
If the mother was comfortable with humans, the kittens will
usually learn that behavior and learn to socialize easily with
people. However, if your kitten has not become accustomed to
being handled by humans by the age of six weeks, it will be
difficult to train this behavior later, and the cat may always
be somewhat more skittish than others.
Be sure to teach your kitten at a young age that hands are
not toys—they feed, pet and hold the kittens.
Introducing Canned Food
Kittens need many more nutrients than adult cats. However;
with smaller stomachs they must each more regularly. A six-week-old
kitten should have four daily feedings until he reaches 12
weeks of age. From 12 weeks to six months, she can take three
daily feedings. After that point, feed your kitten once daily,
like other adult cats.
When choosing food, keep your kitten’s health top priority.
Do not feed your kitten:
- table scraps or milk
- dog food
- adult cat food
All of these may be easy options for you, the pet owner, but
the kitten will not receive the nutrients she needs. Instead,
feed her a well-balanced diet of food made specifically for
developing kittens. Begin with canned food, which is more calorie-laden
for energetic kittens. Later on, you can start supplementing
with dry food.
Now that you’ve learned the basics of kitten care, bring home
your new kitten and enjoy the time you spend together. She’ll
be an adult cat before you know it!
#
# # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
>
Home Page > Cat
Care Articles: Main Page |
