Bringing a furry friend at home for the first time could be an exciting as well as a challenging time for you when keeping it safe and happy is entirely in your hands. So giving it proper care and hygiene at an early age will help it to grow into a healthy and happy adult.
Here are a few tips to consider while taking care of a new kitten.
1. Provide healthy and nutritious food.
Kittens many look tiny but they need 2-3 times more energy than an adult cat throughout the day. So giving a wholesome nutritional diet with at least 30% protein is highly recommended. You can start by giving it some warm milk replacer in a shallow bowl along with some high quality moist canned food. Do not give the kittens regular milk as that would cause indigestion and make the kitten fall ill. After a few weeks when the kitten can chew, you can start by simply giving dry food instead of moistening it.
2. Control scratching and biting.
Biting and claw scratching can be a real nuisance especially when your young feline friend is teething. And so forming hygiene habits at an early age is essential by trimming your kitten’s claws carefully at home or by consulting a vet to do so. A great way to keep your kitten away from biting your fingers is by giving them soft chew toys. Even then if your kitten bites you, loudly scream ‘ouch’ and walk away, and come back after 5 minutes and resume playing. But teaching your kitten to not bite from an early age is essential as it’s tough to break the habit later on.
3. Maintain regular grooming habits.
Regularly brushing and grooming your kitten helps to look for fleas or ticks and also removes any dead skin or hair. While doing so, make sure your cat is seated comfortably in your lap and start by brushing slowly and pampering it. Also, brushing your tiny pal’s teeth using a pet-friendly toothpaste will help to get rid of any leftover dry food. Since not many cats like to bathe, getting them used to bathe since an early age will develop a hygiene habit and not traumatize them as an adult. Grooming your fluff ball from the time it’s a kitten helps it to be a more hygienic and healthy adult.
4. Avoid teething.
Teething happens in kittens when they’re really young and just like any small kid, they will chew on almost anything and everything around your house. To help them have a pain-free time, provide them with only soft, wet food to eat and soft chew toys to soothe the discomfort. Also, brushing at a young age helps to build good teeth and gum hygiene but it’s preferable to avoid it during teething as it could be painful. You can also stop your kitten from chewing your fingers or your furniture by giving them a chew toy so that they know what’s okay to chew and what’s not!
5. Socialize with other cats.
Kittens learn most of their feline traits from other cats and so exposing them used to other cats and kittens determines how it will behave when it grows up. Socializing also helps to keep them confident and calm in new environments and around new people.
It is essential you lovingly and dedicatedly continues maintaining these practices for your kitten’s good health.
