Caring For Your New Kitten

Congratulations!  You have purchased or adopted a new kitten.  It is important to remember that a kitten's needs are different from those of an adult dog or cat, a puppy, or a person.  Below is some  helpful information about caring for your new companion during the first 6 months of life.  

 Introduction into the Home

When introducing a new kitten into a household already occupied by one or more cats, it is best to place the new kitten in a separate room for a few days with food, water, a litter box, and a scratching post.  Ideally, the scratching post is the only surface that your kitten can scratch.  Since conditioning of the claws (scratching) is normal behavior for cats, it is important that your kitten learn what objects are acceptable to scratch. 

Litter train your kitten right away by gently moving his or her two front paws in a digging motion in the box to trigger thoughts of voiding.  This is probably all that will be necessary for litter training.  The litter box should be cleaned daily and the entire contents replaced once or twice weekly. 

Confining the kitten initially will allow your resident cats to become familiar with the kitten's odor and sounds.  The older your resident cats are, the longer this adjustment period can take.  One should supervise initial meetings by partially opening the door for interactions of several minutes (depending on progress), several times daily for a few days before allowing the new kitten free range of your home. 

Once your new kitten is introduced to the entire home, a few strategically placed scratching posts can be very useful; make sure to place one where the kitten sleeps, because cats often condition their claws when they awaken.  You may have to provide two litter boxes if one of your cats is reluctant to share a box. 

Your kitten needs stimulation to allow normal  development of play and social behavior.  If you already have other cats, or if you adopt two kittens, this important need should be met.  If the kitten has no playmates, however, provide toys and allow time every day to play with your kitten. He or she needs this attention, especially during the first 6 months of life.  Social play instinct develops from weeks 4 to 11, and then declines.  There is a marked increase in predatory play behavior at 8 weeks.  Social play persists into adulthood, so continue to provide your cat with toys as it grows up. 

Nutrition

Kittens should be fully weaned from their mother at 6 to 8 weeks of age.  Early weaning and separation from littermates can result in problems such as slow learning and suspicious, cautious, or aggressive behavior.  From 6 weeks to 6 or 9 months, your kitten should be fed a high quality diet of the growth or lactation type.  The food should be highly digestible and calorically dense.  If a poor quality kitten food with low digestibility is chosen, the nutritional needs will not be met.  The kitten will then have a pot-bellied appearance, slow growth and skeletal development, poor resistance to infection, and, frequently, diarrhea. 

The following may be useful in determining quality of kitten and cat food.  The name and address of the manufacturer should be on the label.  The label should indicate that the diet is adequate for its intended purpose.  An animal source of protein should be one of the first two ingredients listed on a canned food label and one of the first three ingredients on a dry food label. The lower-priced foods are usually of lesser quality. 

Kittens 6 weeks to 6 months old should not be restricted in the amount of food they consume. Excess caloric intake, excessive growth rate, and obesity are not problems in growing kittens.  Thus, kittens should be fed at least three times per day or given free access to as much food as they want.  Supplementation with table scraps is not recommended, because this can create nutritional imbalances and finicky eating habits. 

Fresh water should always be available to your kitten.  Many veterinarians recommend that fresh cow's milk not be given as a treat, because it can cause diarrhea.  

 Health Care

If you already have cats at home, it is best that your new kitten be examined by your veterinarian before you bring him home, so that parasites or infectious diseases can be detected.  If this is not feasible, have him examined as soon as possible. 

The most common health problems in kittens are congenital (birth defects), infectious (viral, bacterial, or fungal), parasitic (fleas, mites, worms) and nutritional (dietary deficiencies or (excesses).  These problems represent mild to severe health risks to your kitten and the cats it comes in contact with.  

Symptoms of disease and illness are:

1. Sneezing and runny eyes and nose are common signs of upper respiratory viral infection. 
2. Ulcers on the tongue and cornea (eyeball) and high fever are also characteristic of upper respiratory viral infections 
3. Fleas, mites, and fungal infection (ie, ringworm) cause skin problems including itching and hair loss. 
4. If your kitten shakes its head and scratches its ears and has "dirt" in its ears, it probably has ear mites. 
5. Diarrhea in kittens is caused by intestinal worms, viral infection, poor diet, or foreign body ingestion.
6. Severe diarrhea in a kitten can be a serious problem, and causes rapid physical deterioration if it persists. 
7. Bulging stomach may indicate nutritional deficiency, intestinal worms, or a particular viral infection. 

All of these signs indicate diseases that are not uncommon in kittens and can be treated by your veterinarian.  If your kitten has any of these signs, or if it develops poor appetite, vomiting, or lethargy, a veterinarian should be consulted immediately.  Delay in seeking medical help in a young animal can result in a poor prognosis for recovery. 

Vaccinations

Kittens should first be vaccinated for panleukopenia virus, rhinotracheitis virus, and calicivirus at 6 to 8 weeks of age.  Boosters vaccinations are given at 12 and 16 weeks of age, and then yearly. Rabies vaccines are safe to give at 3 months of age, and then yearly. 

Your kitten should be tested for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV is similar to human AIDS).  This can be done as early as 6 to 8 weeks of age.  Your veterinarian may also recommend retesting your kitten at a later date to confirm the results. 
 
Keep your kitten separate from other cats until negative results are obtained, because both viruses are contagious to other cats.  Neither of these viruses is transmissible to humans, however.  If your kitten does harbor either of these viruses, your veterinarian will discuss options with you.  

Feline Ovariohysterectomy (Spay) and Castration

Neuter your kitten when he or she is 6 months old.  Ask your veterinarian about the health benefits. 

In addition to giving your cat better health, neutering your pet helps to control the pet overpopulation problem, an extremely serious problem that is directly responsible for the euthanasia of many millions of cats and dogs every year in the United States.