What Do I Need To Know About Kitten Behavior
There’s a wide range of kitten behavior because all cats are different. I’ve had many cats over my lifetime, and they all have unique personalities. It’s hard to give a short answer to this question. I will tell you that it is important that you do understand kitten behavior. There’s so much information online, and we would direct you to the best place to go to get some good answers.
If you still have other questions and you’d like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at , you can email us, or you can reach out on Facebook. But please do reach out, and we’ll get back to you as fast as we can.
Do All Kittens Have Worms
Intestinal parasites or worms are very common in kittens. Symptoms of intestinal parasites include generally poor condition, chronic soft or bloody stools, poor appetite, a pot-bellied appearance, loss of luster to the coat, and weight loss. Some parasites are transmitted from the mother to her offspring either in utero or through her milk, while others are carried by fleas or other insects. The eggs and larval forms of some parasites are transmitted through the stool of an infected cat.
“Intestinal parasites or worms are very common in kittens.”
Keeping Your Kitten Entertained
Playtime helps your kitten develop good eye-to-paw coordination, and you get to bond with your pet. Always use toys, rather than fingers or toes, because nipping or scratching becomes painful when your kitten grows up. Play together several times a day and youll soon discover your kittens favourite games. But dont be surprised if each game only lasts a few minutes. Maeve says: Cats have a short attention span so its perfectly normal for your kitten to wander off just as youre perfecting your wand-waving technique.
Choosing the perfect family pet
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Communicating With Your Kitten
You can teach your kitten to recognise its name by using it regularly while you play, and rewarding it with a small treat if it comes when called. Head-bumping, nuzzling, blinking and licking usually mean your kitten feels safe and happy. But tail-waving, hunching-up and hissing are a sign to back off. When youre training your kitten, be firm and consistent, and reward positive behaviour with treats and attention, says Maeve. Young animals should never be punished for mistakes because theyre still learning.
What Should I Expect During The Kittens’ First Few Weeks Of Life
Kittens are born with their eyes closed. Most kittens will begin to open their eyes within seven to fourteen days of birth. If you notice swelling, bulging, or discharge underneath the eyelids, the eyes should be opened manually. Ideally, you should take the kittens to your veterinarian, who will determine if this procedure is required. If this is not possible, you can use a cotton ball dampened with warm water to apply gentle pressure to the eyelids and open them. If the swelling is due to infection, you will see pus in this case, a veterinarian should examine the kittens immediately. If the eyes have not opened within fourteen days of age, the kittens should be examined by a veterinarian.
Kittens should be observed for their rate of growth. They should double their birth weight in about one week. Routine daily to weekly weighing should be performed to ensure the kittens are growing normally. Failure to gain weight may indicate a problem and the need for veterinary care.
At two weeks of age, kittens should be alert and trying to stand. At three weeks, they generally try to climb out of their box. At four weeks, all of the kittens should be able to walk, run, and play.
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How Often Does My Cat Need To Go To The Vet
In general, it is a good idea to visit the veterinarian with your cat twice a year. Dont forget, our cats , so a lot of changes can occur in that time period.
References
- Burns, K. . Vital Statistics. Retrieved from AVMA: www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/ Pages/130201a.aspx
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New Kitten Health Check
Youve anticipated the new arrival by kitten proofing your home and had lots of fun choosing the carrier, bed, blanket, toys and other supplies they will need.
This adorable little bundle of fluff is sure to bring you much joy. In return, you can make a major contribution to your pets happiness and quality of life by providing them with good nutrition, loving attention in a safe, clean environment and regular health checks.
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How Much Is It For Kittens First Shots
Depending on where you live, the individual veterinarians prices, and the type of vaccine, the cost of your new kittens first vaccination may cost around $20-$45 per shot. Veterinarians will also want to perform a physical examination of your kitten before administering what shots your kitten needs.
Tips For Getting Your Cat To The Vet
Dr. Ruth MacPete offers tips to help you have an easier time getting your cat to the vet. For more from Dr. MacPete, find her on or at www.drruthpetvet.com!
There are more cats in American homes than dogs, yet despite their popularity, the American Veterinary Medical Association reports that cats are brought to the veterinarian less often than dogs.
If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.
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When Should Vaccinations Begin
Kittens from a healthy mother will have passive immunity to some feline diseases before and shortly after birth. Before birth, the mother’s antibodies cross the placenta and enter the kittens’ circulation. Immediately after birth, the mother produces colostrum, or first milk, which is also rich in maternal antibodies. These maternal antibodies protect the kittens against the diseases to which the mother is immune. This explains why it is often recommended to booster the mother’s vaccinations a few months prior to breeding.
