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 Bringing
The Kitten Home
| When you bring
your new kitten home, at first she may miss her cat family.
She may wake up and meow during the night. Pick her up and
comfort her by speaking soothingly and stroking her gently.
Spend as much time as possible with your kitten the first few days
in it's new home. Give her understanding, affection and
reassurance as she becomes familiar and comfortable with you and her
new surroundings.
Introduce your kitten to your home gradually by following these
helpful hints.
- For the first day or two, keep
your cat confined to one room when you aren't able to be with her.
Keep inside her litter box, food and water. Let the kitten
become comfortable in this room before introducing her to the rest
of the house.
- After your new kitten is relaxed
and acclimated, allow her to explore the rest of the new home.
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Exploring The
House
| After the
initial adjustment period your kitten should be allowed to roam
freely about the house or apartment. Keep a watchful eye on
her to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble.
You
should provide your kitten with items specifically designed for
climbing and scratching. This will keep it from using
furniture for this purpose. Kittens have an innate desire to
sharpen their front claws regularly. Rather than trying to
suppress this natural urge, you should encourage your kitten to use
things that belong to it exclusively. Rubbing catnip or a
favorite treat on a preferred surface will encourage your kitten to
use it rather than furniture or carpeting.
Kittens also need lots
of sleep which helps them develop into healthy and strong adult
cats. The kitten should be free to choose its own sleep and
play areas. However, it should be sleeping in a bed, equipped
with a soft pillow and a blanket and placed in a quiet spot.
The bedding should be washed once a week or so. |
Shots
| Your
kitten should be vaccinated against distemper when it's eight weeks
of age, and a booster should follow four weeks later.
Distemper boosters should be given annually thereafter. Your
kitten should receive it's first rabies vaccination between three
and six months of age followed by annual boosters. Your
veterinarian can advise you about additional shots and vaccinations. |
Closing
Thoughts
| Never
disturb your kitten when it's eating, drinking or using the litter
box. Care for your kitten with love and patience. If you
are rough and uncaring, your kitten will be the same. Don't
allow your kitten to play with you with it's claws extended.
Encourage healthy play with items available from Puppy Paradise. |
Above
All
|
Enjoy your kitten from Puppy Paradise! A kitten is a
playful, curious, and intelligent pet, which will provide you with
endless fun and laughter. Although some of this playfulness
will be lost as your kitten becomes a cat, it will still be an
affectionate, clean and elegant animal that will provide you with
years of enjoyment. |
Litter
Training Your Kitten
Training kittens to use a litter box is not difficult. In fact their
mother trains many kittens by the time they come to you.
Proper training at home begins with the proper equipment.
The Litter Box
Choose a
box that's large enough for the kitten to fit comfortably inside.
An 18 by 14 inch box with 4 inch sides is the right size for most
average size adults. Kittens may need a smaller box that they
can easily get into and out of.
- Make sure there is ample room to dig and
turn around.
- Consider using a box with a top.
This will help contain odor and give your kitten a bit of
privacy and security while going to the bathroom.
- Eliminate odor by cleaning the box each
week with warm soapy water (avoid scented disinfectants)
- Remove solid waste daily and change
litter regularly. How often you change the litter also
depends on how many cats you have, how many boxes they use and the
kind of litter.
- Locate the box in a relatively quite
spot that gives your kitten some privacy. The spot should be
easy for your kitten to access and far away from sleeping and
eating areas.
Urinating outside the litter box
- Even well trained kittens may
occasionally use areas outside the litter box to go to the
bathroom...If this happens don't punish your kitten.
Determine the reason why she missed the box, which is usually
territorial, medical, or environmental.
- Environmental-
Is your kitten squatting as usual when eliminating, but not in the
litter box, or teying to use the box without touching the litter
by straddling the box? The problem often in cleanliness, a
change in the type of litter, the litter box itself, its
location or another cat. To solve this problem, add a litter
box for the other cat, clean and change the litter more frequently
or move the box to a new location.
- Medical-
Your kitten may suffer from
feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD), a urinary tract
infection or constipation. Talk to our veterinarians.
They will most likely want you to being your cat in for an
examination and a urinalysis test.
- Territorial-
If your kitten is urinating while standing up and directing the
urine toward a vertical surface or wall, he is marking his
territory. This usually occurs with unneutered males, and
neutering helps solve the problem. In a neutered male or
spayed female, the case may be a change in routine or change in
the household, such as introduction of a new cat. If this is
the case, show your cat more attention to reassure her that her
relationship is unchanged.
Some common behavioral problems can be
stopped before they start with proper training. The key is
patience. Kittens can be trained if you use positive
reinforcement instead of punishment.
Jumping on counters and furniture
Kittens enjoy resting in elevated places
especially window sills and ledges where they can see outside.
Use these tips to prevent unwanted behaviors:
- Establish acceptable elevated sites your
kitten can inhabit. When she begins to choose her own
resting places, give positive reinforcement for using the ones
you've chosen.
- If your kitten uses an unacceptable
area, place her in one of the chosen spots.
- Fill an empty soda can with 10 pennies
and tape the top completely to contain the coins and cover any
sharp edges. When you see your kitten engaged in
inappropriate behavior, shake or toss the can near the kitten..
not at her. The noise will
startle her and distract her from the unwanted behavior.
Follow up by giving your kitten one of her favorite toys.
With consistent repetition, she'll learn that certain behaviors
produce loud disturbing noises.
Scratching Furniture
- Kittens scratch with their claws as part
of grooming and also to mark territory. Train your kitten
right from the beginning to sharpen her claws on a scratching
post. Hold her near the post and show her how to scratch her
claws on the surface. Give praise when she uses the post.
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