Looking after your new kitten
Congratulations on acquiring your new kitten
We are sure that by now you will have fallen in love with your new family member! Please read on for simple guidelines regarding the care of your new pet.
Things your kitten needs:
- A food and water bowl
- At least one litter tray (one more tray than the number of cat’s in the home)
- A scratching post
- Toys
- A sturdy carrying basket
- Pet health insurance – kittens can be accident prone!
For the first few days after taking your kitten home it is advisable to feed the same food as was given by the breeder. After your kitten has settled in, you can change the diet if you wish to. Cats have very special nutritional needs, which are very difficult to meet with home cooked diets and can lead to deficiencies. When choosing a food, make sure you get a good quality complete food which will contain everything your kitten needs.
Small kittens (8 to 12 weeks old) need four meals per day, this can gradually be reduced to three and then two meals by the time they are six months old.
Microchipping
A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and contains a unique bar code number which can be read using a small scanner. The microchip number, together with the details of the owner and cat are then registered on a national database. Should your cat ever become lost and is found, the chip number can easily be read by using the scanner and your cat can be re-united with you.
Unlike dogs, cats are not required to be microchipped by law, however it is strongly advised, especially if your pet will be spending time outdoors. Your kitten can be microchipped at the time of vaccination or neutering.
Parasite control
Your kitten will likely have received at least worming control before coming to your home. We recommend monthly treatment for fleas and mites (+/- ticks), and three-monthly treatment for roundworm and tapeworm. Your Vet will be happy to discuss which products best suit your needs.
Going outdoors
While your pet will be covered by his/her vaccination course seven days after the second injection, it is strongly advised that you do not let your kitten outdoors until he/she is both microchipped and neutered. It takes a while for a young cat to learn its way around and it is not uncommon for kittens to get lost. Female cats can become pregnant extremely young and male cats who have not been castrated are more likely to get into fights with others which can lead to abscesses or even viral infections such as FIV.
Neutering
There are many unwanted cats and kittens in rescue shelters or fending for themselves. Neutering your cat ensures that you do not contribute to this problem. Please only let your cat have kittens if you already know that they will all go to loving homes. We castrate and spay cats from four to six months of age (depending upon your pet’s size and weight).
Cat Health Information
Find out more
To assist owners in understanding more about a health conditions that are specific to cats we have put together a range of information sheets to talk you through some of the more common health concerns seen and treated by our General Practice Vets.