“Although very protective, maternal antibodies last for only a few weeks after this time, the kitten becomes susceptible to disease.”
Although very protective, maternal antibodies last for only a few weeks after this time, the kitten becomes susceptible to disease. The kitten should receive its first vaccines at about six to eight weeks of age. In order to provide strong immunity, one to three booster vaccines will be required to complete the kitten vaccine series. Kittens should be vaccinated against feline panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, feline leukemia , rabies, and possibly against Chlamydophila felis. Your veterinarian will discuss your individual cat’s needs at the time of the first visit for vaccinations. The specific vaccines and frequency of vaccination will be based on your cat’s lifestyle and its potential risk of contracting infection.
Should I Take My Shelter Cat To The Vet
Congratulations on the adoption of your new pet! However, it is still very important to follow up with your veterinarian soon after adoption. A thorough wellness exam is necessary to ensure your new pet is as healthy as possible before bringing him/her into your home and possibly introducing him/her to your other pets.
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What Vaccinations Does My Kitten Need
We’re generally going to do the core vaccines for all cats, which is the FVRCP, the upper respiratory viruses, panleukopenia, and distemper. And we’re also going to do the leukemia vaccine and rabies. But they’re not all done at the same time. We spread them out over a series, but they’re all very critical vaccines.
What Do I Do With My Newly Adopted Kitten
Do him a favor and provide a small area to call his own for the first few days or weeks. A bathroom or laundry room works well. Furnish the room with cat amenities, such as food, water and a litter box. Youll want to spend time with your cat, so make sure theres a comfortable place for you to sit as well.
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What Should I Ask My Veterinarian In My First Kitten’s Appointment
I think it’s important that you know what to be feeding your kittens, how much water to expect them to drink, how to play with the kitten, how to pick up a kitten, when the next vaccines are due, why we’re giving the vaccines, and why its mportant to kjnow when to have your kitten spayed or neutered. Those things I think are good questions to ask your veterinarian.
Veterinary Visits For The Adult Cat
As soon as your cat reaches the age of 1 until about 7 to 10 years, it is best to visit the vet at least once a year. The ideal vet visit frequency is every 6 months, however. The issue with diseases in cats is that they can be so benign that the signs and symptoms of disease may evade detection by pet parents. Only the clinical assessment skills of a vet can help determine if your cat has an illness or none.
Bringing your adult cat to the vet once or twice every year can also provide you with invaluable information about your pets behavior. Maybe you have seen some cat behaviors that you think are very peculiar, yet your vet may see them as normal. Semi-annual visits to the vet can also help identify weight fluctuations. These can also indicate a medical condition in cats.
Vets will perform a head-to-tail physical examination. This will help assess the normal anatomy and functioning of its body parts. Any deviation from the normal will need further evaluation. In such cases, a more focused assessment is necessary. In such assessments, the vet will further examine the problematic organ. For example, very fast heartbeat will require a more thorough assessment of its cardiovascular system. Vets may also need to examine other organ body systems that depend on the heart for optimum functioning.
Diagnostic tests and laboratory studies are also needed during this stage in your cats life. These can corroborate or refute the findings during the physical examination.
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What Will A Veterinarian Look For During My Initial Kitten Care Visit
We’re going to look at things like behavior and temperament, so we can have a conversation with you to make sure that that’s consistent with how they’re being handled at home. Sometimes I’ll have a family come in with young kids, and we need to make sure that the kitten’s being handled properly. So we’re also going to give the kitten a complete physical. Eyes, ears, and nose are important in kitties. We see a lot of upper respiratory viruses in kittens. We’ll listen to the chest to make sure that the lungs and the heart are good, so it’s an overall exam.
How Can I Get The Most Out Of My First Vet Visit With My New Kitten
Write down any questions you have. I have a lot of people who get in the vet clinic, they have a lot of questions. They see us and they’re like, “Oh, I don’t remember what I was going to ask.” I always tell people, “That’s okay. At your next visit, write down your questions. And that way, we can get them all answered.
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White Cross Vets Complete Wellness Plan
Our Complete Wellness Plan takes care of everything you need to give your kitten the best start in life including vaccinations, a microchip, flea and wormer, and a significant discount off the cost of neutering and a quality Hills Diet.
Contact us for more information on how to look after a kitten or to book in a kitten health check and vaccinations.
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What Should I Do If I Bring Home A Shelter Cat
You wont want to bring these diseases home to other cats, so testing for them is of high priority. If the cat tests negative, you should discuss having him vaccinated against these diseases. Much will depend on the known history of the cat. If he was an indoor-only cat, he may not need the vaccines.
