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Help! I Have A New Kitten In The House!
Even before you bring a new kitten into the house, you must keep certain factors in mind: for example, are you looking for a family pet or a show animal? If the former, you should look for an animal with a balanced temperament, while the latter should have the proper pedigree and its mother should also be on view. Make sure you choose a healthy kitten – check for bright eyes, shiny coat, a clean bottom and an alert demeanor. The ears should be clean, the nose cool and damp, and the gums and mouth pale pink.
So your kitten is in the house. Now what? Well, kittens require a high-protein diet and a regular supply of water. It goes without saying that you should keep food and water bowls clean at all times. The common recommendation from vets is to feed a kitten according to its age. So between the ages of three and five months, your kitten needs five to four meals daily, those between six and eight months need three to four meals daily, while 9-12 month-olds can have three meals daily. Don’t feed them human food. At all times, serve tinned or fresh kitten dry cat food from a reputable manufacturer.
Now we come to that other major problem – toilet training. Most pedigree kittens are fully toilet trained early on. However, as a general rule, make sure your new kitten knows where the toilet tray is, and to ensure that it doesn’t get confused about the tray’s location, limit its activities to that part of the house that contains the tray and allow it to become acclimatized to that portion. Even when you allow your kitten the run of the house, keep an eye on it and regularly take it back to its toilet tray. For those with a multiple-floor house, keep a litter tray on every floor.
For even better results, use the same kind of toilet tray the breeder was using, right down to the color if possible. That will help the new kitten settle in immensely. Once again needless to say, keep the toilet tray squeaky clean at all times. Cats are CLEANLINESS FREAKS and will quickly find excuses not to use the toilet tray if it is not cleaned every day.
Remember that it is not advisable to allow the new kitten to roam all over the house immediately after it arrives. Rather, place the kitten in a warm room where it will remain for a few days. Don’t allow the kitten to rush into explore mode, and give it everything it needs in that one room, including toilet tray, food and water, toys, and bed. Your new kitten should also not be allowed outdoors until it is old enough to cope with outdoor life.
Finally: please accept that your new kitten will not be a friend with you immediately it sets eyes on you. Cats are reserved by nature and it can take a long time for them to establish a relationship. Once they do so, however, there can seldom be more loyal friends.