Kittens are cute and everyone wants to own them. But the question is – do we know how to take good care of them? Before you adopt a kitten, there are many things to consider prior to embarking on this new pet-parent journey. Taking good care and raising your kitten the right way helps build its healthier growth and increase its adaptability to the surroundings. If you have discovered our must-read kitten adoption starter guide HERE that includes kitten-proofing your home, you are now ready to take a step further as we explore more details about taking care of your kitten, so you and your kitten can get closer to each other throughout this rewarding journey.
GET A VET’S ADVICE
Prevention is better than cure. It is always wise to bring your newly adopted kitten to the vet within the first week of getting it for a thorough check to see if there are any health conditions that you need to be aware of. Your vet should be able to advise on the preventative measures, which entail deworming and vaccination by providing a vaccination schedule for your kitten to get the right protection at the right age. Consult your vet on spaying/neutering as this procedure is vital in minimising health risks such as mammary neoplasia, the third most common cancer in cats, and other diseases related to uterus, ovaries, and testicles, apart from controlling unintended pregnancies. But, how do you know who is the right vet to advise you? Have a look at the vet clinics around your residential area and locate the ones with good reviews. The close distance comes in handy in case of an emergency. Do take note of its facilities, hygiene, staff’s attitude, and if there are other patients – this may be a good indicator if the clinic is reputable.
FEED IT RIGHT
Follow Its Age
- Below eight-week-old: Your furry feline baby will need special attention and extra care. It may have been relying on its mother for milk and body heat. Feed it with milk from the bottle once every two hours until it reaches four weeks of age. To add more variety to its diet, try ProDiet’s broth pet food for a start. This high-quality soup is high in water content for easier consumption and better digestion while boosting hydration. If you need more advice, it is always best to consult your vet to find out the best feeding practices and diet for this young age.
- Eight to 11 weeks of age: This is when you need to focus on nutrition-rich kitten food. Wet or dry, it should be easy to masticate and digest. With ProDiet’s wide array of protein-packed kitten food like Kitten Fresh Tuna Wet Pouch or Fresh Mackerel Wet Pouch, your kitten gets to absorb good nutrition from its high-quality ingredients to boost muscle growth and organ development that are essential for its hyperactive nature like jumping or playing. Feed your little feline about four times a day to ensure it is supplied with the right amount of nutrition.
- Two to four months of age: As energy goes with age, growing kittens need three times more calories and nutrients than adult cats. ProDiet’s Kitten Ocean Fish Dry Food is formulated to fuel your kitten’s adventures. Rich in calcium for teeth and bone strength and high in protein for muscle growth, your kitten would be thankful to you for a more energised playtime!
- Four to six months of age: Kittens enter adolescence at this age and reach sexual maturity, which is best if your kitten is spayed/neutered before this age. While your kitten remains active, you may slowly transition your kitten’s diet to an adult cat food by feeding it two times a day (refer to transition chart HERE). To increase your cat’s appetite and ensure it absorbs balanced daily nutrition, the palatable ProDiet’s Stage 2 variants such as the Ocean Fish, Fresh Tuna, Mackerel, and more are perfect for your feline kid at this age!
Best Feeding Practices
Keep things clean, always. Wash your hands and the feeding tools before and after each feeding. If you are feeding a kitten younger than eight weeks, feed it very gently and handle it with extra care as its body is super vulnerable at this stage. Sit comfortably and lay a warm towel on your lap. Hold your kitten on the warm towel with its belly facing down on the towel, and hold the feeding bottle to your kitten’s mouth, so it suckles at its own pace – let it take the lead. It also helps by softly stroking your kitten’s head to resemble how mother cats clean their kittens encouraging them to eat.
TRAINING MAKES PERFECT
Encourage Good Behaviour
Felines generally head to the litter box for their business by instinct. Hence, it does not require great effort in potty training like for dogs. To prevent your kitten from scratching your precious furniture, get a scratching post and reward your kitten every time it uses it. If your kitten is aggressive in bites and scratches during your playtime with her, try distracting her with toys.
Practise Socialisation
Like humans, pets need to socialise too and it is better to start from a young age, so they grew up with better adaptability to different people and environments. The best time for a kitten’s socialisation is within three to seven weeks of age. Expose your kitten to as many things, sounds, tastes, textures, and smells as possible such as baskets, music, TV, vacuum cleaners, carpets, hairdryers, and other items that are safe for kittens. If you have a dog at home, it is advisable to keep them at a distance. When your dog is on the leash and relaxed, hold your kitten near to your dog to allow them to get used to each other’s scent. When both are getting more comfortable with each other’s presence, reward them with treats.
These tips are especially helpful to the new kitten parents of our Familiku Virtual Adoption Drive. Congratulations on adopting your new feline kid from Shikin Shelter and thank you for making a difference in these kittens’ lives by giving them a loving home. At ProDiet, we look forward to having more heroes like you to support a similarly charitable initiative by Shikin Shelter.