Upon entering your home, your kitten is going to require some extra special attention in the first few days. Ongoing care and attention will help your kitten grow into a happy, healthy cat.

We realize that new kitten owners have many concerns. So we have put together a Kitten Care Guide to get you off to a good start. Included are basic tips on litter training, health care, feeding and grooming. Please note that with this guide, we have only touched briefly on some subjects, so do not hesitate to call your local veterinarian should you have further concerns.

Regular Check Ups

You should give your kitten regular checkups to make sure all is well. Get your kitten used to being handled; accept stroking and grooming, and a thorough once over as part of its daily routine. Once every week or so, take a good look at your kitten’s eyes, ears, mouth, paws, nails, skin and coat. It is important to find problems early, before they become serious. If you notice anything unusual, be sure to consult your local veterinarian.

Eyes

check your kitten’s eyes for:

• redness or inflammation
• a half closed lid
• excessive watering
• a yellow-green discharge or discoloration

A kitten with an infected eye will rub it a lot. Should you notice any of the above conditions please contact your local veterinarian immediately; we do not recommend treating the eye unless it has been examined by a veterinarian. Cleaning around the eye with a cotton ball soaked in warm water is recommended.

Ears

Check your kitten’s ears for discharge, excessive wax build-up (dark brown or black wax) and unpleasant odor.

Your kitten will scratch at its ears or shake its head frequently if its ears are dirty, infected or have ear mites.

Healthy ears are pale pink, clean looking, and odor free.  A gentle cleaning periodically will help ears remain healthy. Moisten a cotton ball with either water or a veterinary ear cleaning solution. Clean only the easy to reach external areas. DO NOT PROBE INTO THE EAR.

Teeth and Gums

At 4 to 6 months your kitten will lose its baby teeth and adult ones will come in. Examine the mouth for any soreness, discoloration, broken or loose teeth, or inflamed or receding gums.

Pets, like people, need regular dental care. Dental disease is one of the most common health problems in pets, yet it can easily be prevented. Cats require frequent brushing and regular dental check-ups in order to prevent tartar, gingivitis, abscessed teeth and bad breath. It is important to start brushing your kitten’s teeth early in life, so that it becomes accustomed to the procedure. Special animal toothpaste, toothbrushes and oral rinses are available at our clinics. Do not use human toothpaste as they contain foaming agents, which may upset your kitten’s stomach. If periodontal disease progresses far enough it could cause heart, liver or kidney disease.

Nails

Kitten’s nails can become very sharp. Therefore, to avoid any unwanted scratches or climbing, it is recommended that you clip your kitten’s nails frequently.

Hold the paw firmly and clip a little at a time—don’t try to take the whole tip off at once. Be careful not to cut into the “quick”—the sensitive flesh underneath the nail. Should you accidentally cut too far and bleeding occurs, use baby powder or flour to help stop the bleeding (it can take a while!). Do not try and clip all the nails at one sitting—clip a few nails when your kitten is quiet to help accustom them to the procedure. If you have never trimmed a kitten’s nails before, have your local veterinarian show you how. Pet nail clippers or human clippers are better to use than scissors.

Provide your kitten with a scratching post and every time they attempt to claw your furniture tell them “NO” and encourage them to use the post. Try toys and catnip spray to entice your kitten to use the post. A water spray bottle is a great tool to discourage your kitten from destroying your couch or drapes.   A quick squirt when the inappropriate behavior starts and then re-directing the kitten to its post will quickly teach him where scratching is and is not permitted.

Body and Coat

Watch for any changes in your kitten’s skin and hair coat: increased shedding, dandruff, raw areas, dry, itchy skin, rashes, lumps, or anything unusual.

A healthy coat is a sign of a healthy pet. Regularly running your hand over the kitten’s body is also a good way to determine if there are any lumps, swollen joints or painful areas. Should you notice any changes please contact your local vet.

Grooming should begin at an early age so that the kitten gets accustomed to the procedure. If your kitten gets dirty, wipe its fur with a wet cloth. NEVER use paint thinners or gasoline to remove paint, grease or tar from the hair of a cat because the agents will burn the cat’s sensitive skin. To remove these materials, dissolve the grease or tar with vegetable oil and shampoo.

Litter Training

Cats are by nature very clean animals. House training is generally very easily accomplished if you follow a few recommendations.

