How do I care for my new Kitten?
You have decided to adopt a kitten. You might have rescued one from the street or adopted one from a shelter.
So how do you take care of new kitten once you have them!
Kittens are extremely soft and delicate. They will be so tiny that will fit in one of your palm.
If you are having kitten from shelter or adopting one from somebody else then the kitten might be little bit anxious.
If you have rescued a traumatized kitten from the street then you need to be patient. The Kitten need time to adjust to the new home and feel safe.
I am giving you a step by step procedure to be followed for getting a new kitten home:
First Thing to do when you get a kitten home
- Keep the kitten in some silent area of your home. If you have other pets in your house, make sure you keep the new kitten away from your existing pets.
- Arrange for a big box. Give some towels and cotton clothes in the box so that your kitten is warm enough.
- A soft toy would be very good because It will feel a warmth and a sense of someone of its kind.
- If the kitten is two or three week old, arrange for some hot bag and wrapping it with thick cloth and place it near the kitten.
- Option of arranging a high watt bulb and hanging it above the kitten at some high distance from the kitten is a great way to give warmth to it.
- While placing the hot bag near the kitten, make sure the kitten does not come in direct contact with the hot bag otherwise it will burn the sensitive skin of the kitten.
How to give Bath to a Kitten
Always use warm water when giving bath to the kitten. Kittens at the age less than 8 weeks can’t regulate their own body temperatures so you must help them stay warm.
- The bath water should be comfortably warm, but not hot.
- Heat up the bathroom by running hot water for sometime. Arrange for the towels, shampoos and prepare the water.
- Bring in the kitten for the bath. Having some help at your hand is always useful in bath time for kittens.
- Scrub off the dirt very gently. Kittens have very sharp claws, make sure you give the bath safely without you getting scratched.
- Wrap your kitten in a towel as soon as they are clean and rinsed. Then comes the best part — cuddle and dry them to ensure they stay warm.
How to Feed Kittens
To feed the kitten, purchase solutions for kittens, which are readily available in Pet Shops. The one I can recommend is ‘Beaphar Lactol Kitten’.
Mix the suggested amount of solution mentioned in the instruction manual of the product with water. Put it in the smallest syringe, and very slowly push the solution into the mouth of the kitten, so that it doesn’t choke.
Hold the kitty properly and make sure you don’t hurry while feeding the kitten, take care of kitten and watch that the Kitten is able to swallow the solution.
Start in small amount and gradually increase, you can start with 2ml feed in two to three hourly time. If you see the kitten has grown comfortable with the feeding, you can increase the feed by 1 ml. NOTE: NEVER FEED MILK TO YOUR KITTEN OR CAT.
Kittens and Cats cannot digest the milk we humans consume. It is a trigger element for diarrhea in Kittens and Cats. So Never feed Milk to them.
General tips
Keep Track of the poops and pees. When the kitten pees and poops, be sure to clean it timely.
Generally this cleaning is done by their mother cat but since now you are the new mom and dad so you need to check your kitten is not rolling in his poop or pee.
If you find your kitten restless and being vocal, pick him up and hold close to you, give your body warmth. pet him so that it knows someone is there to take care of.
The ways to relax them is to stroke the part where both their shoulder blades meet, right at the base of the neck. The stroking of head is also comfortable for them, under their neck is another sensitive area for them. Lot of petting and stroking should calm your kitten down in some time and put him to sleep.
When the kitty gets all vocal and restless its important you keep yourself composed and not worry, because Cats are very sensitive and instinctive animals, they will sense if you are nervous, that in turn will worry the kittens too, so do not worry, keep petting, feeding and cleaning him, if he is in mood then you can start to play with him and everything will turn out absolutely fine.
Taking Care of new kitten is one the best feeling for any pet lover so enjoy every moment of it.
Photo Courtesy: Saikat Saha: Instagram – @saikat.saha | Facebook–https://www.facebook.com/photography.saikatsaha/
Content Reference : https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/news/give-your-kitten-bath-these-simple-tips
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