Care of puppy cats

Adopt puppy cats or else take care of a litter of baby kittens It can be a wonderful experience. However, although these animals are considered independent and instinctive, during the first months of life they require very specific care.

Discover in a complete cat care guide puppies, where you will learn how to behave, essential accessories for day to day and all the necessary care, from food to veterinary care.

So, if you are interested in knowing how to care for a puppy cat, this article interests you: you will discover the key factors for an adequate physical and mental development, as well as some techniques to guarantee the welfare of your pet.

The arrival of a cat at home

If you have never had a cat at home before, in this first section you will find some fundamental tips so that your arrival at home is as positive as possible. Paying attention to the necessary accessories and the placement of them will not only favor an adequate adaptation, but also help to make your relationship with you closer.

The first step in offering the best care to a puppy cat will be to provide everything you need For the day to day:

• Feeder: it is important that the feeder is far from the drinker and the litter box, because cats are very scrupulous and can stop eating if they consider that their food is too close to these elements. If you also have several cats in the home, it can be interesting to have several feeders to avoid the possible appearance of conflicts.
• sprue: it must be located in an easily accessible place and the water must be renewed on a regular basis so that the cat does not reject it. In addition, it is advisable to use a quality container, such as stainless steel. We must keep it away from the sandbox and the trough and, as in the previous case, it may be interesting to have several troughs if we have more than one cat at home. As an extra, it is worth considering the purchase of a water source for cats, an element that will also have a positive effect on environmental enrichment.
• Sandbox: it is usually placed in the bathroom, but you can also leave it in a terrace or quiet area. It is essential to have several sandboxes if we have more than one cat in the home and clean them once or twice a week at least.
• Scraper: there are several types of scrapers and finding the one that motivates our kitten will be important to avoid scratching the furniture. You can get one with a table type and a vertical one, for example.
• Rest zone: places your bed in a quiet area, away from traffic, so you can enjoy uninterrupted sleep. Remember that it is essential for the mental and physical development of the puppy cat, as well as for proper learning.
• Nest: when visitors arrive at your home, on festivities where fireworks are produced or in times of stress, your little cat will look for a place to take refuge. You can leave a nest-type bed or a simple box in a high and quiet place so you can hide whenever you want. It is important to note that while the cat is in the nest it should never be disturbed.

If you have not yet bought the accessories for your puppy kitten, we invite you to discover the new collection of pet products from Maisons du Monde, where you will find quality tools with unique designs, which are also made with materials suitable for cats. They have porcelain bowls, baskets and specially fluffy beds, and even a beautiful tipi so you can hide.

How long does a cat adapt to a house?

The first days of the cat at home are usually very stressful for him and his human family, who only wants to receive him with affection and desire to play. However, we must be able to empathize and understand that the little one has been separated from his mother and brothers to get to a place you do not know with people you do not know either.

He will probably be very scared and will not want to move from under the bed. Therefore, we must be patient and act with delicacy. It is normal to be shy and insecure.

We can try to earn your trust by leaving little pieces of tasty food near his hiding place, using toys to encourage him to leave or using a sharp and sweet tone of voice when addressing him. However, if the child does not want to leave, we will not force him, but we will respect his space during the first days.

The first night we should not wait for the kitten to stay in his bed quietly, on the contrary, it is most likely that when the home is quiet the little one takes the opportunity to inspect all areas of the house This will help you find your way around and find all the tools we have mentioned.

Having a new cat at home is a unique experience and each case is different. Not all felines will behave the same or adapt at the same time, although, generally, we can say that a cat it takes between 1 and 4 months to adapt completely to a new house. The same happens before a move.

Cat feeding puppy

If we have adopted a kitten of 1 month of life, it will be important to go to a veterinary center as soon as possible to obtain artificial infant formula, which will be the basis of your diet thereafter. It is very important to note that a mother should never be separated from her kittens unless it is strictly necessary, since the small ones require breast milk to receive the colostrum (which contains immunoglobulins that protect the little one) and the care that only his mother can provide. Remember that you can prepare emergency formula milk, yes, it is a temporary solution.

From the 2 months of life we ​​can start the child in the solid diet, always in a progressive way. We will offer you daily small portions of wet food or patés, as long as they are formulated specifically for puppy cats. Later we will begin to moisten dry feed in water (or with broth, without salt or onion) and, once eat without problems, we can go to the completely dry food. We recommend always consulting this process with the veterinarian, who will prescribe the most appropriate cat food for puppies.

Finally, we want to emphasize that the optimal age of adoption of a cat is 3 months, at which time it is completely weaned, immunized and has learned the necessary behaviors of its parent: the habit of cleanliness, urination in the sandbox or feline language learning among others. In this stage the kitten should eat solid without problems.

Is it better to think or homemade food?

Each type of food has its advantages and disadvantages and it is up to each owner to choose one type of food or another. While the I think balanced provides all the necessary nutrients for the feline (as long as the label “nutritionally complete” appears on the packaging), it is not always easy to find a quality feed that also has an affordable price for all the caretakers.

In any case, within the care of puppies cats is the adequate feeding, so that if we opt for this type of feeding, we must acquire a feed formulated specifically for puppy cats, which is also of high quality.

