First Vet Visit

Vet Visit

Take your kitten to the vet as soon as possible, preferably within the first week, for a health check, worming and flea program and vaccination schedule. Depending on where you got your kitten from Kitty should have been wormed and had flea treatment so is hopefully free of these parisites. Worming and flea treatment is important for your health and the kitten’s health. You may also want to get your pet micro chipped during this visit.

How often should I feed my kitten?

Kittens start to eat solid foods from about three weeks and are fully weaned at about eight weeks.

At first they need small meals as they have very small stomachs. Kittens need about four or five meals a day. By about six months two meals a day are usually enough.
Always make sure fresh clean water is available. Milk isn’t necessary or advised.
Choose a quality premium food formulated for kittens. If you decide not to use the breeders chosen food introduce your choice of food gradually.

Settling in Your New Kitten

So you have chosen your kitten!

You’ve got all the things you need to look after kitty!

You’ve got the safe room ready! (Remember to keep doors and windows closed in this room).

Now it’s time to collect that new member of the family!!!!

Bring your kitten home in your cat carrier. Cats often find car journeys traumatic so don’t risk trying to hold your kitten during the journey. Line the carrier with plenty of newspaper in case of a toilet accident (unusual). Put a blanket in the carrier too; this can be used in the cat’s bed later on. I like to use the carrier as a bed in the first few days. See previous blog. A new bed can be introduced later and the familiar blanket should seduce kitty to use it.

When the kitten arrives in its new home, it is likely to feel unsettled and anxious, and may cry for its mother and brothers and sisters. It should be put in its bed or basket, which is placed in a warm, draught free, quiet corner. A furry toy or a well-covered, warm hot-water bottle will help to reassure the kitten and make it feel more a home. The litter tray needs to be positioned in a suitable secluded place a short distance away from the bed, and it is best keep the kitten confined to one room at first. (Remember to keep doors and windows closed in this room).The food and water bowl should be placed as far away from the litter tray as particle. Cats don’t like to mix food and toilet too closely. Offer some water. After about an hour offer a small quantity of familiar food. Your kitten may not feel relaxed enough to eat straight away but hunger will soon get the better of kitty. Feed kittens 'little and often', each time food is consumed place kitty on its litter tray.
Remember it isn’t safe for your kitten to go outside during the first few weeks. He may get lost, older cats may pick a fight with kitty and traffic is a real danger.
Kittens love receiving plenty of attention and being picked up, stroked and played with. Something as simple as a twist of paper tied onto a piece of string and pulled across the floor provides hours of entertainment and other objects will be prodded and investigated, A kitten needs plenty of rest, and bouts of play and activity are combined with frequent sleeping and eating.
Children will usually be very enthusiastic about the kitten and enjoy playing with and caring for their new pet. Remember that kittens are quite vulnerable to injury. Particularly getting under people's feet and being trodden on. Teach children to be careful when handling their new pet.
Enjoy your new pet, kittens are lots of fun.

Shopping List for Your Kitten

• Litter tray and cat litter: Use the litter that the cat breeder used to be sure of the kitten not rejecting your litter tray. You can gradually change to the type of litter you prefer. If you can bring home a small amount of soiled litter from the breeders cat tray and introduce to your tray that will confirm to kitty this is the place to toilet. I prefer the covered/lidded litter tray but the uncovered ones are cheaper and adequate.
• Scratching post: Providing your cat with it's own scratching post will reduce the chances of your cat using your furniture or carpet. Cats need to scratch and enjoy scratching. I scratch on my cats’ post every morning to encourage them to use and they join in with me!
• Food/water bowls: I like the pottery ones as there is less of a chance of the bowl being knocked over. The metal ones are good because they can be dropped and don’t smash.
• Cat carrier: I like to use the carrier as a cat bed for the first few days. The kitten then associates the carrier as safe and you won’t have trouble getting them into it when you visit the vets. Use a blanket in it and then you can place the blanket in any new bed you buy and this encourages the kitten to use the new bed.
• Cat toys.
• Cat food: Initially use the same food as the breeder to avoid digestive upsets then gradually change to a premium quality kitten brand. Cats can’t digest milk they should only drink water.

Before the kitten arrives home, make sure you have set up a safe comfortable room for your kitten to be confined in for the first few days. You can gradually give access to the rest of the house over the next few days. The kitten will have to be kept indoors during the early weeks. The room where you intend to keep the litter box permanently is the best choice as I have had problems with getting the kitten to relocate its toileting area. One of my cats which I settled initially in the spare room insisted on going back there to find its toilet.

It is important to kitten proof your home. Think of it as if a crawling baby were staying with you.

Choosing a Kitten

Cats and kittens make great pets. They can live for over twenty years so choose carefully as your cat will be around for many years to come. Cats are usually very healthy but vet bills can be pricey.

