When You Bring Your Kitten Home
What You'll Need:
Food: Science Diet dry or Purina One Chicken & Rice formula - can supplement with canned if wish
Food & water bowls
Litter pan: medium to large - place in quiet area away from food & water bowls
Litter: non-scoopable kind until kitten 1 year old
Soft cozy cat bed
Scratching post: tall sturdy sisal (rope) type that won't fall over when kitten becomes full grown
Corrugated cardboard scratching pad
Small cat track:plastic ring with ball inside
Assorted toys:ping pong balls, little furry mice, etc
Soft cat brush:start brushing kitten early in life so he will regard this activity as pleasurable - especially important for long haired cats
Interactive wand with toy on end - only under supervision & keep out of kitten's reach when not in use. This is great for socialization and exercise.
When You Arrive At Home:
Set your kitten up in a small secure quiet room with kitten dry food, fresh water, litter pan with litter, small soft cozy bed, toys, scratching post, and cardboard scratching pad. Keep fresh water & dry food available at all times.
Make sure all window screens are secure and that kitten cannot escape from room.
Make sure all dangerous objects are put away, all fish tanks have secure covers, and if a bathroom, toilet lid is always down.
Show the kitten his/her litter box and food & water bowls. If you have a covered litter box, keep the cover off until you know kitten is using it.
Let the kitten hide if wants to and come to you in its own time. Do not try to forcefully get the kitten out of its hiding place. She/he will be a much more sociable kitten if it is allowed to choose the time to make friends. Kitten will most likely come out at night when household asleep to eat, use litter box, and explore its surroundings the first week or so. Coaxing them out with food or toys, especially with wand toys (fishing rod like toys) can help bring them out.
Talk softly to build up trust and pet gently. Be patient! Don't grab him/her. Gently pet while playing or eating near you ( while they're distracted). Don't make sudden movements (that might scare the kitten/s).
After about 1-2 weeks, when the kitten is secure in its own room, let the kitten out under your supervision to explore the rest of the house. Make sure all doors and window screens to the outside are securely closed.
Always put kitten back in its own room before leaving the house. It is unbelievable what kittens can get into in a short period of time.
For the first 3-4 weeks make absolutely certain kitten doesn't get outside or he/she will become disoriented and disappear as kitten/cat doesn't know its new home yet.
Kitten should not be allowed outside under any circumstances until spayed or neutered. As he/she approaches sexual maturity as early as 4 months of age, it will leave your home in search of a mate and become lost and in case of a unspayed female, pregnant.
Cats should never be allowed outside in unsafe areas such as high traffic areas, neighboring dogs, mean adults or teenagers, etc. and always brought in before dusk and not let out until well after sunrise as coyotes, owls, etc will kill them. P.S. Foxes and coyotes do come out during the day. Your kitty could be their next meal.
If your kitten develops loose stools or diarrhea, a vet visit is in order ASAP as the kitten may have coccidia (treatment albon) or giardia (treatment metronidazole) or tapeworm (treament droncit) or feline drontal for both roundworms & tapeworms. This is assuming that your kitten has been treated for roundworms - having had two treatments of strongid three weeks apart. It is especially important to treat diarrhea in a young kitten quickly as they can become dehydrated and die. If kitten has been treated for roundworms & tapeworm, insist they be treated for coccidia and giardia even if stool test is negative as they can have these parasites and still give a negative result on stool test.
SAFETY CHECK LIST FOR KITTENS
Toilet Lids Down ! DRYERS ! No Baggie Ties No Pins Cover Fish Tanks !
No Dog Flea Spray Hot Stove Burners Lock Up Toxic Substances Hot Irons
Unwatched Tub Of Water ! Careful Closing Dresser Drawers and Closets Hide Electric Cords
No Collars No Sharp Objects No Long Pieces Of Yarn or String Remove Toxic Plants
Secure Window Screens Washers Refrigerators plastic grocery bags
Tuck Away Or Cut Venetian Blind Cords No Clumping Litter until a year old No Collars On Kittens
No tinsel or saran icicles NO MILK - causes diarrhea no small suction cups
Kittens as young as 4 MONTHS OF AGE can become pregnant- so be sure to SPAY-NEUTER EARLY!
Have Your Kitty Spayed-Neutered by 5 months of age.
Have Your Kitty Microchipped at time of spay-neuter.
See LOW COST SPAY-NEUTER PAGE on this website for a clinic near you
We Can Only End Pet Overpopulation and its drastic consequences with your help!
