4 Essential Items for Your New Kitten

When adopting a new cat or kitten into your household it is important to be prepared for your new addition. You wouldn't want to have to rush out to the store in the middle of the night to get kitty litter in an "emergency" situation. A new pet is a a new friend for life, and should be treated with care and respect. Provide for them well and they will reward you with their friendship for many joyous years to come.

1. Toys. A scratching pad or kitty tower made from rope or carpet is a good idea and will spare your furniture from being torn apart. Predatory animals, like a cat or kitten, roam around at night instead of sleeping like we would want them to. Instead, especially in multi cat households, your pet can be heard practically having a party, sometimes including noisy brawls, in the middle of the night.

2. Kitty or puppy will need a food and a water bowl designated just for them. Sure, you can just give them one of the bowls from the kitchen, but why not spoil him a little? A nutritious food made specifically for puppies or kittens is essential to help your new pet grow as well as supplement their vitamin and mineral needs. Food made just for younf animals contains more of the vitamins and minerals as well as crude protein and fat for growth. Older animals require less fat in their diet due to the risk of the becoming obese and unhealthy.

3. Litter Box and kitty litter are two very important things that any cat or kitten owner must have and take care of, that is unless you can teach your cat how to use the toilet like a few lucky(?) cat owners have done. A litter box is best kept on a floor that is easy to vacuum. Carpets with a heavy pile can trap kitty litter inside of the fibers and make cleaning difficult. A Vinyl flooring, like in a bathroom, is normally preferred, next to letting your cat outside. For a puppy, if you have older dogs, they can unknowingly assist in teaching your new puppy where they should relieve themselves. But until this time comes, many new puppy owners will lay down newsopaper or puppy training pads (sold at most local grocery stores) and teach their puppy to go on the paper until they learn to let the owner know they need to go outside.

4. Flea Control. You will want to bathe you new puppy or kitten in a warm (but not too warm) bath and use a flea shampoo tha says it can be used on younger animals. Shampoo and rinse, let out the water when you start seeing fleas jump off of your pet. You might have to add and drain the water several times for a new pet with severe flea infestations. A flea prevention treatment should be administered as soon as the kitten or puppy is dried off completely and is old enough. If you notice that fleas have jumped off of your pet and have become a problem in your home, a flea spray can be bought at most drug stores or grocery stores. Spray the entire house at the same time and make sure that your pets are treated with a separate flea treatment and are not exposed to the chemicals in any way. Repeat the process if necessary to kill all of the fleas and new ones that hatch.