Moggy cat or pedigree cat?
Although fewer than 20% of all the cats in the UK are pedigrees, there are 32 different breeds registered in Britain by The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. A pedigree cat, will be born of selected parents by a breeder and well socialised, A pedigree offers the guarantee of meeting the looks set out in the breed standard. The same goes for many aspects of their personality. Beware of breeders who are in the business just to make money and don’t socialise their kittens. Ideally choose a breeder who raises the kittens inside their home, not in rows of outside breeding sheds. Buying a pedigree cat isn’t a cheap option and can cost £250 upwards.

The other 80% of UK cats are moggies: cats that do not belong to any recognised feline breed, but that can be just as beautiful and full of character as their pedigree cousins especially if the owner of the mother cat is a caring owner. Moggies are certainly kinder to the wallet! Beware of owners who just let their cat have litter after litter because they don’t want to afford to have their cat neutered. Most people will find their moggy via a friend, neighbour or a local rescue shelter. Some rescue kittens be cautious as some have had a bad start in life and a poor introduction to humans and poor socialising this can scar them for life. Be advised by the rescue centre, a good one will tell you all they know about the kittens past and will only want to re-home to a suitable home.

The kitten’s socialisation, takes place between the 2nd and the 7th week of age, this is a very important stage in development. To a large extend, it conditions, their future behaviour and personality as an adult. Never take a kitten away from it’s mother before it is eight weeks old. Ten or twelve weeks is even better as the mother will teach the kitten more social skills but most owners want to get rid of the kittens much sooner than this.

Kittens and young children?
Some breeds of cat, or kittens who've had a troubled start in life may not be suitable to live in a home with children, so be sure to check on the breed characteristics and the kitten's background before taking them home. Ideally take your child with you to meet your prospective kitten to see how they react: look for a sociable, energetic kitten that doesn't seem nervous or frightened meeting new people or being handled.


Once your kitten is home, remember that even a small kitten will have sharp claws and little needle-like teeth, and they may bite and scratch as part of their boisterous kitten-play or if they feel threatened. Young children will need help understanding that your new kitten isn't a toy, but is a little living animal who needs feeding and can easily get hurt or upset too: initially, your children will need to be supervised with the kitten and taught how to safely handle and play with them.
How many cats?
Cats are often happy being the only feline in the home, but if you have sufficient space at home, raising two kittens together can be immensely enjoyable: If you are out a lot two cats good company for each other. They'll have a playmate to help keep them both entertained and a friend with whom to explore or snuggle up with. It is a good idea to raise two kittens from the same litter, as they'll already be familiar with each other and are more likely to have similar personalities.

Male or female?

It is sometimes said that females are cuddlier and males more distant, and sometimes you hear exactly the opposite! Neutering considerably reduces behavioural differences between males and females. Unneutered Toms can be more likely to stray and get into fights with other cats, and intact females can be unpredictable when they're in heat.

Grooming and Hair length
Long-haired cats will need daily grooming to keep their coats healthy and free of tangles, and help reduce hairballs. If you're looking for a cat that needs a little less maintenance, then opt for a shorter-haired cat: a healthy short-hair cat will be able to look after their own grooming needs, but helping them out now and then is a great way to bond with your cat and help keep hairballs to a minimum.

A Healthy Kitten

It's really important to pick a healthy kitten if you want a trouble-free, healthy pet. It can be very tempting to pick the runt of the litter because you feel sorry for it, but this kitten may need much more care and veterinary treatment, which is expensive and heartbreaking when the kitten can’t be helped back to health.

Signs of a healthy kitten:

Lively and active

Well-nourished. Feel the kitten gently - the ribs shouldn't stick out and it shouldn't have a pot belly.



Soft, shiny coat
Clean ears with no discharge or foul smell
Clean, bright eyes with no discharge
No evidence of runny nose or excessive sneezing
Milk teeth should all be there, and mouth should look healthy
Straight legs (not bowed)
Clean butt - no evidence of diarrhoea
Different Personalities
Before you visit the seller, ask in advance if you can see the whole litter together. When you first see them, observe which ones are alert and playful. Sit down beside them and see how comfortable (or frightened) they are with a person nearby. If the kittens are very wary, look frightened, back off or even hiss at you, this suggests they've not been handled enough. It's best not to adopt kittens like this unless you're able to spend a lot of time socialising them. If the kittens are alert and playful, and seem to respond to your presence with interest rather than fear, that is a good sign. The kitten that approaches you first is likely to be the dominant character of the bunch. On the plus side, he/she will probably be adaptable and confident. On the down side, he/she may be strong-willed and independent and may try to dominate other animals in the household and may never be a lap cat. At the other extreme, any kittens that shy away are likely to be sensitive, and will need to be raised gently. These kittens are likely to be less adaptable and not too happy around young children and other animals. You should take time to handle the kittens individually, not only to check they're healthy, but also to see how they react to being handled. A good choice will be a kitten that doesn't become fearful or aggressive when you pick him up, but is friendly and confident. Stay with the litter for long enough, at some point you may just "gel" with one. I believe that kittens like to choose their owners as much as we like to choose them.