1. For the first few days confine to a small room or the bathroom (where you plan to keep the litter pan in the future). Its bed, food and water dishes should also be placed in the       room. This quiet space will be appreciated by the new kitten, and the confinement will greatly assist house training. After several days, the kitten should be using its litter pan regularly and can be let out of the room to independently explore its new home.
2. It is generally recommended that you select a litter that does not have any deodorant, particularly during house training. Place about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of litter in the pan.  During the training period, place a little soiled litter in with the fresh litter. The soiled litter is a powerful stimulus for the kitten to use the new litter. Clean the litter box frequently – if it becomes too dirty your kitten may stop using it and soil elsewhere in the house.
3. Dump or scoop out the soiled litter, wash the pan with water and replace the litter. The pan should be made of a material that is easily cleaned but never wash it with soap. If the pan smells of soap residue or deodorants, your kitten will be discouraged from using it.
4. Place the pan in a quiet private location that is not in a blind alley, like a closet. It seems that cats like to toilet in a spot they can escape from in many directions. If you have a large multi-story house, it is advisable to have litter pans in separate areas of the house. If you have more than one cat, it is advisable to have one more litter box than the number of cats in the household, placed at various locations throughout the home.
5. If your kitten soils outside the litter pan be sure not to punish him/her, even if you catch your kitten in the act. Cats that are punished only become fearful of the owner and besides, discipline will not correct the problem.

If a trained cat has an accident in the house, check to see if the pan has been cleaned properly and that the bowel movement and urine are normal.

Vaccinations

Newborn kittens receive disease-fighting antibodies from their mother’s milk.  These antibodies only last for a few weeks or months therefore it is important for you to bring your pet into your veterinarian to start their vaccination series.

Vaccinations protect your kitten by stimulating their immune system to produce their own antibodies.  The vaccinations are given in a series over a period of time.

The following schedule is what we recommend at Perry Vet:

Kittens:

• 8 weeks:  1st DRC vaccine, Deworm
• 12 weeks: 2nd DRC vaccine, FeLV/FIV test, 1st FeLV vaccine, Fecal parasite check, Deworm
• 16 weeks: 3rd DRC vaccine, 2^nd FeLV vaccine, Rabies vaccine, Fecal parasite check, Deworm

Adult Cats:

• DRC vaccine (every 3 years after annual booster)
• annual FeLV vaccine
• fecal parsite check
• Rabies (every 3 years)

DRC—This is commonly referred to as a “distemper” shot, but is really a combination of the following vaccines:  Distemper, Rhinotracheitus, Calicivirus.

Distemper is highly contagious and the most widespread disease of cats; in kittens, there is a high death rate.  It causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.

Rhinotracheitis is a respiratory disease caused by a virus.  Severe in small kittens, it can cause sneezing and profuse discharge from the eyes and nose.

Calicivirus is an infection that causes a variety of symptoms including fever, excessive salivation and mouth ulcers.

Rabies is a serious viral disease, which attacks the nervous system.  Once contracted it is fatal to cats and humans.  Cats are required by NYS law to be vaccinated against rabies.

FeLV and FIV are viral diseases that cause many different syndromes.  They can show up as anemia, a weakened immune system, or even cancer.  Infected cats are unable to resist other diseases and may die from associated infections.  FeLV is transmitted through saliva, urine and feces; FIV is transmitted through saliva.  Food dishes and litter boxes can be sources of infection.  Cats should blood test negative before receiving a FeLV vaccine.  No quality vaccine exists for FIV.

Intestinal parasites can be debilitating for young kittens.  While less serious in adult cats they can still cause an unhealthy appearance and diarrhea.  Certain parasites can cause disease in humans.  All kittens should have their feces tested and be dewormed.

Fleas can be acquired from the environment.  A cat infested with fleas may scratch or bite him or herself to try and get rid of the parasites.

You should examine your cat for fleas routinely.  An indication that your cat has them is black flecks that look like pepper clinging to the fur.  Fleas can also cause an allergic dermatitis, which can show up as mild to severe encrusted lesions on the skin.

Ask your veterinarian what products they recommend for controlling fleas.  The best way to rid your house and pets of an infestation is to take preventive measures and never let the problem get established in the first place.

Ear Mites are a common problem to cats.  Since they can lead to ear infections it’s important to treat an ear mite infestation promptly.  Cats can get ear mites from other cats.  A cat that has mites will scratch their ears and shake their heads.  Your veterinarian can diagnose and treat an ear mite problem and show you how to keep your cat’s ears clean.