Adopting a New Kitten: What Are the Precautions?

Cats are beautiful, intelligent and independent, but when they are babies, are as careless as any other animal. What are the precautions you must take to pass through this phase?

When male and female cats meet, their feline urge compels them to date:

Mother nature made the cat species very fertile, and it doesn't take long before male cat becomes daddy.

Whenever a person sees this beautiful scene, the phrase "Let's adopt a kitten" escapes from between the lips, and that's how everything starts. However, to prevent a beautiful story from becoming a tragic one, the new owner needs to take some precaution.

BEFORE TAKING THE KITTEN HOME

• First precaution is to close the lid of everything, including boxes, laundry machines and trashcans. Cats and kittens are very curious animals, and the latter isn't smart enough yet to prevent dangerous situations. The kitten may hide inside a box and become lost for days before someone finds him.

• Removing strings and nails is a necessary precaution. Kittens may swallow it, what might be fatal.

• People who live in buildings have to take the special precaution of installing window protections. Not only a kitten, but also a fully-grown cat may fall from the window; in fact, it happens a lot.

• Like a human baby, the kitten won't be smart enough to not drink bleacher. So, it is a very important precaution to hide the cleaning products.

• Pets, including the cat and the kitten, may like to chew the houseplants. In that case, a necessary precauting is to check with the veterinary which ones may be toxic to the pet.

• Check the kitten's origins, not only the place that it came from, but also the parents. Some genetic diseases can only be detected after very specific tests, that the vet will only indicate if there is a suspicion of the disease; feline leukemia is an example.

WHEN THE KITTEN ARRIVES HOME

• 30 days old, the owner has to take the kitten to the vet, to take vermifuge as a precaution in case of vermin

• 60 days old, the kitten must go to the vet for vaccines

• The kitten will learn to use the sandbox really fast, if it is in an easy place. The new owner should locate the sandbox near somewhere the kitten is used to hang around. In the case of more than one kitten, the better precaution is to have a sandbox for each one. Cats are territorial animals, and don't like to urinate and defecate in other cat's territory.

• Most owners already know it, but it won't hurt to remind: "Ration". Don't feed the cat with human food; the cat has to eat ration. Ration will make the cat healthier, the fur prettier, and eating ration makes the cat live longer. Human's food is hard to metabolize, and constant ingestion may get the cat chronically intoxicated.

• Speaking of ration, the cats and the new kitten eat all day. The ration bowl needs to be refilled every time it gets empty, and the kitten will know how much food he needs.

• Long furred kitten must be brushed at least three times a week

• If the new owner values the furniture, he must provide the kitten a scratchier. The best scratchier isn't always the one you get in the store; a wood piece you have at home may be enough and further more satisfactory to the cat. For better precaution, the owner should take different scratchiers to the cat.

• Kittens and cats have strong personalities and will chose the place they want to sleep. The only thing that the owner must worry, is forbidding the cat from sleeping in places like the bed or the couch. Kittens will respond to boundaries if they are set when they are young.

Well... that's it. Congratulations on the new kitten. I hope precaution list helps you.