The Most Important Things to Remember When Caring for Kittens

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Caring for a new kitten is something that not everyone is actually capable of doing. Whether your cat has kittens at home, you find one abandoned or you buy or adopt one to bring home, you have to do some things to keep that kitten healthy. There are many considerations to make, sacrifices on your part and even some things that you probably just didn’t think about. You might not intend to be a ‘negligent’ kitten owner, but sometimes things escape us because we don’t know they’re imperative. So here are a few things that you should do when caring for your new kitten.

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Get a Vet

You need a good vet if you are going to care for a kitten. The worst thing you can do when caring for kittens of any age is neglect to take the cat to the vet. This is especially true if you have a kitten that your own cat had at home or that you found somewhere. Most kittens up for purchase and/or adoption have already been to the vet, but even then you must have a vet of your own.

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Verify Age

One of the most important things you can do for your kitten when you take it to the vet is finding out how old it is. This is going to determine many things, such as what it eats, how it needs to be cared for and what you can expect at any given age. The only time you do not have to do this is if you were there when the kitten was born and can verify on your own.

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Do Not Feed it Milk

Contrary to popular belief, kittens are not made to consume milk. They are actually lactose intolerant, but most people have no idea that the vast majority of cats suffer from this. This means you could be doing even more harm than good feeding your cat milk, so ease up. Ask the vet if you still aren’t convinced and he or she will tell you that this is the absolute truth as far as you can tell.

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Find the Right Food

The right food for your kitten is something that your vet can recommend. All kittens are different, and you need yours checked out before you begin assuming it will do well with this food or that one. You should have the cat checked out and ask the vet what he or she recommends as far as food is concerned so that you always feed the cat the right diet, which is going to change as the cat gets older and more mature.

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Keep the Kitten Close

Kittens are small and they can be fragile. If you’ve adopted one, chances are good that the kitten is actually quite a bit older and probably very capable of caring for itself. However, you should still keep it close. You might want to find a private place for the kitten to sleep so that it’s away from the hustle and bustle of your everyday life and the rest of your family.

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Buy the Right Supplies

Kittens need supplies. They don’t need a leash or anything like that, but they do need dishes and they do need things that will keep them happy and healthy. If you’re not sure what your kitten might need, try asking a local rescue, shelter or vet to recommend some must-have products for your sweet new friend to have around the house. it’s helpful if you can have these things early on, too.

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Keep Kids Away – or Supervised

The allure of a small kitten is almost too much to bear, especially for kids. However, you do want to keep your kitten away from your kids if you are not there to supervise. They are small and fragile, and kids are sometimes a bit rougher than they realize. You could injure or unintentionally kill a cat leaving it alone with a child for even a few minutes if the child were to grab it too tight or accidentally sit on it because it wasn’t aware it was already on a chair or couch.

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Keep Them Inside

To ensure your kitten remains as safe as possible, keep the cat indoors at all times. Cats are animals that survived for many hundreds of years in the wild before they were domesticated, but that doesn’t mean you want to let your new little family member fend for itself in the great outdoors. Keep the kitten inside to ensure that it is not exposed to wild animals and fleas, or other potential health issues that sometimes come along with animals that are allowed outdoors.

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Maintain Vet Contact

If you ever feel that you need to ask your vet a question, call him or her right away. You should maintain frequent contact with your vet when you are caring for a new kitten for the simple reason that you never know when you might need him or her. The better your relationship, the more likely you are to come into contact with the vet when you need something after hours or on the weekends. This is important since you are caring for a very small animal that does need your help to survive.

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Keep Away from Other Pets

One of the worst things you can do with a new kitten is allow it to have contact with other pets, especially if the kitten is one you found. You should limit the contact your kitten has with other animals so that you are always present in case something were to happen. An adult cat or older cat might not be comfortable with a kitten present, and a dog might think that it’s a toy. Just do your kitten a favor and ensure that it is not left unattended with other animals in the first few weeks or months of its life. This might mean crating dogs or leaving cats in a room with a shut door when you are not home to ensure the safety of your small kitten.

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