Note: click on highlighted RED print to follow links
See also:
Cat Adoption
What You'll Need:
Food: Science Diet dry or Purina One Chicken & Rice formula - can supplement with canned if wish
Food & water bowls
Litter pan: medium to large - place in quiet area away from food & water bowls
Litter: non-scoopable kind until kitten 1 year old
Soft cozy cat bed
Scratching post: tall sturdy sisal (rope) type that won't fall over when kitten becomes full grown
Corrugated cardboard scratching pad
Small cat track:plastic ring with ball inside
Assorted toys:ping pong balls, little furry mice, etc
Soft cat brush:start brushing kitten early in life so he will regard this activity as pleasurable - especially important for long haired cats
Interactive wand with toy on end - only under supervision & keep out of kitten's reach when not in use. This is great for socialization and exercise.
When You Arrive At Home:
Set your kitten up in a small secure quiet room with kitten dry food, fresh water, litter pan with litter, small soft cozy bed, toys, scratching post, and cardboard scratching pad. Keep fresh water & dry food available at all times.
Make sure all window screens are secure and that kitten cannot escape from room.
Make sure all dangerous objects are put away, all fish tanks have secure covers, and if a bathroom, toilet lid is always down.
Show the kitten his/her litter box and food & water bowls. If you have a covered litter box, keep the cover off until you know kitten is using it.
Let the kitten hide if wants to and come to you in its own time. Do not try to forcefully get the kitten out of its hiding place. She/he will be a much more sociable kitten if it is allowed to choose the time to make friends. Kitten will most likely come out at night when household asleep to eat, use litter box, and explore its surroundings the first week or so. Coaxing them out with food or toys, especially with wand toys (fishing rod like toys) can help bring them out.
Talk softly to build up trust and pet gently. Be patient! Don't grab him/her. Gently pet while playing or eating near you ( while they're distracted). Don't make sudden movements (that might scare the kitten/s).
After about 1-2 weeks, when the kitten is secure in its own room, let the kitten out under your supervision to explore the rest of the house. Make sure all doors and window screens to the outside are securely closed.
Always put kitten back in its own room before leaving the house. It is unbelievable what kittens can get into in a short period of time.
For the first 3-4 weeks make absolutely certain kitten doesn't get outside or he/she will become disoriented and disappear as kitten/cat doesn't know its new home yet.
Kitten should not be allowed outside under any circumstances until spayed or neutered. As he/she approaches sexual maturity as early as 4 months of age, it will leave your home in search of a mate and become lost and in case of a unspayed female, pregnant.
Cats should never be allowed outside in unsafe areas such as high traffic areas, neighboring dogs, mean adults or teenagers, etc. and always brought in before dusk and not let out until well after sunrise as coyotes, owls, etc will kill them. P.S. Foxes and coyotes do come out during the day. Your kitty could be their next meal.
If your kitten develops loose stools or diarrhea, a vet visit is in order ASAP as the kitten may have coccidia (treatment albon) or giardia (treatment metronidazole) or tapeworm (treament droncit) or feline drontal for both roundworms & tapeworms. This is assuming that your kitten has been treated for roundworms - having had two treatments of strongid three weeks apart. It is especially important to treat diarrhea in a young kitten quickly as they can become dehydrated and die. If kitten has been treated for roundworms & tapeworm, insist they be treated for coccidia and giardia even if stool test is negative as they can have these parasites and still give a negative result on stool test.
SAFETY CHECK LIST FOR KITTENS
Toilet Lids Down ! DRYERS ! No Baggie Ties No Pins Cover Fish Tanks !
No Dog Flea Spray Hot Stove Burners Lock Up Toxic Substances Hot Irons
Unwatched Tub Of Water ! Careful Closing Dresser Drawers and Closets Hide Electric Cords
No Collars No Sharp Objects No Long Pieces Of Yarn or String Remove Toxic Plants
Secure Window Screens Washers Refrigerators plastic grocery bags
Tuck Away Or Cut Venetian Blind Cords No Clumping Litter until a year old No Collars On Kittens
No tinsel or saran icicles NO MILK - causes diarrhea no small suction cups
Kittens as young as 4 MONTHS OF AGE can become pregnant- so be sure to SPAY-NEUTER EARLY!
Have Your Kitty Spayed-Neutered by 5 months of age.
Have Your Kitty Microchipped at time of spay-neuter.
See LOW COST SPAY-NEUTER PAGE on this website for a clinic near you
We Can Only End Pet Overpopulation and its drastic consequences with your help!
Note: click on highlighted RED print to follow links
See also:
Cat Adoption