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How Often Should Cats Go To The Vet
Pet owners often ask when and how often their cat should go to the vet, and there are multiple variables that contribute to the answer to this question. Age, health status and lifestyle will all play a role in your cats vet schedule. That said, the American Animal Hospital Association recommends taking your adult cat in for a checkup at least once a year.
Nutrition Tips For Kittens
As we briefly discussed above, proper kitten nutrition includes modifying the diet to ensure you are feeding kittens what they need during each stage of growth.
- The mother cat should be feeding kittens during the first 4 weeks of life, or you should use a special commercial milk-replacer formula every 2-4 hours if the kitten has been separated from its mother.
- From 3-5 weeks of age, feeding kittens involves offering the milk-replacer formula in a shallow dish to encourage weaning from a bottle. You can also add a moist, easily chewable diet consisting of a mixture of warm milk-replacer and high quality canned or dried kitten food 4-6 times a day.
- After 6 months of age, kittens should be fed 2-3 times per day.
Feeding kittens the right food in the right amounts, and at the right times throughout the day is essential for happy, healthy and growing cats. Our veterinary staff would be happy to discuss the proper feeding schedule for your kitten at your next veterinary appointment.
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Kitten Care: The First Year Of Life
A typical healthy kitten under the age of 1 year will visit the vet at least 5 times. This can increase, of course, depending on various circumstances that can affect its health and wellbeing.
The very first vet visit by a young kitten is by the time it reaches 3 to 4 weeks old. The vet will conduct a thorough assessment of its growth and development to make sure it is growing as expected. Around this time, your kitten will also receive its very first vaccination against Bordetella infections. This is a vaccine that will help protect your cat from future Bordetella bronchiseptica infections. This is an infection of the upper respiratory tract that can produce coughing, fever, and sneezing. Do take note that Bordetella is not a core feline vaccine, so you can choose not to give this to your cat.
- Feline Distemper
This vaccine protects cats from a very severe and highly-contagious disease that can lead to death. Kittens can receive their first dose of the vaccine by the age of 6 weeks. They can still get vaccinated up until the age of 16 weeks. A second dose is necessary after about 3 to 4 weeks from the first dose. There is a booster dose one year after the second dose in the first year of the kittens life. Booster doses are also necessary every 3 years.
- Feline Herpesvirus
- Calicivirus
As your kitten reaches 8 weeks, it can start receiving the following vaccinations.
- Rabies
- Feline Leukemia Virus
Taking Care Of Kittens The First Six Months
Taking care of kittens just needs a little bit of attention. Lets break it down by weeks to make this easier to follow:
- 4-6 Months:This is your cats teenage years. This is when they start to get sexually mature. With beginning of puberty, you will see some typical behavioral changes similar to human adolescents. Keep playing with your kitten. Any hands-on play will be a bonding experience. Monitor and stop any behavior that is inappropriate. Environmental enrichment is important. Indoor kittens need toys and stimulation. We can advise you of ways of providing an enriched environment. Most kittens will be fully sexually mature by 6-8 months.We highly recommend spaying or neutering to prevent unwanted pregnancy and kittens.
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Pet Insurance/ Pet Care Financing
Although very important, we all know medical care can become a financial constraint. Kittenhood is an ideal time to consider pet insurance because pre-existing conditions are not as prevalent. In the hopes that a difficult decision due to limited finances can be prevented, pet insurance is recommended. A couple of companies we recommend are Trupanion and Embrace. Trupanion offers a 30-day free trial if you sign up within 24 hours of your exam. We recommend you contact the companies directly to discuss with them the best plan for your pet.
If pet insurance is not of interest to you and a medical emergency arises that proves to be more than your bank account will allow, Care Credit is a financing option that may be available. Care Credit will allow you to charge up to a certain amount based on your credit if your credit allows. Interest rates may occur.
Why Its Important To Take Your Cat To The Vet
Regular veterinary care throughout your cats life is valuable for many reasons. Every veterinary visit will include a physical examination which can help your vet detect issues including skin conditions, dental disease, and even masses found in or on your cat. External parasites, such as fleas, ticks or ear mites can also be found and treated at vet visits.
And even if your cat remains an indoor companion, it is still important to keep them up to date on vaccines and annual wellness testing . Routine diagnostics like these will help your veterinarian catch any abnormalities readily and early so appropriate medications or treatments can be started. Regular vaccines will also keep your cat protected and immunized from life-threatening illnesses, like rabies. And dont forget about those monthly flea, tick, heartworm and parasite preventives!
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