On the contrary, homemade diets, whether raw or cooked, are much cheaper and we can guarantee that they are made from natural products; however, they require a veterinary follow-up on the part of the tutor, thus guaranteeing the good health of the feline. In addition, it will also be necessary to use supplements to avoid nutritional deficiencies and strict internal deworming in the case of betting on the BARF diet.

The socialization of a puppy cat

It is advisable that the adoption of the puppy cat occurs between the sixth week and the maximum two months of life, in this way, he will have started his period of socialization with his mother and brothers and will end it with us.

Socialization is a period that begins at two weeks of life and ends around two months. It is a sensitive stage, in which the cat will learn to relate with other cats, people and pets, but it will also be essential for a correct adaptation in the environment. A null or bad socialization can cause the appearance of unwanted behaviors, such as aggression or fear.

We must be aware that socializing an adult cat is tremendously complicated, sometimes impossible, for that reason it will be very important to continue socializing the kitten once it reaches our home. We will introduce you to all kinds of people, objects, sounds, environments and, if possible, other animals, always guaranteeing positive experiences.

The behavior of puppy cats

We should know that, during the first weeks of life, the kitten has a limited movement pattern; however, from the fifth or the sixth week, the kitten will begin to run around and explore the environment, as well as to develop behaviors specific to the species, such as hunting animals, marking with pheromones and voluntary elimination. Later the kitten will start develop your senses, then it is when we will observe all these behaviors much more marked.

To finish this section we must point out that each individual is the possessor of a Unique personality, so you should take your time to know their behavior in a particular way.

The basic routines for the care of a puppy cat

Next we explain you 5 basic routines that any cat should be able to enjoy regularly, as part of their basic care, as they directly influence their well-being, both physical and mental:

1. Brushed

Regular brushing will help us keep the mantle in good condition and it will allow us to detect any health problem quickly, whether we are talking about diseases of the dermis or the presence of parasites. In addition, this routine will reinforce the link with the kitten, at the same time that we provide a relaxing “massage”.

We recommend using a card in medium-haired cats, a rubber brush in cats with very short hair and a rake-type comb for long-haired cats.

2. Mental stimulation

Offering our feline environmental enrichment is essential for prevent behavior problems. It also helps us stimulate their intelligence and avoid stress, anxiety and depression. We can enrich your day to day with structures for cats, the use of catnip or a simple box. We can also do with intelligence toys, food vending toys or visual and olfactory stimuli. In fact, we can stimulate our cat with practically anything.

3. Physical stimulation

Apart from the activities that help to stimulate your mind, encouraging you to do physical activity is essential to maintain your developed musculature. It also helps us prevent overweight and obesity.

We can offer physical stimulation with all kinds of games and we can even buy specific objects for it, such as a tunnel for cats. The game time It will also help our cat stay in shape, if we are able to stimulate it.

4. Game and fun

Cats are animals very sociable and, although many people affirm that they are independent beings, the truth is that this is not the case. A cat may come to despise their toys after a single session of games because they need to be at their side someone that encourages them to play and have fun. For that reason we advise you to play with your cat regularly, if it is not possible every day, do it every few days.

5. Love and affection

Apart from all these routines, the cat requires something more: love. He will never be completely happy if he does not have a family by his side that loves him and cares for him, that allows him to sleep on top or that he lets himself be licked and nibbled affectionately.

Leaving aside the false myths, the cat It is a very affectionate animalIf you are given the opportunity, you can become an excellent life partner.

Kitty’s health

Before taking your newly adopted kitten home, especially if you live with other animals, it will be essential visit a veterinarian to rule out the presence of parasites or diseases that could be contagious.

So, to finish, we will explain what are the key aspects that will help you maintain a good health in your kitty:

Vaccination of the puppy cat

Although our cat will never leave home, we ourselves can introduce viruses and bacteria into the home without realizing it. This is why it is so important to start the vaccination program for cats at 2 months of age.

The first vaccines that will be applied will be the triple feline or trivalent and the leukemia test, with this our cat will be protected against the following diseases:

• Panleucopenia
• Infectious rhinitis
• Calcivirus
• Leukemia

Vaccines will need a dose of annual reinforcement and, to keep our cat healthy, we must strictly follow the periodicity of the vaccination.

Deworming of the puppy cat

Deworming our kitten will be a fundamental aspect for your health, especially if you have access to the outside or live with other animals. This routine will help prevent the appearance of internal and external parasites, which is made with various veterinary prescription products, such as pills, pipettes, collars or sprays.

Deworming should start at one and a half months of age and it is essential that it be supervised by the veterinarian. It is recommended to deworm the cat every 15 days until the puppy reaches 3 months of age, then the deworming will be done once a month until the cat reaches 6 months of age and finally 1 every 3 months.

We must bear in mind that the professional advice of a veterinarian will be essential since both internal and external deworming must be done with products specific for puppy cats and using a fair dose.

If we want our cat to grow in a healthy way, it will be essential to go to the veterinarian on a regular basis. When the vaccination calendar is started, the veterinarian will indicate the frequency with which it will be necessary to perform complete examinations to rule out any signs of illness, but generally each 6 or 12 months.

If you want to read more articles similar to Care of puppy cats, we recommend that you enter in our Basic Care section.