Congratulations on the furry new addition to your family!
Here is a list of essential items that you need to get started with your kitten:
Kitten Food
Grain & soy free canned kitten food and grain free dry kitten food.
Feed your kitten 95% canned food, and complement it with a tiny amount of dry kitten food on a daily basis to give your kitten something to exercise their jaws on (depending on its age) since they will be teething over the next several months.
NOTE: You do not need to be concerned with rationing your kitten's calories for quite some time... your kitten can essentially eat as much food as they like because they will be developing muscle and bone tissue, and will need a lot of calories to do so! So, let your little feline enjoy as much canned food as they wish to consume! It is quite rare for a young kitten to become obese; your veterinarian will advise you about calorie rationing when your cat is approximately 1 year old.
Food & Water Dishes
Although many pet store kitten starter kits include plastic food and water dishes along with a litter box and scoop, avoid purchasing these! It is healthier for your kitty to eat and drink from glass, ceramic, or steel dishes, rather than from carcinogenic plastic dishes - just as it is for us as well! Additionally, most cats have a notable preference for glass, ceramic, or steel dishes over plastic ones, because they do not leech undesirable stale tastes into their water and food. This is because glass, ceramic, and steel dishes are far more easily cleaned and sterilized since, unlike plastic, they are not porous materials: more convenient for you and tastier for your kitty! Many cats who eat and drink from plastic food and water dishes suffer from feline chin acne as a result of chronic daily contact with them. This common skin reaction to plastic is yet another good reason that plastic dishes best avoided!
Your kitten should have easy access to food and water, so if you have a multiple level home, food and water should be available for your kitten on each level
Remember to clean and refresh your kitten's water supply on a daily basis! - Don't let water become old and stale, and definitely do not let water dishes go dry!
Litter Box
A great perk of adopting a kitten is that there is typically no 'house-training' period whatsoever! It is instinctual for cats to seek out a dirt-like substrate in which they can dig, do their 'business' in, and then bury the evidence! The only tasks required of you are:
showing your kitten where the litter box is located,
ensuring the litter box set-up is appropriate
maintaining its cleanliness!
A good litter box is open (not enclosed), shallow-sided, large & roomy, is easily accessible (ie. not hidden away in the basement), and not located in a high traffic or noisy location (eg. next to the washer and dryer)
Like the food and water dishes, litter boxes should be available on all floors in the home, and they should NOT be located by the food and water dishes (we don't really like to eat and drink in the washroom, and neither do our kitties! They are particularly hygiene-conscious creatures and those two types of activities do not mix any better for kitties than they do for us!)
Litter
Clumping litter is preferable because it facilitates cleaning the litter box on a daily basis without the build-up of ammonia from urine, and it also enables you to track the volume and frequency with which your kitten urinates • Unscented and non-dusty litter is best, and it should be kept several inches deep to provide a nice comfortable substrate for your kitten.
Scoop daily, top up the litter weekly, and empty & clean the box monthly Litter Trapping Mat • Small plastic, rubber, or fabric litter mats help catch litter bits that are tracked outside the box by your kitty coming and going, as well as litter that gets kicked out of the box as a result of your kitten's digging and burying actions. Litter mats are most useful when placed directly beside the entrance/exit of litter boxes where the highest volume of litter is tracked.
You can buy litter mats in pet stores or get crafty and make your own!
My favorite type of mat are those made of rubber; they're extremely effective at trapping litter, and are soft and comfortable on kitty's paws (which many other litter mats, such as ridged plastic mats are not)! Try Petmate Litter Catcher Mats, and also keep a handheld broom & dust pan handy for those stray litter particles.
Nail Clippers
Trimming your kitten's claws from a young age is a good idea because they become accustomed to having their paws handled, and in addition, kitten nails feel like little needles when they grow long! Ouch!
Small-sized pet nail clippers work well, but human nail clippers also work if you already have a pair. Give lots of praise and treats while trimming your kitten's nails, and be careful not to cut into the pink part of the claw (that's the equivalent of cutting into the pink part of your own nail!)!! Scratching post
Grooming claws and stretching their digital tendons and muscles are instinctive feline behaviors which start at a young age... so it is best to be prepared and have scratching posts in place when you bring your kitten home, rather than getting started on the wrong 'paw' (eg. your kitten using your favorite arm chair for scratching)!
Not all cats enjoy the same types of scratching posts, so if your kitten does not use the first one you try, do not be shocked... try rubbing catnip on it, try posts with different inclines (horizontal, oblique, vertical), different materials (sisal rope, carpet, cardboard), and make sure they are steady posts with wide, firm bases that will not topple over or move around while being used by your kitten.
Toys
If you plan on feeding your kitty a small amount of dry food each day, it is best to have your kitten 'hunt' it by using a kibble/treat dispensing ball - these are fun, mentally stimulating, and your kitty will be impossibly cute when playing with them.
Some examples are 'SlimCat MultiVet' balls, and 'Play N' Treat' balls - these allow your kitten to exercise both body and mind because they must manipulate the balls in order to get the kibble pieces to fall out... cats are natural predators and food that is available in a bowl is just plain boring!
Cats enjoy toy mice, catnip, cat-grass, laser pointers and many other forms of entertainment. Because cats become quickly bored of their toys though, it is best to have a rotating schedule of what toys are available to them - ie. keep toys hidden in a closet and pull out four different ones each week, so that they are 'new' again.
To read more articles written by Veterinarian Dr. Ko please visit http://www.catdoctorko.com
The information provided in this article is for educational reference purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice and care of your veterinarian, nor medical diagnoses or treatments. All questions regarding your cat's health should be discussed with your veterinarian.
