Kitten Care

To be presented with an endearing kitten is a joy, but it's also a sobering responsibility, one you will probably have for quite a few years. Kittens who grow into healthy cats can live up to 20 years in a good home. At the very least, you should plan on caring for a kitten for 10 to 15 years. Further, with few exceptions, those years will be happier when he or she has the companionship of another cat.

As soon as you get the kitten, find out if it is already accustomed to being handled, or if it came from an outdoor, perhaps a barn, litter. The mother cat may or may not have had a lot of human contact, so her kittens may need a little extra socializing. Even if the kitten has been handled gently, it still will need to be introduced carefully to the members of your household.

It can be difficult for young children especially to handle young animals properly. Most need to be taught gentle handling, as a kitten is probably seen as another toy by them. If a parent refuses to control a child when visiting a home that has a kitten or cat, the animal can be expected to scratch or bite the child. In that case, the owner will have to put the kitten in another room until her visitors leave. This is for the kitten's own safety and emotional health.

The Very Young Kitten

For any kitten's safety, it should be separated from other animals until they have all become used to each other's presence and smell in the house. Charming animal calendars notwithstanding, it takes time for a dog or an older cat to adjust to a rambunctious kitten. If the kitten (or the new puppy) is perceived in any way as a threat, jealousy will take over.

The younger the kitten, the more careful you will need to be with it. Kittens are born with their eyes closed, and are totally dependent on the mother. The eyes will open normally after about two weeks. If you are faced with an orphan, you will need to purchase a special kitten formula from the vet or a pet supply store. The formula will nearly match the mother cat's milk in fats, protein, vitamins and carbohydrates.

At around five or six weeks, the mother cat will begin to refuse to nurse her kittens anyway. This is the right time to start introducing them to solid foods, such as baby foods. They may lick the meaty paste off a spoon before they are ready to tackle it on a small plate or in a dish. Gradually introduce them to finely ground canned cat food. By the time the kittens are two months old, mother cat will probably stop nursing them altogether.

Indoor or Outdoor? The Ongoing Debate

A cat that spends a great deal of time outdoors faces many more hazards than an indoor cat. Yet even a cat that goes outside for only an hour or two each day can be injured or poisoned by uncaring or spiteful neighbors. In addition, in many suburban areas, or even within the city itself, coyotes roam freely in residential areas in search of food and water. This is especially true in drought years.

It's best to accustom a kitten to living indoors from the beginning. However, if you have the space and a little handiness with tools, outdoor enclosures can be built with safe access from the house. As long as an enclosure provides shade and a place to hide, and has a filled water dish, your growing kittens can explore the outdoor world safely in nice weather. Make sure unwanted visitors (both two- and four-legged) are unable to get inside the enclosure, but provide a lockable door of some sort, so you can get in that way yourself in an emergency.