Cat Care
Kitten Care
A few things in life are as rewarding as the loving companionship of a pet. Educating yourself about what’s best for your pet is the first important step towards a long, rewarding and healthy relationship.
Warmth: Keep the kitten in a warm, draft-free and secluded place-after all, a chilled kitten can die quickly. Warm the kitten by holding it next to your own skin or by using a heating pad, well-wrapped with a thick towel or flannel sheet. Feeding a chilled kitten can be fatal, so wait until its temperature is up to its normal range of 95° F to 99° F before attempting to feed it. If a kitten’s temperature falls below 94° F, it must be warmed gradually to avoid metabolic shock. Remember, most of the kitten’s energy is needed for growth and yelling for more food, so there’s not a lot left over for heat generation.
Health and growth: As the kitten grows, several important changes take place. The antibodies obtained from its mother to help protect it against disease are replaced by its own antibodies. Proper nutrition and veterinary care are required for the immune system to develop properly and for proper growth and development of muscles, bones and internal organs.
Begin veterinary care as soon as possible. Litters from undomesticated or of unknown parentage are likely to suffer from fleas and other parasites. They lack the normal natural immunity passed on in early weeks from vaccinated mother cats. During your first appointment, the veterinary doctor will map a management program to help your kitten be healthy throughout life.
Proper Nutrition: The kitten should be fed a nutritionally balanced, highly digestible food specifically formulated for its age and lifestyle. Feeding the kitten poor-quality foods of low digestibility may:
» slow their growth rate
» cause poor muscle and bone development
» decrease resistance to infectious disease
Ask the vet to prescribe a good kitten food or supplement in case the mom is not around to feed the kittens. Get a feeder (a bottle, syringe or eye-dropper). Kittens will need to eat as many as 12 meals round-the-clock.
At three weeks or so, start training the babies to eat food from a dish. Mix either dry or canned kitten food with the milk formula and mix it until it is a thick liquid. As the kitten learns to eat and enjoy it, gradually reduce the amount of milk replacement formula. Finally, introduce solid kitten food.
Stimulation: The kitten’s natural mother licks the kitten’s abdomen and stimulates the bowels and bladder. So you should gently rub the kitten’s abdomen and bottom with a cotton ball or pad or tissues moistened with warm water. This stimulates the discharge of waste. Keep the area clean and watch for chafing which might indicate that you are rubbing too hard or not cleaning well enough..
While feeding and cleaning the kitten, wash its fur all over with a damp towel using short stokes. This cleans its fur, teaches it to clean its fur, and gives it a feeling of attention and well-being.
Besides food and warmth the kitten needs emotional closeness. Pet it frequently and let it snuggle against your warm skin. This early cuddliness continues as the cat grows into an adult.