TRAVELLING HOME
Your kitten will probably not have been in a vehicle before,
and is likely to be nervous about travelling. If you simply restrain it on your
lap it may to bite or scratch you, so you should invest in a proper carrier. You
could buy a cardboard pet carrier, although this may not be secure –
particularly if the base becomes wet. An ordinary cardboard box with its lid
taped down is even less adequate, especially for an adult cat which will be
able to push its way out through the flaps quite easily. A wicker basket is
another option, but be sure to line the base with a thick layer of newspaper as
the wicker will be awkward to clean if it becomes dirtied.
The ideal carrier is a plastic container with a wire-mesh
front and air holes around the sides. This is easily cleaned and will give more
privacy to your kitten than an all-mesh container. It will obviously cost you
more than a cardboard box, but you will be able to use the carrier whenever you
take your cat to the vet or to a boarding cattery, so it will be money well
spent.
Be prepared for your new pet to start howling and sounding
distressed during the journey. This usually nothing to worry about, however,
and you should just concentrate instead on getting home safely and quickly.
When you bring a new kitten home, it is very important that
you introduce any children – and other pets – to it gently and quietly. Show
your children how to handle the kitten safely, as cats will often bite or
scratch if they are teased or inadvertently hurt.
AT HOME
Allow your kitten or cat to come out of the carrier in its
own time, as if you try to lift it out you could end up being badly scratched
or bitten. Remember that it will need time to settle down, so put out fresh
drinking water and a little food, make sure that the kitten knows where to find
its bed and litter tray, and then leave it by itself for a little while.
Keep the kitten confined to one room until it gets used to
being there, and make sure that children behave gently and quietly around it.
The kitten needs time to sleep in peace as well as to play – if woken suddenly,
it could react by scratching. Children must also learn to handle it correctly. A
mother cat carries her kittens safely by the scruff of the neck, but, when you
lift your kitten, be sure to provide more support by holding its tail end with
one hand and its chest with the other.
Introducing other pets
A new cat – especially a kitten – will integrate well with
other animals in the household, given a little time. If you have a dog, shut it
in a separate room when the kitten arrives. After an hour or so you can let the
dog into the kitten’s room while holding the kitten in your hand, and stay with
the animals so that you can supervise the whole introduction period. This may
be fairly brief – in most cases, once a dog has seen a kitten it will soon lose
interest.
Introducing a cat may need to be a more gradual process. Always
supervise the initial meetings, and never try to force cats of any age together
– they will adjust to each other at their own pace. When meeting for the first
time, the kitten and cat will probably investigate each other nose-to-nose. Depending
on your kitten’s personality, it may become frightened and arch its back to
show some bravado, and may even hiss; the older cat may ignore the kitten,
sniff at it or become threatening, in which case you may need to intervene. However,
if all goes well the cats will soon grow bored of each other.
Be sure to keep your kitten well away from pet birds or
small mammals, which may be severely frightened – even if they are not harmed
directly – if it attempts to catch them. You will not be able to prevent this
instinctive behaviour in your cat, so the answer is to keep the animals apart.
Confining your kitten
You should keep your new kitten in the same room – many owners
choose the kitchen – for about a week, making a ‘pen’ if necessary to prevent
it from running out. Even when its vaccinations are complete, at about 12 weeks
of age, it will still be a good idea to keep your kitten indoors for a few
weeks as it becomes established in its new home. All young kittens are
inquisitive, and yours will soon learn its way about. Once it has overcome its
initial fears, it will amuse itself for hours with very simple, cheap toys such
as ping-pong balls, cardboard tubes and woolly stuffed toys.
At this stage, you can accompany your kitten on its first
trip outside and back again. Continue to go with it for the next few outings,
as this will give the kitten a sense of security, and encourage it to come when
you call.
FEEDING YOUR NEW KITTEN
Before you go to collect your kitten, ask the breeder or
owner for a diet sheet so that you can buy a supply of the same food items; the
diet sheet should also include details of mealtimes and how much food is given.
This will reduce the risk of you overfeeding your kitten or supplying too rich
a menu, either of which could lead to a stomach upset.
HOME SAFETY
You will need to make some adjustments at home
before you collect your new kitten. Shut all windows and doors, and ensure that
the house is safe for a young, inquisitive animal. Block off any spaces under
furniture which could become traps, cover fireplaces and do not leave clothes
hanging to dry in front of an open fire. Keep all appliance doors shut,
including those of the refrigerator, the washing machine and the tumble drier,
and put electrical flexes out of reach. Never leave elastic bands, buttons,
pins, needles or other small objects in places where your kitten could play
with and possibly swallow them.
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